In today’s CMU Daily: African streaming service Boomplay has lost access to Sony Music’s catalogue, seemingly in a dispute over unpaid royalties. It raises concerns about the the financial position of Boomplay, which is a key streaming service in a number of African markets

Also today: The UK government told the live sector last month that it needed to get a ticket levy to support grassroots shows up and running “as soon as possible”. The Culture Minister Chris Bryant now says the government wants “tangible progress” early next year, and has convened a meeting of live industry stakeholders before Christmas to get things moving

Plus: Nation Broadcasting, one of the smaller radio groups in the UK, is ditching four of its FM frequencies, in a sign that an increasing number of broadcasters will leave FM as consumption continues to shift to DAB and online, although the UK government has said radio stations will continue to broadcast on FM until at least 2030

CMU Approved: KILIMANJARO

Sony pulls catalogue from Boomplay as sources claim streaming platform has not paid royalties since April 2023

Sony Music has pulled its catalogue from Boomplay, a leading music streaming service in a number of African markets, seemingly as a result of the platform not making royalty payments that are due to the major label. The move also affects music distributed by The Orchard and AWAL, Sony’s label services and artist direct distribution arms.

Nigerian trade publication TurnTable Charts says that, as a result of Sony pulling its catalogue from the service, catalogue and new releases from high profile artists including Davido, Wizkid and Loyjay are now unavailable on Boomplay.

The news has sparked concerns about the financial position of Boomplay, which raised a $20 million series A investment round in 2019, backed by a group of Chinese investors, including Shenzen’s Maison Capital, Beijing-based Seas Capital, and Yunshi Capital, which operates out of Chengdu.

Since then Boomplay has grown fast, with the company claiming over 100 million monthly active users. Data from mobile app intelligence platform Appfigures.com shows nearly 5 million downloads over the past year, with substantial numbers of those coming from non-African countries including India, Pakistan and the Philippines, as well as the US, UK and Germany.

As a key local platform for African countries, Boomplay has played an important role in supporting local talent and the emerging local industry in the markets where it operates, as well as giving a local platform for artists from the African diaspora, including global Afrobeats superstars. TurnTable notes that, if Boomplay loses its partnerships with the global music companies, that could “stifle opportunities for local talent to gain international exposure”.

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Culture Minister demands “tangible progress” from live music industry on ticket levy, convenes meeting of stakeholders

The UK government has clarified, a little, the timeline for the live music industry to put in place a voluntary ticket levy scheme to support grassroots venues and shows, having previously said it wants the levy to “come into effect as soon as possible for concerts in 2025”.

In a new letter to Parliament’s culture select committee, culture minister Chris Bryant writes, “we want to see tangible progress across the music industry by the first quarter of 2025”. To help make that happen, the government is convening a meeting of live music industry representatives next week, before the Christmas break.

Culture committee Chair Caroline Dinenage MP has welcomed that timeline, saying it should “help focus the minds of the big players in the music industry on the urgency of taking action to support our grassroots music sector”, and adding that “the ball is now very firmly in their court and we will continue to keep a very close eye on progress”.

The select committee published a report in May calling on the industry to set up a levy system with a small charge applied to tickets for arena and stadium level shows to generate funds to support venues, promoters and artists operating at the grassroots. That levy proposal followed an earlier inquiry in which MPs were told that, while the upper end of live music has fully bounced back since the pandemic, the grassroots end of the sector is in crisis.

The government formally responded to the select committee report last month, with a statement that endorsed the planned levy system, saying that the industry should get something up and running “as soon as possible for concerts in 2025”, adding that if that didn't happen ministers would use their “convening powers” to kickstart the process. The select committee then asked for a little more clarity as to what “as soon as possible” meant.

FM radio shutdown looms closer as stations begin handing back licences as DAB audiences grow

Local radio company Nation Broadcasting has abandoned two of its UK FM licences in Scotland and will switch off two of its FM transmitters in Wales next year. The broadcaster has told UK media regulator OfCom - which handles radio licensing - that it expects that its two affected services, Nation Radio Scotland and Radio Pembrokeshire, will see DAB listeners overtake FM audiences at some point during the next licensing period.

While there are still a large number of commercial FM stations broadcasting in the UK - 246 according to OfCom’s licensing portal - shifting consumption has made FM less important than it once was. With many cars now coming with DAB radios installed as standard, many people are naturally shifting to DAB stations when on the go, while at-home radio listening is increasingly app-based, via services like BBC Sounds, TuneIn’s radio aggregator, or Global’s Global Player.

With a broadcaster now handing back licences as that shift continues, it’s likely that the number of radio stations broadcasting on FM will decline over the next few years, following a trend already seen elsewhere in Europe. Norway turned off FM entirely in 2017 and Switzerland is in the process of doing the same right now.

The two FM licences Nation has already handed back to OfCom were used by its Nation Radio Scotland service in Helensburgh and Dumbarton. The station still broadcasts on FM in Glasgow and West Central Scotland, and on DAB across all of Central Scotland.

🎧 Approved: KILIMANJARO

London-based Zambian-Scottish DJ and producer KILIMANJARO thrives at the intersection of weight and bounce, crafting beats that pulse with Afro-centric rhythms and UK club textures.

Rooted in his Zambian heritage and formative years playing in bands across Scotland, KILIMANJARO brings a distinct, multidimensional depth to the club. Rather than floating on the surface, his sound dives deep, showing a sharp understanding that music designed to move bodies doesn’t have to sacrifice substance.

Anchored by percussive energy, his latest single, ‘The Seeker’, overflows with dark, atmospheric synth patterns interspersed with his hypnotic vocals.

🎧 Watch the video for ‘The Seeker’ here