Mdundo.com, a music streaming platform based in Kenya has recorded 161% increase of revenue during the first half of 2022 ending in December 2022, compared to the same period last financial year.
The firm’s revenue was over KES 115 million (DKK 6.4 million), with 50% or KES 60 million of revenue going to rights owners. The platform also recorded 23.4 million Unique Monthly Users, representing 15% increase since June 2022.
According to the firm, its advertising revenue closed at DKK 4.3 million in the financial period H1 22/23 compared to DKK 2.3 million in the period H1 21/22, an increase of 89%. Majority of Mdundo’s advertising orders came from Kenya while its Paying Subscriber revenue accounted for DKK 2.1 million in revenue, an estimate of 33% of the total revenue for the financial period. The revenue subscription increased six (6) times in the current financial period compared to the previous H1 revenue subscription which stood at DKK 355 thousand. 508% growth in subscriber revenue YoY.
Mdundo saw 487 thousand tracks uploaded by over 140 thousand African rights holders adding to its 1.7 million songs from Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Believe Digital. The fastest growing licensing partners on Mdundo in the period were Slide Digital (Tanzania), Dapper and Mavin (Nigeria), Content Connect Africa (South Africa) and Saldid Records (Kenya). Top DJ mixes on Mdundo were Kings Music Playlist, Black Market Records, Empawa Mixtapes, Mavins Playlist and Tamasha Records.
For the financial year 2022-23, Mdundo.com expects the number of monthly active users to increase to approx. 25 million and is aiming at a positive EBITDA of the financial year ending June 2025 as per the company’s strategy by growing the number of users to 50 million.
In June 2022, Mdundo.com recorded 20.3 million monthly active users and had plans to hit 50 million monthly active users by June 2025.
“We have increased the average brand up-lift for our advertising clients by an average of 8%, with the most noticeable impact towards the end of the customer decision making process impacting consideration, favorability and purchase intent by an average of 10%. It is extremely satisfying to know that the return on investment for our clients is directly related to our campaigns’ driving impact in addition to incremental reach across all key markets,” says Rachel Karanu, Head of Brand Partnerships, Mdundo.
Nigeria remains the biggest country for the Kenyan based company with a total of 4.9 million monthly users, followed by South Africa with 3.7 million, Kenya with 2.8 million and Tanzania with 2.4 million.
The company’s advertising serving platform, The Mdundo Brand Lift Tool, has improved customer’s brand performance by an average of 8% across Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania with the highest performing campaign reaching a growth in overall brand lift of 85%.
Mdundo aims to provide the users with easy and legal access to online entertainment by delivering locally relevant content, formats, and channels to consumers in Africa, while driving value per user through premium products and telecommunication partnerships.
Founded in 2012, the service has a strong focus on creating locally relevant solutions to benefit African musicians and the mass-market music consumers. The firm is listed on the Danish Exchange though its primarily used by the mass-market audience across Africa with limited access to streaming services and social media apps. The music is free of charge, but the customer is exposed to advertising by leading African brands.