#Homegrown - Why Mdundo is a Disruptor in Music Tech

 

Early this month Mdundo hit a milestone that few Kenyans may know about. Mdundo was ranked the top Music and Audio application in the country- surpassing even popular international applications in the same category like Shazam and Soundcloud.

 

Why we’re excited about this: even with the negative publicity that has surrounded music and the ‘business of music’ in the recent past (with the MCSK vs. Artistes furore), Mdundo has proven that fair business can be transacted with the currency of music and intellectual property.

 

Mdundo makes money on advertisements placed on the site and voice advertisements within the songs (in the same way Youtube does) and this is the money that is equally shared with all artists that have full rights to the songs at the end of 2 quarters.

 

Speaking on this achievement, Mdundo Chief Executive Martin Nielsen expressed his pride saying, “We are proud to show that an African app can match the international standards. we are keen to show the same growth in Tanzania and Uganda.”

 

Mdundo is also a phenomenal resource for music. It holds the biggest catalogue of music in the region: with over 45000 songs from about 10,000 artistes in the region- the numbers speak for themselves.

 

They are systematically changing the ways in which Kenyans and music lovers from the East and Central African region are able to access their own music. Constant improvements to their product, for example creating themed playlists to match the mood and emotions of the users are what make them a start-up to look out for.

 

With a more than decent four star rating on Google’s Play Store from 400 reviews. Mdundo promises bigger things in the future.

 

UP has even had an East African Music lover working in Cambodia tweet us about the Mdundo platform- showing the potential for wider reach even in the diaspora.
Plans are currently underway to have the application on the Apple app store soon.