Mdundo partners with AudioLock to curb music piracy

The new partnership aims to boost sales for artists and labels using the Mdundo platform. Mdundo says AudioLock has removed more than 181 000 infringing links for African music from Google search alone.

"The removal process involves scanning the Internet for infringing links to the African songs," Mdundo said.

"This is a process that AudioLock has been continually developing through technical advances in its platform since 2010. Mdundo is currently carrying the cost of tackling these links to access unlicensed African music."

Mdundo CEO Martin Nielsen said: “We’re excited about these results, the team and I are always considering new ways to help musicians earn more revenues and provide them with more of the tools available globally.

"Music fans are rarely aware of the legitimacy of the music websites they are using. This initiative will guide the users to the best places in Africa to access music legally without interfering with the user experience.”

AudioLock founder and CEO Ben Rush said: “AudioLock is about to celebrate 10 years of working within the international music industry, during which time we have gained a wealth of knowledge and experience.

"With this partnership, we have used that expertise to identify and resolve key challenges which are unique to the exploitation that artists and all those working in the African music industry have faced.

“All our staff are proud to be able to support the initiative championed by Mdundo, by giving additional help where possible for what is a complex creative industry in Africa.”

The two companies hope that other streaming platforms on the continent will consider similar partnerships to limit digital music piracy.