Motolani Alake

<h1>Apple Music has launched&nbsp;Africa to the World, a definitive collection of original and exclusive content from some of Africa's biggest superstars including Burna Boy, Wizkid, Davido, Nasty C, Tiwa Savage and AKA, as well as the continent's hottest emerging talents like Tems, Elaine, Fireboy DML, Sha Sha, Joeboy and Omah Lay.</h1>

Apple Music&nbsp;has been championing the work of artists, songwriters, producers and DJs from all over Africa, with the goal of shining the global spotlight on the amazing creative talent across the continent.

Africa to the World’s&nbsp;mission extends beyond music to art, with renowned South African illustrator and street artist Karabo Poppy (of Soweto Towers, Nike and Budweiser fame) the genius behind the campaign’s striking artwork.&nbsp;

Africa to the World includes every episode of&nbsp;Africa Now Radio with Cuppy, which features exclusive interviews with Davido, Tiwa Savage, Nasty C, Mr Eazi, Cassper Nyovest, Fireboy DML, Yemi Alade and Olamide, to name but a few.

Apple Music launches 'Africa to the World.' (Apple Music)

It also features exclusive radio and video interviews with&nbsp;Apple Music 1's Ebro Darden, Nadeska, Dotty, Cuppy and Zane Lowe speaking to Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Burna Boy, Wizkid, Tems, Tiwa Savage, Black Coffee, DJ Spinall, Simi, Amaarae and AKA.

Apple Music’s Song Stories&nbsp;dive into the creative process and inspirations behind the hits from artists such as Omah Lay, Burna Boy, Joeboy, Davido, Elaine, Adekunle Gold and Sha Sha.

Exclusive guest playlists from Africa's biggest artists and personalities including Don Jazzy, Denola Grey, Angelique Kidjo, Karabo Poppy, Amadou &amp; Mariam, Israel Adesanya, Henry Oyekuru, Boity, Nandi Madida, Sho Madjozi, Master KG, Diamond Platnumz and Sauti Sol also reside within the collection.

Africa to the World also houses&nbsp;Apple Music 1's One Mixes&nbsp;from some of the continent's biggest DJs (DJ Maphorisa, Kabza De Small, Black Coffee, Prince Kaybee and Black Motion), exclusive&nbsp;Boiler Room&nbsp;mixes (DBN Gogo, Major League Djz, Da Capo and Kid Fonque)&nbsp;track by track&nbsp;artist interviews (Burna Boy, Elaine, Mi Casa, AKA and Sun-El Musician),&nbsp;original documentaries&nbsp;(Nasty C, Joeboy, DJ Maphorisa, mr Eazi and Ebro in South Africa) and exclusive&nbsp;UP NEXT&nbsp;videos (Rema, Burna Boy and Mr Eazi).

Listen to the collection here&nbsp;<a href="http://apple.co/AfricaToTheWorld">http://apple.co/AfricaToTheWorld</a>

It is a collection of exclusive &amp; original content from Africa’s biggest stars.

Apple Music launches 'Africa to the World'

<h1>In 2021, the world’s largest music streaming service, Spotify will improve its African operation. A Nigerian office is said to be at the forefront of those plans. Over the past 18 months, Spotify has been making its efforts clear in a bid to own the future of audio content - and video to a lesser extent.&nbsp;</h1>

During that period, it has invested heavily into podcasting with deals for/purchases of&nbsp;Gimlet, Parcast, The Joe Rogan Podcast&nbsp;and&nbsp;Anchor.&nbsp;It also recently purchased&nbsp;Megaphone,&nbsp;in a bid to enliven its SAI for podcasts. This year,&nbsp;Spotify&nbsp;has seen its users soar to 320 million across the world - 29% year-on-year growth.

Of that 320 million, 144 million are premium while 185 million are ad-supported. In Q3 2020, it also announced a Free Cash Flow of €103 million.

The entrance of Spotify will make it the 12th music streaming platform in Nigeria. Overall, it will make it the 15th music streaming/download platform that Nigerians use one way or another.

In Q4 2019, Spotify was rumoured to be gearing up for a Nigerian office, but COVID-19 disrupted that. Around the time those rumours started,&nbsp;MusicTime&nbsp;launched in Nigeria with&nbsp;Oye Akideinde&nbsp;as its CEO. Its service charges users per their session/activity on its app. Once they log out, their session ends and fees stop running.

Despite COVID,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/movies/youtube-music-and-youtube-premium-launch-in-nigeria/w9vdwv8">YouTube Music</a>, YouTube Main,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/tidal-partners-with-mtn-nigeria-for-streaming-service/e4y2f88">TIDAL</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/pulse-nigeria-speaks-with-adeyemi-adetunji-charlotte-bwana-and-jason-johnson-of/wywmh8v">Audiomack</a>, Soundcloud, Gbedu, Mino&nbsp;and&nbsp;UduX&nbsp;made their respective entrances and emergence known. In February 2020, YouTube Music announced a smooth app which charges N900 for single subscribers and N1400 for family plans monthly and respectively.

For its part,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/tidal-partners-with-mtn-nigeria-for-streaming-service/e4y2f88#:~:text=On%20September%202%2C%202020%2C%20TIDAL,short%20and%20long%2Dterm%20subscriptions.">TIDAL&nbsp;partnered with&nbsp;MTN</a>&nbsp;for plans as short as three days’ access, which costs N120, and a month’s Tidal access for N800. TIDAL subscriptions can also be bundled with MTN mobile data purchases – monthly access with data is N1,200.

Spotify will also compete with&nbsp;Apple Music, Boomplay&nbsp;and&nbsp;Deezer.&nbsp;Apple Music shares a similar premium subscription fee with YouTube Music. Both of those platforms don’t have ad-supported features for their monthly active users.

On the other hand,&nbsp;Boomplay&nbsp;is the largest music streaming platform in Nigeria. In the final quarter 2019,&nbsp;Motolani Alake&nbsp;- one-half of&nbsp;Listen Africa&nbsp;- chatted with&nbsp;Oladele Kadiri,&nbsp;the General Manager of&nbsp;Boomplay Nigeria&nbsp;and gathered that at the time, Boomplay had over a million users in Nigeria.

But since the turn of 2020, Boomplay has faced stiff competition from American streaming platform,&nbsp;Audiomack.&nbsp;

As of November 2020, Boomplay still holds the lead in terms of subscriber base, it currently has over 43 million tracks which shall grow to 45 million by the end of 2020. But then Audiomack is catching up fast as a more desirable brand with higher brand equity.

These days, both Audiomack and Boomplay offer ad-supported listening features for non-premium subscribers. Boomplay was already entrenched in the Nigerian market when Audiomack initially soared as a competition to&nbsp;Soundcloud.&nbsp;Its selling point was that it would pay artists from its ad placements on their songs.

This model is similar to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-55016142">YouTube Partnership Programme [YPP]</a>&nbsp;which allows creators with at least 1,000 subscribers and over 4,000 hours worth of viewership in a year to register to get paid by YouTube, based on the value of their viewership.

But unlike YPP, Audiomack doesn’t require any extra-special registration. In the same way it attracted the niche/underground artist crowd in the US with&nbsp;Chance The Rapper’s&nbsp;Acid Rap&nbsp;debuting on its platform, it attracted the niche/underground artist crowd to its platform with promise of earnings.

<a href="https://listenafrica.substack.com/p/why-does-audiomack-have-more-streams">Even with the low rate of the pay</a>, artists jumped on the bandwagon and so did Nigerian music lovers as the era of music blogs finally slowed down. At different points in 2020, Audiomack became the most downloaded music app on&nbsp;Apple App Store&nbsp;and&nbsp;Google Playstore.&nbsp;

Anytime Nigerian artists would celebrate their streams, around 70% of those streams would come from Audiomack.

On November 20, 2020, it was announced that Nigerian artist,&nbsp;Bella Shmurda&nbsp;announced that his 2020 EP,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/bella-shmurda-high-tension-ep-review/gehz0rf">High Tension</a>&nbsp;had hit 49 million streams on Audiomack. These days, Audiomack has also launched a premium feature which costs around $1.38.

Boomplay’s major edge is that it's pre-installed on Transsion phones -&nbsp;TECNO, Infinix&nbsp;and&nbsp;itel.&nbsp;These products are by far the most used phone brands in Africa. In 2019, Transsion was named as one of the top 10 most desirable brands in Africa - behind&nbsp;MTN&nbsp;and&nbsp;DSTV.&nbsp;

In 2019, Boomplay’s campus tour saw its subscriber-base rise even further. Dele Kadiri told Alake that their stint at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria saw some students subscribe for three months on the spot.

On its part, Boomplay charges N500 for its premium plan. Nonetheless, the growth of streaming has been slow due to the fact the following factors;

<ol><li>Ignorance of the presence of streaming services to even those who can afford them.&nbsp;</li><li>Nigeria is a highly mobilized country, but internet subscription costs a lot in a country where its largest percentage of citizens are reported to live under $1-a-day. The idea that you have to pay for the internet and then pay for streaming is something most Nigerians can’t afford.&nbsp;</li><li>Even those who can afford those two things will shy away from them due to the presence of illegal download sites or music blogs.&nbsp;</li></ol>

Music blogs peaked in Nigeria in the late 200s, but they are illegal. They obtain music illegally, offer free download to listeners, make money off ads and then consume all the proceeds by themselves without remitting anything back to artists.

ALSO READ:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/here-is-how-the-rise-and-fall-of-music-blogs-could-birth-the-slow-rise-of-nigerian/75g5bp8">Here is how Nigerian music blogs can survive their inevitable journey into obscurity</a>

Conversely, a lot of Nigerian artists still&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/comment-on-the-complicated-issue-of-selling-music-and-music-blogs-in-nigeria/99trm1h">willingly offer their music to sites like&nbsp;Naijaloaded</a>&nbsp;because they need exposure. This is because most Nigerian artists make most of their income off live performances and endorsements.&nbsp;

In the earliest days, this was the purpose that music blogs served. They offered exposure, documentation of releases and then played an important role in linking Lagos with London as part of the ‘Afrobeats to the world’ movement. Till this day, a lot of Nigerian artists can’t detach from the role of music blogs.

In part, this is because the larger part of Nigeria’s music listeners still access music through these music blogs. In a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/martin-nielsen-tells-pulse-about-mdundo-music-downloads-music-streaming-why-africa/bb5fwr8">chat with&nbsp;Martin Nielsen,&nbsp;the CEO of&nbsp;Mdundo,</a>&nbsp;it was revealed that around 60-70 million Nigerians have downloaded music from these blogs.

But recently, that music blog era has slowed down. Two giant music blogs,&nbsp;Notjustok&nbsp;and&nbsp;Tooxclusive&nbsp;have evolved. The&nbsp;Demola Ogundele-led Notjustok now has a distribution service and a budding streaming platform,&nbsp;Mino.&nbsp;

Tooxclusive has also stopped hosting raw illegal files on its website. Instead, it posts Audiomack links of songs. On the template of a music blog,&nbsp;Martin Nielsen&nbsp;and his partner have created a music download service called&nbsp;Mdundo. In Q3 2020, it raised over $6 million in an IPO and now trades on NASDAQ.

Instead of obtaining music illegally, it deals with the big three record labels and obtains music legally. For trackable revenue, it then inserts ads into the opening 15 seconds of every song via an automated service and splits revenue with artists 50/50. Already, it’s available in 15 countries and has over 3.5 million users.

Artists also have a dashboard where they can track their music downloads.

While some of these platforms are not exactly available in Nigeria, Nigerians put their music on&nbsp;Bandcamp&nbsp;- which aids music sales and ease of interfacing between artist and fans,&nbsp;Pandora&nbsp;and the rebranded&nbsp;Napster&nbsp;- which is rumoured to pay around $12,000 for every one million streams.

Bandcamp occupies a similar niche to&nbsp;Selar,&nbsp;a platform that allows artists to easily sell their music. In 2019,&nbsp;<a href="https://thenativemag.com/music/selar/">Dennis Peter&nbsp;wrote for&nbsp;NATIVE Magazine</a>&nbsp;that Selar left over 90% of the proceeds from&nbsp;Alpha Ojini’s debut album,&nbsp;Half Price&nbsp;to the rapper. Selar was founded by&nbsp;Douglas Kendyson.&nbsp;

A few Nigerians have been using Spotify in Nigeria through a VPN.

It was the second streaming service in Nigeria after&nbsp;Deezer&nbsp;became the first notable entrance into Nigeria in 2012.

Unlike Spotify, Deezer’s subscription fee is against the dollar - which currently stands at around N5,000 and 2,000 - is quite steep. The fact that only account holders from only a few banks can access the app is also a problem, and it stopped a lot of Nigerians from their regular <a data-link-role-code="open_new_tab" href="https://24magix.com/music">MP3 download</a>.

UPDATE: On March 9, 2021, Deezer announced a <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/deezer-brings-new-subscription-fees-to-nigeria/k1xrvgg">reduction to its pricing</a>.

Deezer also doesn’t have a Nigerian office, it primarily operates from South Africa. Interestingly, it also has a freemium, audio ad insertion feature for its freemium listener.&nbsp;It’s ‘Flow’ feature is also amazing and so is its&nbsp;<a href="https://listenafrica.substack.com/p/dsp-investment-in-podcasts-could">User-Centric Payment System.&nbsp;</a>For a company of just 500 people, Deezer is an overachiever.

Deezer and Spotify’s respective entrances into the country came after&nbsp;iTunes&nbsp;became a cool iPod, iPhone and PC feature for Nigerians. Around that time, YouTube Main also became a formidable tool for Nigerian music videos and viral content creators.

Michael Ugwu of FreeMe Digital and Jason Njoku of iROKO Partners. (Merlin/TechNomad)

When Spotify was easily accessible to Nigerians at the start of the last decade, it also competed with the now defunct&nbsp;Spinlet&nbsp;and&nbsp;iROKING&nbsp;by&nbsp;Iroko Partners.&nbsp;

In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/oye-akideinde-an-entertainment-capitalist-inside-by-pulse/pzjsdj4">a conversation with&nbsp;Oye Akideinde</a>,&nbsp;the CEO of&nbsp;MusicTime Africa -&nbsp;who worked at Spinlet before moving to&nbsp;Boomplay -&nbsp;said that the Spinlet made a lot of strides but struggled in a more difficult market to the current market - which is still difficult for music streaming platforms.&nbsp;

On the other hand, iROKING took a difficult route. In 2013,&nbsp;Michael Ugwu&nbsp;who is now Founder and CEO of&nbsp;FreeMe&nbsp;was&nbsp;<a href="https://innovation-village.com/michael-ugwu-ceo-fired-from-iroking/">fired as CEO of iROKING</a>. The company cited misconduct and breach of contract. Ugwu was accused of launching a competing entity in FreeMe while he led iROKING.

After seven years, the matter was finally settled after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/freeme-digital-ceo-michael-ugwu-acquitted-by-ibadan-court-after-7-year-legal-battle/jn84815">Ugwu was acquitted by an Industrial Court in Ibadan.&nbsp;</a>iROKING also wound up shortly after Ugwu was fired by the company.

In 2014,&nbsp;MTN&nbsp;and&nbsp;Huawei&nbsp;also collaborated for&nbsp;MTN Plus,&nbsp;which allowed users to pay subscription fees via airtime. The deal between MTN and Huawei shares certain similarities with the respective deals MTN has with MusicTime and TIDAL. However, they are not the same thing.

Around the same time,&nbsp;9Mobile&nbsp;(formerly&nbsp;Etisalat) also owned&nbsp;Cloud9,&nbsp;a music streaming platform in partnership with&nbsp;Timwe Group.&nbsp;But Cloud9 and MTN Plus have since gone under - at least, to the public eye and on that model, they have.&nbsp;

But since Spotify became officially unavailable in Nigeria, this is the first time it will be coming back to Nigeria.

<h2>Why was Spotify away for so long?&nbsp;</h2>

Spotify has been available in South Africa for a few years. Initially, it was thought that the struggles of music streaming in Nigeria was the sole reason why Spotify remained unavailable in the country while Apple and Deezer made inroads into the country.

After all, its cheaper student plan costs $4.99 or - per current exchange rate - about N2000 monthly. It’s main plan costs $9.99 or - per current exchange rate - about N4000 per month. But reports have claimed that while the struggles of streaming played a role, the major reason why Spotify stayed away was due to Nigerian laws.

One of those laws specifies that foreign companies could only take their revenue out of the country in Naira, not in any foreign country. The problem with that for any foreign company is that it would be operating against the dollar - arguably the most powerful currency in the world.

The dollar is one of the determinants of oil prices amongst other major things in the world. But while Spotify was away, a few Nigerians still used the service with the aid of VPN. A few IJGBs also accessed the service with their foreign bank accounts and ‘unrouted’ mobile devices.

<h2>Spotify and Nigeria 2021: What does it mean?&nbsp;</h2>

First off, it means that Spotify is ready to throw its hat into a really wide ring. If everybody else is in Nigeria, it could be doing itself a disservice by further staying away from a country of 200 million people, with a myriad of problems which could become multi-billion dollar companies.

2021 will also see&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/facebook-to-open-an-office-in-nigeria-some-sides-to-the-conversation-report/ss9hv14">Facebook&nbsp;open a Nigerian office.</a>

Secondly, it means that the Nigerian music industry is in maturation. This year, the lockdown helped create a lot of platforms and solutions while the practitioners in the industry are now more visible. What remains to be seen is how much Spotify will charge users and its solution to the legal troubles that kept it away for a long time.

More likely than not is the idea that it will reduce its fees for its Nigerian users like TIDAL did. In 2019, the idea of something rumored to be called, ‘Spotify Beta’ flew around. The idea was said to be a Spotify service with reduced fees and limited features.

Yes, some of these companies will pack up and leave. But the few of them who thrive will really thrive. In particular, Spotify has shown a doggedness in a game where it struggled to break even for a number of years.

<h2>Benefits of Spotify to the ecosystem</h2>

By far, Spotify is the best music streaming service in the world. It is like YouTube Music on speedballing. Its UI/UX is amazing and its playlists are the best in the world. Two of its playlists,&nbsp;<a href="https://trapital.co/2019/08/08/why-spotifys-rapcaviar-playlist-cant-be-matched/">Rap Caviar</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/10/arts/music/hyperpop-spotify.html">Hyperpop&nbsp;</a>have single handedly launched a few careers. Rap Caviar alone has 13 million subscribers.

The entrance of Spotify will boost the wider Nigerian economy and present an opportunity for some high-paying jobs to a number of people who will be charged with creating something special.

Of course, after the early bubble, the company will face a reality check like every other foreign company, but the future of Nigerian music looks really bright so there’s nothing to be overly worried about.

ALSO READ:<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/bi/tech/a-music-artist-says-apple-music-pays-her-4-times-what-spotify-does-per-stream-and-it/xrj3w11">&nbsp;In 2019, Apple Music paid Zoe Keating four times more than Spotify despite having more streams on Spotify</a>

The entrance of Spotify into the Nigerian ecosystem will likely impact podcasting. Companies like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.visualaudiotimes.com/">Visual Audio Times</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://soundcloud.com/aristokratrecords">Aristokrat</a>&nbsp;are podcast networks with some valuable assets like&nbsp;234 Essential, A Music In Time, I Said What I Said&nbsp;and more. Spotify will be interested in podcasts as it seeks to dominate the audio experience ecosystem.

It will also hand out bags for original content formats. We are also likely to see high-priced buy-outs of African content platforms, distribution companies and streaming platforms between 2021 and 2025&nbsp;

Its ad-supported interface will also mean two things;

<ol><li>A unique opportunity to attract users.</li><li>A unique opportunity to get some ad revenue with its massive brand equity.&nbsp;</li></ol>

UPDATE: On February 21, 2021, Spotify expanded operations into 80 countries across the world including Nigeria and Ghana. Its pricing was reduced and similar to Apple Music’s and YouTube Music’s pricing.

While Apple Music has a student plan of N500, Spotify’s student plan is N450. Instead of a ‘Spotify Beta,’ Spotify has something called ‘Spotify Lite’ that reduces data consumption. The freemium model of Spotify is also aided by ads.

Like&nbsp;Deezer,&nbsp;the audio quality on the freemium size is also significantly lower.

Next stop for African entertainment looks set to be Amazon. Already,&nbsp;Amazon Music&nbsp;charges the least subscription fees in America.

A large part of this article was culled from a Listen Africa article, that was published in November 2020.

Here is a history of the rise of music streaming in Nigeria and a breakdown of  features and strategies. (Spotify)

Spotify becomes the 12th music streaming platform in Nigeria. Overall, it will become the 15th music streaming/download platform that Nigerians use one way or another

Here is a history of the rise of music streaming in Nigeria and a breakdown of  features and strategies

<h1>On February 13, 2021, Nigerian singer, Joeboy will be on Cuppy's Apple Music Radio show, 'Africa Now.' He will discuss his new album, 'Somewhere Between Beauty and Magic,' why the album has no features and his plans for a deluxe. </h1>

As regards the lack of features on his album, Joeboy says, "I really, really wanted two of my favorite artists on the album, but I couldn't get their verses on time. So by the time they submitted their verses, it was too late to actually add it to the album."

ALSO READ: <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/review-joeboy-somewhere-between-beauty-and-magic-album/99qrxdx">Joeboy - Somewhere Between Beauty and Magic [ALBUM REVIEW]</a>

When asked who these two artists are, he says, "Oh, okay. Part of my favorite artists are definitely Simi and WurlD. So the deluxe version is coming out in a couple of months, the deluxe version of the album. So those features are definitely going to be on it."

Joeboy says, "I&nbsp;remember the whole idea behind the album is love, love is beautiful and magical. So, we're speaking, and I'm like, "Yo. I think we should name it&nbsp;‘Beauty and magic.’&nbsp;" We're like, "No, that's just straightforward.

"Maybe&nbsp;‘Somewhere between beauty and magic.’&nbsp;" And it kind of stuck. I think the album title is really, really catchy. Once you get that title, it just was like, "Yo, let me check this out. What this album was about?”

Joeboy also says that he wants to be humble, as much as possible.

Joeboy releases 14-track debut album, 'Somewhere Between Beauty and Magic.' (emPawa/Banku)

Joeboy also says that he wants to be humble, as much as possible.

Joeboy speaks on why his album had no features, says Simi and Wurld will feature on deluxe

<h1>On February 10, 2021, news broke that 'Made In Lagos,' Wizkid's impactful fourth album and fifth body of work hit 100 million streams on Apple Music. </h1>

The astonishing part is that the album hit the milestone in 103 days. The news was broken by dedicated Wizkid account, WizkidNews on Instagram. By doing this, <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/wizkid-made-in-lagos-album-review/8cpg1kd">Made In Lagos</a> is only behind <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/wizkid-what-is-the-impact-of-sounds-from-the-other-side-a-year-after/cc0tvs4">Sounds From The Other Side</a> as Wizkid's most-streamed album on Apple Music.

Since release, Wizkid has released two additional videos to <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/wizkid-featuring-her-smile-video/szhsg3t">'Smile,</a>' which was a promotional single for the album. Currently, he's working on <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/wizkid-and-tems-are-working-on-the-music-video-for-essence/78lh43s.amp">the visuals for 'Essence' </a>which features fellow Sony act, Tems.

<h3>As of February 10, 2021, here are Wizkid's most-streamed albums on Apple Music;</h3>

Superstar - 18, 583, 677

<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/wizkid-soundman-vol-1-ep-review/nq1w7r6">Soundman Vol. 1 </a>- 24, 342, 667

<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/pulse-album-review-ayo-joy-wizkid/809g7rl">Ayo</a> - 35, 373, 936

Made In Lagos - 100, 394, 571

Sounds From The Other Side - 111, 720, 574

Cover art of Wizkids 14 track studio album Made In Lagosb [Premium Times]

By doing this, <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/wizkid-made-in-lagos-album-review/8cpg1kd">Made In Lagos</a> is only behind <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/wizkid-what-is-the-impact-of-sounds-from-the-other-side-a-year-after/cc0tvs4">Sounds From The Other Side</a> as Wizkid's most-streamed album on Apple Music.

Wizkid's 'Made In Lagos' hits 100 million streams in 103 days on Apple Music

<h1>Africa’s bustling and bubbling Dance &amp; Electronic music scene has become a global player over the last few decades and Apple Music is on a mission to spotlight and elevate the work of the DJs, producers and artists in this space.&nbsp;</h1>

“Apple Music has been a long term supporter of the incredible DJs, artists and producers within the Dance and Electronic music community in Africa and we’re very excited about the launch of&nbsp;Isgubhu. Our regional teams are true advocates for the culture and we’re committed to continuing to connect artists to a global audience,” says Stephen Campbell, Apple Music’s Global Head of Dance and Electronic music.&nbsp;

<a href="http://apple.co/Isgubhu">Isgubhu</a>, a Zulu word for&nbsp;beat&nbsp;is used to refer to a banging song, pays homage to an evergreen set of genres and the African artists who have played a pivotal role in shaping the Dance and Electronic scene across the world from South African maestros like Black Coffee, Prince Kaybee, Black Motion and DJ Lag,&nbsp;Kenyan producers Euggy and Slikback to Uganda’s prolific group Nihiloxica.

Several sub-genres will live under the banner of&nbsp;Isgubhu&nbsp;including&nbsp;Gqom, Amapiano, Kwaito, Mzansi House, Deep House and Shangaan Electro, as well as a dedicated section for Essential Albums that will highlight seminal African Dance and Electronic albums for easy discovery.

Isgubhu&nbsp;will also house a collection of playlists including&nbsp;Spotlight On:&nbsp;- a focus on boutique African dance &amp; electronic labels like Soul Candi, House Afrika, Stay True Sounds and Uganda’s Hakuna Kulala &amp; Nyege Nyege Tapes),&nbsp;Isgubhu Voices&nbsp;-&nbsp;a focus on the best Dance and Electronic tracks that feature vocals, and an overarching genre playlist that is currently curated by Black Coffee, the first Isgubhu cover star.

"It's a true honour to be titled as the very first Isgubhu hero artist by my friends at Apple Music. To me, home is everything... the absolute core of my being. Bringing the sounds of South Africa to the world is a life-long mission I'll never stop chasing after," says Black Coffee.

There will also be a spotlight on&nbsp;Isugbhu By…&nbsp;where one handpicked artist&nbsp;will curate their favourite African Dance and Electronic albums to feature for the month. The first artist will be DJ Lag who had this to say “These are albums that shaped me. Releases like Big Nuz's 'Undisputed' made me dream big about being a producer one day, I was only 14 at the time. I love South African dance music I think we have a vibrant scene that keeps regenerating and reinventing itself every few years. Kwaito, Afro House, Gqom, Amapiano are movements here, not only music genres.”

Isgubhu will also include a selection of exclusive DJ mixes from the continent’s hottest DJs including: DJ Zinhle, Caiiro, Kabza De Small, Kyle Watson, Stiff Pap, DBN Gogo, Da Capo, Gina Jeanz,&nbsp;and more.&nbsp;

"Apple Music has always shown great interest in my labels and the independent music they showcase from incredibly talented artists around South Africa. The support received from Apple Music really goes a long way in this day and age when non-commercial music has to compete with Top 40 worldwide hits on global playlists.

"Thank you for always making it about the music and supporting Stay True Sounds &amp; STY TRU BTS and their artists to release homegrown independent music to the world," says Kid Fonque (Stay True Sounds founder)

“As an independent artist it’s so rarely possible to get your music on most playlists and in my case it was different as Apple Music showed me love and support on my album&nbsp;Agora&nbsp;which got playlisted on a couple of platforms, in addition I got a rare opportunity to do the One Mix which has been so far one of my highlights of 2020.

"I am so excited about the Isgubhu campaign taking my music to a global audience which will indeed expose our music in South Africa to the global market," says Caiiro.&nbsp;

Apple Music launches Isgubhu, the definitive home of Africa’s Dance and Electronic music. (Apple Music)

Isgubhu&nbsp;will also house a collection of playlists.

Apple Music launches Isgubhu, the definitive home of Africa’s Dance and Electronic music

<h1>On Sunday, January 17, 2021, Marlian Music artist, Zinoleesky joined Cuppy on Africa Now Radio on Apple Music Radio via Apple Music. The episode will also be the first to be aired on Cool FM, as part of the newly announced deal. </h1>

ALSO READ: <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/apple-music-radios-deal-with-cool-fm-is-the-third-step-in-a-long-play/drfrqxd">Here is why Apple Music’s deal with Cool FM is an interesting third step in a long play</a>

During the show, he talks about his journey and working with his label boss, Naira Marley. On working with Marley, he says that, "We have some projects going on,&nbsp;going on, going on, and then I'm on my&nbsp;own."

He also speaks about what <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/naira-marley-announces-new-label-marlian-records-signs-four-artists/290z57c">signing to Marlian Records</a> means to him, "Being signed&nbsp;to Marlian Music is, trust me, an experience like no other. Because&nbsp;Naira Marley&nbsp;doesn't&nbsp;take us an artist, this is like his brother, or his brother like&nbsp;his family. So, you know it's a&nbsp;family thing, he's a very intellectual person&nbsp;that looks at all angles, spiritually every&nbsp;angle left, morally. I think I'm in&nbsp;a perfect place, perfect place, and I'm very happy I&nbsp;made that decision.”

Recently he released his impressive debut EP, <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/review-zinoleesky-chrome-eccentric-ep/l286bes">Chrome Eccentric</a>. He tells Cuppy about the inspiration behind that titled, "There's this game I play, GTA... There's a car in the game that has this&nbsp;chrome color I like. I was in love with that car."

'Chrome Eccentric' produced the buzzing single 'Kilofeshe.' You can play the EP below;

Zinoleesky talks about working with Naira Marley and new EP, 'Chrome Eccentric.' (Apple Music)

During the show, he talks about his journey and working with his label boss, Naira Marley.

Zinoleesky talks about working with Naira Marley and new EP, 'Chrome Eccentric'

<h1>On January 14, 2021, Apple Music and Cool FM announced a content partnership that allows Cool FM to syndicate two Apple Music shows; Rap Life Radio by broadcast OG and Global Editorial Head of Hip-Hop and R&amp;B, Ebro Darden and Africa Now Radio by Nigerian artist and influencer Cuppy.&nbsp;</h1>

A report by Pulse Nigeria reveals that the shows will be broadcast every Saturday and Sunday at 6pm starting on January 16 and 17, 2020 respectively. Already, Rap Life Radio is broadcast every Saturday while Africa Now Radio is broadcast every Sunday. Cuppy’s latest guest would be Marlian Music artist, Zinoleesky.&nbsp;

Zinoleesky to appear on Africa Now Radio today. (Apple Music Radio)

Once again, that move underlined Apple’s intention and awareness of where the world is headed. The future is tech-led and key to that is data and data can only be easily managed by the internet. Also key to that dynamic is market share and control - as rapped by AQ on <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/aq-gods-engineering-album-review-mi-abaga-oxlade-tomi-thomas-feature/vq1qyxl">‘No Pensions.’</a>

In Nigeria, Apple Music reportedly rose to a neck-in-neck battle with Boomplay by the end of 2020, with both companies boasting around 140,000 subscribers each.&nbsp;In Q2 2020, Apple Music made a clear statement of intent by expanding to 37 African countries while offering a six-month trial period, upon registration.

However, only the company with a core understanding of consumer behaviour, demographics and consumer interaction will control the future of the Nigerian - and the larger African - dysfunctional music/entertainment markets.&nbsp;

Transsion already laid down the gauntlet by controlling the phone market in Africa with phones that offer important features like better battery life, great processors and relative durability at cheaper rates. In 2018, the company sold over 120 million phones in Africa where 90% of the smartphone market is Android users.&nbsp;&nbsp;

This helped the company to have a manufacturing plant in Ethiopia and launch Boomplay, a music streaming service. Apple looks quite far behind Transsion and Boomplay on brand equity, but the war is far from over.&nbsp;

Nigeria is the most populous African country and therein lies potential. This deal with Cool&nbsp;FM will likely be the first in a larger play at understanding consumer behaviour, demographics and consumer interaction.&nbsp;

Cool FM, a subsidiary of Steam Broadcasting Communications is one of the largest radio networks in Nigeria. It broadcasts in four states, across demographics and languages with different consumer behaviour and different types of interaction. Cool FM’s parent company also runs the internet original content platform, Clout.&nbsp;

In 2017, Geopoll reported that Cool FM controlled a whopping 8% of the Nigerian radio audience.&nbsp;

On August 18, 2020, Apple Music announced an online radio entity called Apple Music Radio. During the announcement, Beats 1 became Apple Music 1 while other channels like Apple Music Hits, Apple Music Country and a number channels were introduced.&nbsp;

Apple Music 1 is led by cornerstone presenters Zane Lowe, Ebro Darden, Brooke Reese, Dotty, Hanuman Welch, Matt Wilkinson, Nadeska, Rebecca Judd, Cuppy and Travis Mills.

ALSO READ: <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/clubhouse-app-creators-intent-vs-the-vanity-of-human-usage/9d7k492">&nbsp;JoinClubhouse: Creator’s intent vs. the vanity of human usage</a>

Interestingly, the new Apple Music Radio also came with direct listening interfaces to Nigerian radio stations like Cool FM and Beat FM as well as other stations across the world. It was Apple’s first major announcement of its intentions for radio.

This is important because as much as the internet is now pivotal to humanity, offline entities like radio still have as much power.&nbsp;

In Nigeria, around 60-70 million Nigerians download music, but over 75% of Nigeria listens to radio. Radio also remains the major ground for music consumption in Nigeria. You can check analysis on <a href="https://turntablecharts.com/">TurnTable Charts </a>for more info.&nbsp;A lot of reports make it known that radio remains the primary source of music consumption in Nigeria.

During a 2019 conversation with The Breakfast Club, Label Exec and UnitedMasters Founder, Steve Stoute said, “Radio will never be obsolete, radio will just need to be consumed in different formats” and he was telling the truth.&nbsp;

Apple knows that. Internet radio like Apple Music Radio, which is integrated into the Apple Music app is some years of genuine acceptance. Apple Music itself is struggling to gain subscribers in Africa’s most populous nation due to poverty, high internet access costs and a habit of avoiding payment for online service.&nbsp;

Yet, radio culture is imperative to Apple’s quest to control the music market in Africa and the world at large. If you can understand and interpret the Nigerian interaction with radio, it could do wonders for Apple Music and its pricing strategy, its UI/UX, algorithm - which is average at the moment and so forth. It could also help the company to create better Africa-centric products.&nbsp;

<h2>Is there a precedent for this?&nbsp;</h2>

Yes. On April 28, 2003, Apple launched iTunes Store and a little later, it struck a deal with Best Buy. Best Buy, then a high flier, was the first third-party retail seller of Apple's iPhone.

On February 26, 2008, the iTunes Store surpassed Best Buy to become the second-largest music vendor in the US behind Walmart. It then became number one on April 3, 2008.&nbsp;

By March 2012, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/03/30/its-death-by-apple-for-best-buy/?sh=5eca0a3024ae">Nigam Arora reported for Forbes</a> that, “Apple is sucking profits out of Best Buy.&nbsp;Best Buy does not talk about the subject because it needs its contract with Apple to drive traffic to its stores even though margins on Apple products are slim…

“For years, Best Buy relied on music CDs and DVDs to drive traffic to its stores.&nbsp;The most prominent and the largest amount of floor space used to be dedicated to CDs.&nbsp;Not only were CDs profitable, they helped Best Buy sell all kinds of other electronics to routine CD buyers.

“Then iPods and iTunes killed the CD business.For a while, Best Buy was driving significant profits from high-end phones.&nbsp;Then along came the iPhone. Best Buy had lower margins on iPhone. iPhone also killed momentum at Research In Motion (RIMM), whose products were helpful to Best Buy.

“Further battering Best Buy was the spread of Apple stores. Apple stores were a thing of beauty, more fun and the staff was knowledgeable in comparison to Best Buy stores.”

In September 2014, Apple also acquired Beats Electronics for $3 billion. While it felt like a glamorous acquisition at the time, it was about the Beats Music Subscription Service. Around a year after acquisition, Beats morphed into Apple Music.&nbsp;

In April 2020, Michael Simon argued that, “Over the years, Apple Music has basically extinguished any trace of the soul of Beats Music…

"Apple Music is most definitely a product for Apple users. Yes, there’s an Android version, but Apple doesn’t market Apple Music to buyers of the original Beats in any way. In fact, you won’t even find a single mention of it on the Beats by Dre site.”

In his spectacular article, which offers a relatively veritable addition to the foregoing, Simon breaks down Apple’s continued <a href="https://www.macworld.com/article/3537448/apple-kill-beats.html">quest to ‘erase’ Beats.</a>

Bottomline is that Apple offers mutually beneficial situations and deals before moving to dominate. It definitely looks like radio is key to dominating the African music/entertainment market.&nbsp;

Apple isn’t the monster. In fact, Apple is brilliant for the way it goes about things. These acts might seem ethically disturbing, but they are more than fair in the business world.&nbsp;

<h2>Why is the Nigerian music market important?&nbsp;</h2>

As noted earlier, Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country with 200 million people, and that is currency. Statistica reports that over half of the Nigerian population is under 19 years old. That's a lot of tech-savvy people, with a strong attraction to social media. Their relationship with payment is also projected to be different.

While Nigerian music is currently faced with a lot of structural problems, internet entities will be key to solving a lot of those problems. From the look of things, Apple Music wants to be at the forefront of that battle.&nbsp;

In 2020, Apple Music surpassed Spotify in terms of paid subscribers in the US and its subscriber base keeps growing. Platoon is helping Apple to gather catalogue - a front which currently makes the company subservient to major labels, who own the extensive discographies.

Apple Music also continues to make strides on the publishing and licensing frontiers with deals with artists like Chance The Rapper. In 2019, it hired Lindsay Rothschild, the former head of songwriter and publisher relations at YouTube as Head of Creative Services and Music Publishing for North America.

At this time, the aim is for internet entities to be a one-stop shop for production, recording, publishing, distribution, sale, aggregation and broadcast of the music as well as integrated consumer interaction and payment points. In essence, Apple Music - and Spotify - aim to become record labels and then some.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/our-future-record-companies-vs-streaming-platforms-vs-publishing-companies-vs-digital/vb5f8xm">In a 2020 article </a>about the global state of music, this writer enthused that, “In the old days, record labels had a lot of power. To get music out, they indirectly controlled all the four fronts of music - records, publishing, distribution channels and points of sale.

"The records were coming from them, so they had a leverage on what goes where and how it gets there - down to the trucking companies that used to transport records in the 70’s.

"With the advent of the internet, those powers have been slashed. They still very much have the power in catalogue and the origin of records because most artists are signed to majors or their affiliates, but they now split those powers with streaming platforms who are now a one-stop shop for records, publishing, distribution - to a little extent - and points of sale.”

When Apple Music Radio launched, one thing that really stood out was the influencer-led strategy to certain shows.&nbsp;

Public figures like Aitch, Kerwin Frost, HAIM, Lady Gaga, Nile Rodgers, Travis Scott, Young M.A and many more joined old shows by public figures like Action Bronson, Billie Eilish, Elton John, Joe Kay, Lil Wayne, Frank Ocean, Vince Staples, and The Weeknd.&nbsp;

This marked the maturation of shows like the Drake-branded OVO Radio and Nicki Minaj-led Queen Radio. After what Tory Lanez achieved with Quarantine Radio during the lockdown became a reality, this model became more imperative. It showed how easily public figures transition into influencers - powerful figures in today’s tech-led world.&nbsp;

In the current world, <a href="https://www.ion.co/millennials-listen-social-media-creators-celebrities">70% of teenage YouTube subscribers</a> say they relate to YouTube creators more than traditional celebrities and <a href="https://www.ion.co/millennials-listen-social-media-creators-celebrities">40% of millennials believe their favorite creators understand them better than their friends.</a> Tory Lanez proved that celebrities can move like creator’s and it means a jackpot for Apple Music.&nbsp;

In five to 10 years, Nigeria and the rest of Africa will likely see internet radio in a more attractive form. It’s a long game, but it has definitely started. Within the next five years alone, Apple will poach a number of popular Nigerian OAPs.&nbsp;

However, this doesn’t mean that radio will simply turn over and die. Traditional radio stations will just have to create veritable internet alternatives like internet stations and podcasts to compete in the longterm.&nbsp;

Send the word out; Apple - Music - is coming for Nigeria/Africa… big time!

Cool FM to syndicate Apple Music's Rap Life Radio & Africa Now Radio

In Nigeria, around 60-70 million Nigerians download music, but over 75% of Nigeria listens to and consumes music via radio.

Here is why Apple Music’s deal with Cool FM is an interesting third step in a long play [Pulse Editor’s Comment]

<h1>On December 3, 2020, Apple Music released its year-end lists and chart highlights. The list also includes top Shazam songs, for the music search application which Apple acquired some months ago. </h1>

Earlier this year, Shazam launched a <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/stream-new-shazam-naija-risers-playlist-on-apple-music/rd61j0f">Naija Risers Playlist</a> on Apple Music and also <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/shazam-surpasses-200-million-monthly-active-users-around-the-world/7s46rh8#:~:text=On%20November%2017%2C%202020%2C%20it,the%20microphone%20on%20the%20device.">surpassed 200 million global users</a> in 2020.

<h2>Without further ado, here are the top 10 songs Nigerians shazamed in 2020;</h2>

2.) Master KG featuring Nomcebo Zikode - Jerusalema

6.) DJ Neptune, Joeboy &amp; Mr Eazi - Nobody

<h2>Here are other year-end chart highlights from Apple Music;</h2>

-&nbsp;Top Song of 2020: The Box - Roddy Ricch

-&nbsp;Top Album: Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial -&nbsp;Roddy Ricch

-&nbsp;Top Lyrics: WAP (feat. Megan Thee Stallion) - Cardi B

-&nbsp;Top Shazamed Song: Dance Monkey - Tones And I

Apple Music

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Wizkid's 'Made In Lagos' hits 100 million streams in 103 days on Apple Music

Apple Music launches Isgubhu, the definitive home of Africa’s Dance and Electronic music

Zinoleesky talks about working with Naira Marley and new EP, 'Chrome Eccentric'

Here is why Apple Music’s deal with Cool FM is an interesting third step in a long play [Pulse Editor’s Comment]

Omah Lay's 'Bad Influence' tops list of Nigerian songs on Shazam

Shazam launches new 'Naija Risers Playlist' on Apple Music

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Artists on Tiktok can distribute their songs on Spotify and Apple Music

Apple Music becomes exclusive music partner for 'Verzuz' Battle Series

TIDAL to officially launch in Nigeria [Pulse Exclusive]

Omah Lay named the inaugural face of 'Africa Rising' artist program by Apple Music

Rema named Apple Up Next Artist

Burna Boy, Davido dominate top 10 most played songs of 2019 in sub-saharan Africa