Boomplay is owned by Transsion Holdings, the China-based top phone maker in Africa, and NetEase; a Chinese internet company that has already built a music streaming service in China boasting 400 million users. It runs a “freemium” model which allows user access an ad-supported version of the service for free; as well as a paid ad-free, premium version priced at between $2 and $4 monthly.
Boomplay comes pre-installed in Transsion smartphones like TECNO — the best selling on the continent—and is also available via downloads other smartphones. This has been their growth strategy and its been working out just fine for them. The strategy has seen it reach 44 million “active” users. (Boomplay defines an active user as anyone who logs into the app more than once after first downloading or opening an account.
Based on its success, the music app recently raised an impressive $20 million funding in a Series A round; led by Maison Capital and Seas Capital. According to Boomplay, the funding round will help the company focus on content acquisition, product optimization and workforce expansion.
Boomplay is expecting to have to compete with these global services in the long term, says Phil Choi, the company’s head of international content acquisition. Spotify and YouTube Music have already launched services in South Africa.
However, Choi insists global services coming to Africa will have to surmount major hurdles, just as Boomplay has. Boomplay looks to continue its expansion across Africa by entering deals with artists; and building out its services structure for advertisers and partners.
