The music industry in Kenya has been steadily growing and it’s probably for this reason that Safaricom, one of Kenya’s biggest companies and the country’s number one telco have taken it upon themselves to launch a music streaming service.
Safaricom’s involvement in the music industry started a while back with the launch of Skiza Tunes, a ring-back tone service that saw artists get paid whenever Safaricom subscribers choose their songs as ring-back tones. Last year, Safaricom’s CEO, Bob Collymore, shared strong opinions on how Music should not be free because artists put in a lot of effort to “churn out melodious tunes, clever metaphors, rhymes and life teachings that are cleverly packaged in albums and hot mixtapes.”
Now welcome, Songa by Safaricom, a music streaming app that is meant to create an alternative revenue stream for artists and well, of course, mother green (Safaricom). “We are excited to launch yet another service that will provide an additional revenue stream to Kenyan artists and increase their earnings because we believe in working together to make great things happens,” said Sylvia Mulinge, Safaricom director of Consumer Business.
Well, to better understand what Safaricom’s latest product has to offer, here’s everything you need to know about Safaricom Songa:
- First of all, the service is only limited to Safaricom subscribers, both Post-paid and Pre-paid.
- The app is only available on Android for now or you can dial *812# to get a download link.
- The app has over 2.5 million songs with a variety of genres, including local and international music.
- Streaming subscriptions are as follows:
- Daily – Ksh.25
- Weekly – Ksh.150
- Monthly – Ksh.499
- Payment is only via airtime billing. Meaning, when you buy a subscription, Songa Bundle or Purchase your song, the respective amount will be deducted from your airtime.
- The app does not work without an internet connection, but there’s an offline mode that will let you play the songs you’ve downloaded.
- There’s Live Radio, including KISS FM, East FM, Classic 105, Homeboyz Radio and many more.
