New digital distribution platform launched in Nigeria

The event featured a number of keynote speakers including entertainment lawyer Demilade Olaosun, global lead at TuneAfrique Olakunle Oladehin, and the company’s chief digital information officer, Oyenekan Ayodeji.

The speakers commented on the digital media distribution space as it concerns music: from the evolution of music distribution to the different music models currently available.

"We do see our platform as an opportunity to also collect songwriters' information and publishing details," Oladehin told Music In Africa.

The keynote speakers also highlighted the necessity of a platform such as theirs and discussed some of its benefits to stakeholders in the music industry. These include access to free universal product codes (UPCs) and international standard recording codes (ISRCs) to track songs and albums around the world, uploading the right music format and a dashboard to track various analytics. Payments in local currencies for Nigerian, Ghanaian, Kenyan and South African users can also be made.

“TuneAfrique is well on its way to causing a long-overdue shift in the way digital distribution is carried in Nigeria, and the launch is just the first of many to come,” a statement from the founders said.

The platform is designed for "emerging and established artists across Africa, its diaspora and from all around the world. It gives access to all signed-up artists to upload their music on every major digital platform worldwide, including Spotify, Deezer, Pandora, Alibaba, SoundCloud.

Holders of music rights can keep 100% of their royalties and track various analytics, charts and payments in real time. They can also control territories and platforms they choose to release their songs for download and streaming.

The entry of TuneAfrique could reduce incidents of loss of royalties globally and with respect to the proliferation of compilation records, which feature mixes of several songs. TuneAfrique promises to "collect your royalties used in any mix, remixes and music compilations".

For more information, visit the TuneAfrique website.