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Business News Deals Digital Labels & Publishers
Audiomack expands licensing deal with Universal
By Andy Malt | Published on Thursday 23 June 2022
Streaming service Audiomack has expanded its licensing agreement with Universal Music, with a particular focus on artists and fans in African markets.
The new deal will bring a curated selection of tracks from the major label’s catalogue to the platform in sixteen African countries – including Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt – as well as Canada and the UK. Premium Audiomack subscribers in Africa will also get access to the full UMG catalogue. A previous agreement between Audiomack and the major only covered the US.
“Millions of listeners across Africa, the UK and Canada use Audiomack every day”, says the company’s CEO Dave Macli. “Our expanded partnership with UMG helps artists in these regions better connect with their local fans and helps artists around the globe tap into a new audience of discovery-focused music fans”.
Sipho Dlamini – CEO for Universal Music South Africa & Sub-Saharan Africa – adds: “We are excited for more fans across Africa and beyond to have greater access to some of Africa’s most exciting musical talent, as well as UMG’s unrivalled catalogue of international superstars and releases. We welcome Audiomack as a partner and look forward to working with them to help strengthen the entire streaming ecosystem in Africa”.
The sixteen African nations covered by the deal are Algeria, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Launched in 2012, originally with a focus on mixtapes, Audiomack is credited with helping to launch the careers of rap acts like Migos and Chance The Rapper. It has always had a particular focus on music discovery, and also added some interesting direct-to-fan tools last year.
The company signed a licensing deal with Warner Music in 2019, which was expanded the following year. It signed up both Universal and Sony Music last year.
