Tuned Global expands digital partnerships across Africa

These include deals with Ethiopian music and podcast streamer Sewasew by adding the Universal Music Group catalogue to the service and by supporting the launch of their religious streaming service. These additions complement existing collaborations with distro and label services company Tieme Music (Ghana) and streaming app WAW Muzik (Ivory Coast). The company has also started working with Nigerian music streaming app Jumamo to expedite its launch plans.

“The energy and innovation in African markets are inspiring, and we’ve found that our partners there are looking for new ways to engage listeners, highlight local artists and solve complex technical problems,” Tuned Global managing director Con Raso said. “Every market and country are unique, and streaming services are embracing this, taking international and regional heavyweights on. They turn to us to help make sure their ideas come to market fully formed and highly functional.”

In 2022, sub-Saharan Africa emerged as the world's fastest-growing music market, with North Africa and Middle East closely following suit, driven significantly by streaming music services. Despite this growth, local services in the region face challenges such as payment and billing difficulties in markets with unbanked customers, potential connectivity and bandwidth issues affecting streaming experiences, and variations in cultural and music preferences within the same country or region. While telecommunications companies traditionally lead music service launches, the African startup scene is gaining momentum, with over $4.8 billion in venture capital investments in all African startups in 2022.

Tuned Global says it is now a crucial partner for African telecommunications companies and music services, offering essential elements like applications, APIs and backend technology, along with diverse options and strategies for streaming in Africa while addressing local challenges by providing customisable white-label turnkey apps, APIs and content services tailored to specific regional conditions.

“We’ve seen customers use everything from daily payments and vouchers to bundles in order to make the most of existing payment practices while improving performance and surfacing the right music, key differentiators in a market that’s maturing rapidly,” Raso said. “African music fans expect the same level of responsiveness and experience as listeners do in other regions, and we’re providing the technology, content and advice to let services achieve that.”

“At Jumamo, we’ve worked to create a music experience that focuses on the music and artists important to Nigerian and African music lovers, while ensuring our app works perfectly for our customers,” Jumamo director Chinedu Chukwuji said. “We’re gearing up for our launch, a day that’s come far more quickly than anticipated thanks to Tuned Global who have helped us get the right content to music fans in a smooth and seamless way.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Tuned Global and Universal Music Group to bring their extensive catalogue of music to the Ethiopian market via a service that leads the market in experience and content,” Sewasew Multimedia managing director Abraham F said. “Our work together is a testament to Ethiopia’s growing importance in the global music industry, and we look forward to strengthening and expanding Ethiopia’s music market with the support of international partners like Tuned Global and Universal Music Group.”

Tieme Music country manager Charlène Osei added: “Tuned Global has been an invaluable partner for more than a year. They enabled us to swiftly enter the Ghanaian market with a highly professional offering, right from day one. Additionally, they played a crucial role in our innovative approach to catering to our target demographic. Through an extensive survey, we uncovered that Ghanaian users primarily opt for YouTube because it’s free. The offline feature also emerged as a top priority for them when it comes to music streaming services. Thinking outside the box, we introduced a system where users could earn offline minutes by watching ads. Although this may seem straightforward, its implementation required Tuned Global’s technological expertise. It marked a distinctive approach in this market, especially when coupled with our extensive Ghanaian music catalogue.”