TuneCore partners with ‘disruptive music discovery app’ Ayoba

TuneCore says Ayoba is changing the music discovery market with its “enhanced audio player and stellar artist and playlist interface.” The service was developed by MTN-owned Simfy Africa and revamped in October following the shutdown of the Simfy Africa music streaming service in July. MTN customers are allocated free data to use the app. The low-cost service boasts more than 160 channels with over 10 million monthly active users (MAUs) globally. It enables fans to subscribe to free channels where they can access the content including curated music playlists and interactive games.

The deal could benefit TuneCore musicians whose music is distributed to Ayoba. The digital distributor says it takes approximately 48 hours for music to go live on Ayoba. The platform then pays out on a monthly basis after the typical initial two-month reporting delay with new releases.

The news comes fast on the heels of TuneCore’s recent announcement that it surpassed $2.5bn in royalty payouts to artists since 2006. The platform is also offering “additional ways for artists to earn money, including music publishing administration service and YouTube Content ID.” TuneCore creators outside of the US now represent 60% of new artists and labels due to the company’s aggressive expansion strategy. The distributor now operates in 14 countries across four continents, and its artists have racked up about 500 billion streams and 700 million downloads.

In Africa, the company officially announced a new team in February last year, led by executives Jade Leaf (South Africa) and Chioma Onuchukwu (Nigeria).

When Music In Africa spoke to Leaf before the official announcement, the exec said that there was still potential, specifically for African musicians, to generate more profits because internet penetration had not reached full capacity.

“Our situation is unique because Internet penetration is not at full capacity yet,” she said. “We suffer from power outages quite regularly in some parts of the continent, and most importantly, we have a majority of people living below the poverty line, so prioritising basic needs takes precedence over most things. I think our focus needs to be on the potential earning power as we seek to find solutions for the challenges and educate music creators, artists and music fans on the importance of online distribution versus piracy.”