In a report released for the first half of the financial year ending on December 31st, 2022, music streaming service Mdundo has made impressive strides towards reaching its 2025 goal of 50 million monthly active users. With revenue of over KES 115 million (6.4 million Danish kroner), a 161% increase from the previous year, Mdundo is well on its way to becoming a major player in the music streaming world.
“Rising Revenues and User Growth”
The report shows that the online music platform reached 23.4 million unique monthly users, a 15% increase since June 2022. The growth was largely attributed to the widespread use of smartphones, increased internet penetration, premium products, and partnerships with telecommunication companies. Out of the monthly users, a significant number of 3.5 million were from Kenya, compared to 2.7 million in December 2021.
Advertising revenue closed at KES 77 million in the first half of the financial year, a 89% increase from the previous year’s 2.3 million, with the majority of orders coming from Kenya. On the subscription side, subscriber revenue accounted for KES 40 million, or 33% of the total revenue for the period, a six-fold increase from the previous year’s KES 6.4 million and a YoY growth of 508%.
“African Music Takes Center Stage”
Mdundo’s music catalog consisted of over 487 thousand tracks uploaded by 140 thousand African rights holders, a 32% increase from December 2021. The platform also offered 1.7 million songs from major music groups such as Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Believe Digital. The fastest-growing licensing partners on Mdundo during the period included Slide Digital (Tanzania), Dapper and Mavin (Nigeria), Content Connect Africa (South Africa), and Saldid Records (Kenya).
The growth in the catalog was a result of both new releases and marketing efforts by Mdundo. The top DJ mixes on the platform were from Kings Music Playlist, Black Market Records, Empawa Mixtapes, Mavins Playlist, and Tamasha Records.
“Looking Ahead: More Growth on the Horizon”
With revenue expected to continue its upward trend, Mdundo predicts that the number of monthly active users will increase to approximately 25 million at the end of the financial year 2022-23. Subscription revenue is also expected to account for 40% of the total revenue within a few years, solidifying Mdundo’s position as a major player in the music streaming world.
