Safaricom is definitely not slowing down any time soon. Aside from its video streaming services, the tech company is offering music streaming services to its subscribers through its Baze Music app. With Baze Music, subscribers would have access to local and international tracks and be able to enjoy a mobile-first, ad-free, music streaming experience.
Safaricom is not new to the music industry. In 2009, the tech company launched Skiza, and now, Baze Music subscribers would be able to set any of the tracks on Baze Music as their Skiza tune. Peter Ndegwa, the CEO of Safaricom while commenting on the new offering said, “Our goal is to provide Kenyans freedom, choice, and control over the content they consume, and I am delighted that our customers have enjoyed a variety of content on Baze since the platform was launched in May 2021. To further enhance their experience, we are introducing BAZE Music, which will also provide Kenyan artists with a new avenue for monetizing their music in addition to the Skiza platform.”
Aside from providing a much-needed service to subscribers, Baze Music offers Kenyan artists a platform to monetize their music. The streaming platform currently has over 4 million songs. Among the Kenyan artists whose music is on Baze Music include Nikita Kering, Trio Mio, Jua Cali, Bahati, Mejja, Nviiri The Storyteller, Femi One, Ohangla maestro Prince Indah and gospel artists Daddy Owen and Guardian Angel, among others. Mr. Ndegwa in his statement called on Kenyan artists “to be part of this journey and utilize this opportunity to earn while showcasing and growing their musical talents.”
The launch of Baze Music is a continuation of Safaricom’s commitment to growing Kenya’s creative and music industry. In August 2021, the service provider increased the Skiza revenue share by 33%, enabling more than 20,000 artists and content creators to benefit from increased earnings from all their tunes on the platform. According to techweez, Baze Music is ads-free and has features similar to other music streaming platforms like Spotify. With a Safaricom number, new subscribers can sign up to enjoy a one-week unlimited streaming service and free 500MB, create a playlist, and save songs for offline listening.