Music from Afrobeats stars such as Davido, Wizkid, Tems, and other artists who have distribution deals with one of the world’s biggest music labels, Sony Music, have been removed from the audio streaming platform Boomplay due to late royalties payments.
Billboard reports that Sony pulled its catalog from Boomplay on Monday (Dec. 9) due to late royalties payments.
“Several other prominent labels and distributors also confirmed to Billboard on Monday that they have not received recent royalty payments from the service. Additionally, a monthly payment report released by distributor Symphonic on Dec. 2 notes that payments from Boomplay are excluded from April 2023 through September 2024 due to delays in receiving statements and/or payments from these partners.” Billboard reports.
Music In Africa has also reported that it has learned from a close source that the removal includes works by Afrobeats stars such as Davido, Wizkid, Tems, and Lojay, and tracks distributed by The Orchard and AWAL.
The news also follows last month’s revelation that Boomplay CEO Phil Choi is leaving the company after six years to join Warner Music Group.
Founded in 2015, Boomplay claims to be Africa’s leading music streaming platform. It boasts over 300 million downloads and licensing partnerships with major industry players such as Universal, Warner, and TikTok.
In recent months, Boomplay, which has a presence in Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, and Cameroon, has been cutting staff across Africa in what is understood to be a cost-cutting measure.
While the recorded music market in sub-Saharan Africa was the fastest growing in both 2023 and 2022, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), streaming platforms in Africa face significant profitability challenges, largely due to freemium models and low conversion to paid subscriptions
However, Spotify, expanding its tentacles in Africa by launching in 40 countries in 2020, including Kenya, has been gaining ground in the sub-Saharan region.
In May this year, it announced that it had paid around $17 million in royalties to Nigerian artists in 2023 and around $14 million to South African artists.