Global music streaming giant Spotify expands services in Africa
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The world’s most popular global audio streaming subscription service, is now available in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda as of February 23.
With a worldwide community of more than 345 million monthly active listeners, Spotify will offer a world-class audio listening and music discovery experience to listeners.
The Spotify service is available for free or with an upgrade to Spotify Premium, a subscription service that offers an ad-free music listening experience.
The company said it will launch in 39 countries on the continent. The countries are, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Capo Verde, Cameroon, Chad and Comoros.
The rest are Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya and Lesotho.
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Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe are the remaining countries.
Spotify is launching in these African countries with its unrivalled mix of features that have made it the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service, including a library of more than 70 million international and local songs, 2.2 million podcasts and over 4 billion playlists.
The platform offers everyday new music and podcast discovery, algorithmic recommendations personalised to each listener’s audio taste, and the freedom to engage Spotify across a wide range of devices and app integrations with Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Samsung, Tinder, Google Maps, Nike, and more.
“We are incredibly excited about the opportunity to bring together creators and listeners around the world.
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As we’ve expanded our international reach over the years, we’ve connected over 8 million artists with listeners across nearly every continent, putting Spotify firmly at the heart of the global audio economy,” said Alex Norström, Chief Freemium Business Officer of Spotify.
“Launching in these new markets is a key next step to fulfilling our ongoing commitment to building a truly borderless audio ecosystem.”
“African creators have always pushed boundaries, innovating and creating incredible sounds and starting from today we are giving them access and the opportunity to connect with a global audience of fans.
By bringing in a best in class product and a localized experience made for Africa, we will contribute to boosting the growth of the local streaming ecosystem,” said Phiona Okumu, Spotify Head of Music Sub-Saharan Africa.
“We hope our new listeners are going to love the revolutionary audio experience we are bringing to the rest of the continent.”
Spotify’s most-popular feature “playlists” are made for Africa
Spotify has uniquely tailored its music experience for Africa, expertly curated and updated regularly with more than 100 playlists across some of the most popular genres in the continent.
- TOP Playlists: Hot Hits Naija, Hot Hits Ghana, and more.
- Genre Playlists: Bongo Flava, Made in Kenya, Gbedu, Naija Bars, Be Lifted, (+)233 Bars, Gwarn, Asakaa, Gengetone Fire and more.
- Thematic Playlists: Paper Chase, Chill Bops, Party Dey!, Troski Rhythms, Soloku, Sound Semester, Pump It Up and more.
- ‘Starring’ playlists: This Is Tekno, This Is Yemi Alade, This Is Stonebwoy, This Is Sarkodie, This Is Sauti Sol, This Is Diamond Platnumz and more.
Listeners will also have access to Spotify’s Afro genre hub that encompasses a wide range of African music, including AmaPiano Grooves, Afropop, African Heat, Phenomenal Woman. In addition, RADAR Africa, a playlist uncovering the most exciting artists on the rise from the African continent and diaspora, is part of Spotify’s global emerging artist program.
Over and above these playlists for Africa, Spotify has a playlist for any mood and moment, with billions of creator and fan built playlists to this mix.
Spotify also offers:
- Spotify Free to listeners: To build an experience that adds value to the rich African music industry and to amplify the music experience, the Spotify app is available for free to listeners in
- Personalised music recommendations and discovery features: Spotify’s music recommendation engine allows local listeners to enjoy personalised discovery features including Daily Mix (up to six individual playlists combining your favourite tracks with new songs we think you’ll love), Release Radar (a personalised playlist of new music based on the artists you follow and listen to most, updated every Friday) and Discover Weekly (a playlist based on your unique listening habits).
- Spotify Lite: Regardless of your network connectivity, data plan, and whether or not you have the latest phone, Spotify Lite allows listeners to enjoy the full Spotify experience. Lite is a small, fast, and simplified version of our unparalleled music experience that works much like the main app. Listeners will still be able to search and play their favorite songs and artists, save them, share with others, discover new music, and enjoy personalized playlists, but with a few extra features making it ideal for older devices and operating systems.
- Play everywhere: With Spotify Connect your phone can become your universal remote for all of your listening experience.
- Spotify for Artists: The platform offers tools that help artists, managers, and labels track real-time statistics for new releases, understand their audience, connect more deeply with fans, and run their business.
Meanwhile in Ghana, listeners can upgrade to Spotify Premium for the ultimate Spotify experience for 17 GHS per month.
The Premium Family plan is available for 27 GHS for up to 6 family members living under one roof. The Spotify Premium DUO (22 GHS) is a subscription plan for two people living at the same home address, which includes Duo Mix, a regularly updated playlist made just for the two subscribers to discover audio they both love and enjoy together. Spotify Premium for Students will cost 8.5 GHS per month.
