Mdundo, UMG Announce Licensing Agreement For Key African Markets

Mdundo, Universal Music Group Announce Licensing Agreement For Key African Markets

Mdundo.com A/S, one of Africa’s leading music services, has announced that it has reached an agreement with Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, to license the service across key African territories.

Under this new licensing agreement, Universal Music Group and Mdundo.com will strengthen Mdundo’s music offering for fans by providing them access to the world’s most comprehensive music catalog, as well as further increasing Universal Music Africa’s (UMA’s) reach within the African market in line with Mdundo’s ambitions for rapid market growth across the continent.

Mdundo CEO, Martin Møller Nielsen explained, “Our focus is to provide a relevant service to the hundreds of millions of potential users in Africa that are getting online. In recent years, Mdundo.com has reported explosive growth, from 5 million monthly users in June 2020 to an expected 19-20 million monthly active users in June 2022 and a +225% growth in revenue for the year ending June 2022. ”

“As the leading music company globally, we are extremely pleased to work with Universal Music within Africa towards our vision of providing Africa with an easy and legal solution to accessing music that fits the local consumers”.

Mdundo’s growth has primarily been achieved in Nigeria, with additional growth in Tanzania, Kenya, and Ghana.

Also Read: Mdundo Strategy Update

The music service has primarily been focusing on securing music rights for the local African catalogs and has in the last year announced partnerships with leading telecommunication companies, Vodacom Tanzania, MTN Nigeria, and Airtel Nigeria.

Over the past decade, UMA has expanded and grown its reach on the continent and has two established regional headquarters facilities in Africa – in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire – with additional offices in Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon, Kenya, and Morocco.

UMG has also launched a series of labels dedicated to supporting the continent’s rich talents, including Def Jam Africa, Blue Note Africa, and Motown Gospel Africa.

UMG is committed to helping build out the continent’s entire music ecosystem, helping artists succeed locally and regionally, whilst also introducing African music culture and content to new audiences around the world.

Ulrik Cahn, UMG’s Executive Vice President for Africa, the Middle East, and Asia (AMEA) region said, “Martin and his team have built an impressive platform for African artists, and we look forward to working together to expand the footprint for our African and international talent within the continent.”

Sipho Dlamini, CEO of Universal Music South Africa & Sub-Saharan Africa, “We welcome Mdundo as a partner, and are excited for more fans across Africa to have greater access to some of Africa’s most exciting musical talent, as well as UMG’s unrivaled catalog of international artists.”

Universal Music Group is a platform that has existed to shape culture through the power of artistry. UMG is the world leader in music-based entertainment, with a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising, and audio-visual content.

Mdundo’s Milestones

In the last few years, Mdundo has had a positive growth trajectory. Some of the great milestones include its partnership initiated with anti-piracy specialist AudioLock to remove illegally hosted African songs from websites across the world.

Earlier, in December 2019, Mdundo also partnered with Opera to offer Opera Mini users a chance for free, to listen to and download their favorite music from the most recognized artists in Africa.

The company listed its shares on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market Denmark following an oversubscribed pre-sale period that raised DKK40 million (US$6.4 million), in a bid to solidify its leading position in the pan-African music market.

Launched in 2014, Mdundo provides access to all the continent’s favorite music across15 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, with over 20 million monthly downloads and streams via its website and app. Since its inception, Mdundo has been a member of Nairobi Garage and we are happy to see them make such huge milestones in the music industry.

Featuring the most comprehensive catalog of recordings and songs across every musical genre, UMG identifies and develops artists and produces and distributes the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music in the world.

Committed to artistry, innovation, and entrepreneurship, UMG fosters the development of services, platforms, and business models in order to broaden artistic and commercial opportunities for our artists and create new experiences for fans.