Boomplay to host digital music conference in Nairobi

The event will be held at Villa Rosa Kempinski in Nairobi on 21 May.

The conference will feature various industry stakeholders, established record labels and online music distribution platforms, which will be engaged in six-panel discussions.

The topics to be discussed include Intellectual Property, Publishing and Legal Protection, Production, Digital Distribution, Music Labels, Public Relations and Branding.

“The conversations around the Kenyan music industry are constantly ongoing,” Boomplay Kenya general manager Martha Huro said. “This is our first of many forums as Boomplay Kenya and we hope the session provides more insight into how Kenya’s industry can be on par with its counterparts by providing solutions and offering industry know-how to manoeuvre this ever-changing entertainment landscape. We will have a highly interactive session with key players in the industry.”

Boomplay Kenya head of content acquisition Elizabeth Karuru echoed Huro's sentiments and urged artists to attend.

"One reason Kenyan music isn’t getting around the continent as it should is distribution,” Karuru said. “Here at Boomplay we want to solve that problem by formulating new relationships with artists and assuring the industry that we will use our networks and branches across Africa to promote Kenyan music across our platforms.”

Boomplay, which is currently available on Android, iOS and Web, has a catalogue of 5 million African songs and videos. It boasts more than 46 million users.

Last month, the streaming service received $20m in funding from Chinese private equity firm Maison Capital to help the growing platform reach more users across the continent.

It has also signed deals with Universal Music Group and Warner Music, giving its users access to an extensive catalogue of music globally.