Yahoo – AFP,
July 15, 2017
 |
| Akon, whose real name is Aliaune Badara Thiam, announced in Dakar he would become the majority shareholder in the service, describing Musik Bi as 'the platform of the future' (AFP Photo/John Muchucha) |
Dakar (AFP)
- Senegalese-American rapper Akon announced Saturday he would purchase 50
percent of African music download service Musik Bi, as the platform struggles
to gain a foothold after its launch 18 months ago.
Africa's
first home-grown platform for legal music downloads, Musik Bi launched in
Senegal in February 2016 with a mission to promote African artists, pay them
properly, and fight internet piracy.
Akon, whose
real name is Aliaune Badara Thiam, announced in Dakar he would become the
majority shareholder in the service, describing Musik Bi as "the platform
of the future".
"It's
not just a platform for Senegal but for Africa," he added, refusing to be
drawn on what he had paid for the transaction.
Best known
for his singles "Locked Up" and "Smack That", Akon has
devoted more of his time in recent years to his Lighting Africa solar energy
initiative and other charitable pursuits.
He launched
his latest single "Khalice", a collaboration with Senegalese
superstar Youssou Ndour, exclusively on Musik Bi.
More than
200 internationally famous musicians, along with younger rappers, jazz artists
and Christian and Muslim vocalists, initially agreed to put their music on
Musik Bi, where users can download it using their phone credit.
CEO
Moustapha Diop, whose company Solid pioneered the project, said ongoing
disputes with phone companies over their cut of takings had hindered Musik Bi's
reach.
"We
have the ambition of developing across Africa and being 'the' musical
distribution platform in Africa," Diop told journalists.
"The
profit made by the operators is problematic because it goes against the interests
of the artists and the platform in general. We will keep pushing to get a
reasonable deal," he added.
After
mobile operators took their share, artists keep 60 percent of their income from
the service, while Musik Bi take the remaining 40 percent.
The platform
also hopes to broaden into a music festival, television channel and a streaming
service, Akon said.
Piracy and
changing consumer habits have seen record sales drop across the continent, with
illegal downloads tempting African consumers looking online for music while
copyright enforcement remains relatively weak.
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