The African music streaming service Boomplay has become the subject of discussion following reports that Sony Music has removed its songs from the platform. Nigerian news outlet Pulse reported that Sony's subsidiaries, AWAL and The Orchard, also removed their catalogs. The reason cited for this action was "issues with royalty payments."
Billboard confirmed these rumors, stating that "several other well-known music labels and distributors have also not received their recent royalty payments from Boomplay." So far, neither Sony Music nor Boomplay has made any official statements regarding the matter.
Sony signed a contract with Boomplay in 2019 and subsequently entered into other agreements with major music labels. That same year, Boomplay raised $20 million in funding. The General Manager of Boomplay in Nigeria recently stated that they are working to create the most reliable and transparent ecosystem for digital music in Africa.
