Sony Music Boomplay royalty non-payment issues

Photo Credit: Boomplay

Sony Music, AWAL, and The Orchard have pulled their catalogs from African-focused music streaming provider (DSP) Boomplay.

Boomplay has quickly become one of the most popular music streaming platforms in Nigeria, with all three major labels striking deals by 2019. Merlin soon joined with an inked agreement to distribute its independent artists to Boomplay in 2021. It now boasts 95 million monthly active users thanks to offering both freemium and premium plans for its customers.

But things aren’t all rosy; according to reports by TurnTable Charts, Boomplay has failed to pay royalties for the last two years. Some artists and companies are claiming the DSP owes a royalty backlog of payments dating all the way back to 2021. Sony Music and its subsidiaries, The Orchard and AWAL, have removed their catalogs from Boomplay after stopping distribution of new releases to the DSP.

Pulse Nigeria reports that songs and projects from Davido, Wizkid, Tems, and Lojay are just some of the tracks impacted by the removal. In addition to the music streaming model, Boomplay also offers paid downloads for its lower-income userbase. Artists who offer downloads receive the wholesale price of Boomplay’s retail price for each song downloaded, with the payout based on territory-specific rates.

While the problem has become a global one with one of the big three labels involved, rumors of royalty non-payment among smaller artists has persisted throughout the year. A November Facebook post from gospel artist Celestine Donkor also called out Boomplay. Kofi Donkor, Celestine’s husband, notes in the comments section of a Facebook post suggesting Boomplay may be closing its office in Ghana that they have not received artist royalties for more than a year.

“Boomplay, pay us our royalties before you shut down the Ghana office on Friday!” Mr. Donkor writes on Facebook. “They haven’t made a payment in over a year. Additionally, I’ve heard that they intend to close their Ghanaian office. We must withdraw our funds immediately.”