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YouTube Music Launches in Nigeria
YouTubes Addy Awofisayo (left) and Afrobeats star Naira Marley
Demola Ojo
YouTube on Wednesday in Lagos announced the launch of YouTube Music in Nigeria. YouTube Music is a music streaming service that offers official songs, albums, thousands of playlists and artist radio, plus YouTube’s rare catalogue of remixes, live performances, covers and music videos that are all personalised to individual users.
Nigeria is the second African country where YouTube Music is available after a previous launch last year in South Africa.
Speaking with THISDAY on the benefits of YouTube Music compared to other music streaming services, Addy Awofisayo, YouTube Content Partnership Manager for Nigeria said; “I prefer not to make comparisons. What I prefer to do is tell you all the amazing features on YouTube Music and allow you as a user to make that decision,” she said, confident that users will be swayed by app’s unique attributes.
“One of the amazing features is personalising the music to your taste. Once you get to the YouTube music app, we ask you for your favourite artistes, to get an idea of the kind of songs you like. Based on that information, your music tastes and music listening habits, we curate music just for you.
“Another amazing feature is depending on where you are – for example if your location tells us you’re at home – we play music that is appropriate. If it is a Friday, we play TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday) songs,” she said.
While fans can access ad-supported YouTube Music for free, YouTube also announced YouTube Music Premium, a paid membership that offers background listening, downloads and an ad-free experience for N900 a month.
The launch also included YouTube Premium, which provides members the benefits of Music Premium, plus ad-free, background listening, and downloads across all of YouTube, including YouTube Originals shows and movies at a cost of N1,100 per month. There are also family plans available for both YouTube Music and YouTube Premium.
Present at the launch was fast-rising Afrobeats star, Naira Marley. “It’s good that YouTube Music and Premium are in Nigeria now. This platform is going to make things easier for me to listen to my favourite tunes, and it’s also a nice way for me to build more fans in Nigeria and across the globe,” he said.
