Today, artists are starting to stream their works. Along with physical media, it has become one of the most effective ways to generate profits in the music industry.
Platforms such as Spotify, Deezer, iTunes and the local version Moozik have become the spearhead of the music industry. Malagasy artists are no exception to this rule, many of them are now launching into streaming their works. It is a way to reach a wider audience, but also to adapt to the digital age that is shaping the world. According to major African and international production companies, streaming “allows songs to be distributed more widely, while constituting an alternative to piracy”, explains Franck Kacou, general manager of Universal Music Africa. He and his team met with the artists yesterday at the Radisson, during a workshop dedicated to this new trend in the music industry.
It has been explained that streaming is reshaping the music industry, especially in Madagascar. The numbers are impressive: every day, more than one hundred and twenty thousand tracks are added to Spotify. As for the Malagasy streaming application “Moozik”, more than forty thousand tracks are available there. It’s a real catalog! Streaming is becoming more and more widespread. “Every year, we see, as producers and rights holders, that there is a steady increase in music consumption via streaming platforms,” explains Franck Kacou.
The new economic model
In 2023, the industry’s turnover has exploded, particularly thanks to streaming platforms. According to the latest World Bank report entitled “Unlocking Opportunities for the Youth in the Orange Economy: Music in Africa”, published in September 2021, music streaming revenues could reach $493 million in 2025. This prediction should be verified within a few months. Nigeria leads the ranking in Africa, thanks to the growing popularity of new musical genres that are being exported around the world, such as Afrobeat, which is booming in both English-speaking and French-speaking countries.
In Madagascar, artists of this new genre, very popular, have also managed to make a name for themselves on the international scene, like Denise, the muse of international Malagasy music. On streaming platforms, she has around eighteen thousand monthly listeners, with hundreds of thousands of listens for each popular track. Musical practices are also becoming international. On YouTube, each Malagasy hit is followed by foreign listeners, and the same goes for streaming platforms. Thus, language is no longer an obstacle, because it is the rhythm, the flow and the musical genre that touch listeners the most. Artists are no longer limited to compact discs and concerts; a whole world and a niche market are opening up to them, provided they stay informed of the changes that are taking place.
Of course, there were several pioneers who invested in streaming platforms first. Now, more and more artists are getting involved. Rajo Rajaonarivelo, executive director of Manoova, the company that developed Moozik, speaks of a platform of choice to promote local artists, give them more visibility and protect them from piracy. According to him, this streaming platform was developed “with a technological level comparable to that of major global platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music or Deezer”. It is also an interactive version. There is a karaoke option with or without lyrics, and the tracks can be downloaded while remaining in the application. “This offers better protection against piracy”, confides the manager. Artists can also submit their tracks for free. Moozik thus allows for rapid distribution and effective promotion for new music releases. Currently, the integration of this platform with ticketing systems such as Ticketplace is in the testing phase.
If records and vinyls were once the most popular modes of consumption, those days seem to be over. Since the end of the 1990s, the music industry has experienced at least four major revolutions, all of which have been plagued by piracy, particularly with physical media available in large quantities. Malagasy people are not yet known for listening to music via streaming; this is a trend that is especially widespread in large cities, where Internet access is more widespread. It is the traditional “mpampiditra hira” who, at first, distribute musical products, then television and radio. However, since 2019, the trend has begun to reverse; artists, instead of relying solely on promotion on radio and television, also prefer to distribute their works on social networks. This guarantees permanent access for consumers, who are increasingly turning to social networks to listen to music.
According to Jean Charles Mariani, director of digital content at Universal Music France, “It is accessibility, rather than the possession of music, that now attracts consumers,” he said yesterday. According to the manager, streaming does not operate in isolation in the music industry. It is part of a complete ecosystem that encompasses the various modes of music distribution. These different means of distribution contribute to the life of the music industry, both in Madagascar and abroad. It is therefore a complementary listening model.
Itamara Randriamamonjy
