The launch of the revolutionary online music distribution website, Mymusic.com.ng, has marked the start of a new phase in the Nigerian music industry.
This move is expected to subdue digital piracy, one of biggest threat to the development of Nigeria's licensed music industry.


In order to tackle this menace, four people - Damola Taiwo, Dolapo Taiwo, Tola Ogunsola and Olisa Adibua –formed an alliance.


According to them, the online distribution platform also offers musicians and content creators a fresh revenue stream in a highly competitive industry.


Digital piracy of music is limiting the financial growth of all industry players, involved in the career of an artiste.


Speaking at the launch of the company in Lagos recently, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Mymusic.com.ng, Damola Taiwo said “Online piracy constitutes a major drawback to musicians' ability to get paid for their content. Industry observers say Mymusic.com.ng’s plan is another brilliant shot in the arm, in a manner that would help to revolutionise the country’s fledgling entertainment industry. But, many of them are worried about the viability of digital music streaming in Nigeria.”


According to the partners, incumbent music streaming outfits have been struggling to make money due to the surge in digital piracy as well as the problems of content monetisation. Taiwo is however optimistic that the 'Payment by phone credit' model, which the company has adopted would stand it in good stead for sustainable growth.


"Monetisation is a big problem in this country. But, we have addressed that by allowing consumers pay for downloads with their phone credit. It is so easy and convenient for users.


"It is basically a two-step process where people can search for the music they want and download it. All they need to pay is N30 from their phone credit, and of course data to access the internet", he explained.


The pay by phone credit functionality is available on 300 networks in 80 countries.


"It took us two years to create that payment platform. We had looked at payment licenses, insurance and servers and so on. Amazon gave us free hosting space worth $10,000", said Taiwo.


He further added, “For now, we have only Nigerian songs because we want to focus, and once we can get that right, we will surely move to other territories.”


Also speaking, the Chief executive officer, Mymusic.com.ng, Tola Ogunsola said the company was established to help musician generate more revenue from the sale of their music.


Ogunsola said the company is out to help record labels create a system that's easy for consumers to download music in a process that’s simpler than what’s currently available.


"It’s not everybody that does not want to pay for music; it’s just that there’s no service that satisfies their needs. If I have to go through a 10-stage process just to download a song; of course, that’s a deterrent", he explained.


Giving insight into what makes the company different from its competitors, Ogunsola said, “The quality of music on our site is better, and the file size is much lower because of our compression technology. We have a very advanced predictive search on the site as well. So, if you have just an idea of the song you’re looking for, the search-engine is intelligent enough to find it.”