Distributing Music on Mobile Profitably in Africa, a journey with Spinlet’s Chairman

When iTunes came on board amidst all this piracy and free music distribution, everyone said, no way! This is not going to work. I remember reading the reviews vividly back then. With Napster and the others around, they reasoned why Apple’s iTune will make any sense. It can NEVER, EVER WORK, was the general consensus then by the tech community. People will never pay for music, they say. At that point, iTunes started to work.

There are other services that have sprung up since then. More people get music from iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, than any other source. Spotify took it a step further. With Spotify, you don’t have to download the music, just go ahead and stream the music, like you’re listening to a radio. You had the choice to listen to their vast collections.

The Free options, similar to Napster back then are still available. Why do you think more people still buy or pay for music using services like iTunes, Spotify, Pandora and the like?

I guess it is the convenience. Do you want to go the internet and start searching for music or would you rather go to a place where there is a catalogue of music? Just type in the name of the song and you has what you want. Even with our own model, just search and stream for free. Using the services where you pay for music also helps you to discover new stuff.

How would you feel in your own trade if no one ever paid you for what you do? It’s even common with consumers that they want to support their favourite artist if they see a way to do that.

Do you like Nigerian Music? Which are your favourites?

Yeah I do. I love all of them. Not just Nigerian music. I love African music in general.

Why do the artists distribute their music for free?

There is no infrastructure for them to properly get people to pay for their music. This is the reason the artists give their music for free in hopes that when people listen to their music, they would hire them to come and play or perform. What artists do not understand is, a lot of the people that download their music for free online are not the ones that will hire them to perform or play. It is a little bit productive though.

What Spinlet is doing is, when an artist releases a song, they make it available to Spinlet and everybody can go to Spinlet and stream that song.

Will the artists be signed on to your platform exclusively?

Some of our competitors are signing artists exclusively. We’re not doing that. They all signed non-exclusive agreements. Why limit yourself as an artist and sign exclusive rights with a platform?  What happens if your song becomes popular? I don’t think Artists should sign exclusive agreements with music distribution platforms. They should be able to get their music to as many platforms as possible so as to earn more revenue.

The contracts they sign with this folks are like slavery. A lot of artist have come to me and say they want me to have their contents exclusively for Africa; “we love your platform,” they say. I am not going to use that against them if they decide to put their music in another platform. I am ready to help the artist earn. . Yes, I am not charity and I want to make money. Among all the projects I have ever invested in, this is the one I am most passionate about. Passion drives me here.

Most artists may not understand the limitation they are getting into by signing exclusive

Most artists may not understand the limitation they are getting into by signing exclusive. They get paid and they are told by those signing them that the exclusive deal will run for a period, say a year or two, to allow them recruit the money they have been paid.