Nigerian radio collaborates with Apple Music

As African music increases its reach across the globe, with such establishments as Sony Music Entertainment and Jay-Z’s Tidal taking notice, Apple Music has decided to come in. A partnership with Megalectrics, owner of Beat FM, Classic FM and Naija FM, will see the Lagos based company curate music for Apple Radio.

The curation of content by Megalectrics takes the form of playlists consisting of Nigeria’s diverse musical outpouring and music from the continent. It is expected that the curated songs will tilt towards the legendary and the currently popular.

It will be one more avenue for the celebration of a music scene that has only recently begin to enjoy an unprecedented spread across cultures both in Africa and the world.

According to MD Megalectrics, Chris Ubosi, the company is “very excited to be joining Apple Music as a featured curator, reinforcing our bouquet of stations as the leading music tastemakers in Africa and beyond.  It also means that users worldwide can discover the vibrant African music genres that are increasingly being consumed by Africans.”

To give users more value, Megalectrics will shape its playlists based on some existing music plans already on the stations, with each tailored to the specific station’s own focus. Thus each of Beat FM, Classic FM as well as Naija FM will receive its own playlist on Apple Music. 

Apple's move into a direct partnership with a stakeholder involved in the African music industry is set to go a long way into solving some of the initial problems the global giant may have had with the curating of African music.