MTN Nigeria, the largest mobile phone company, has said that it has so far ramped up 30 million customers for its Callertunez which enables users to download music to their mobile phones.[blockquote right=”pull-right” cite=”MTN Group of South Africa”]According to MTN Group, “a more recent example of how MTN Callertunez is successfully monetising content is that of Harry Song, an MTN Nigeria music ambassador who recorded over 3.5 million downloads within three weeks, for his tribute to Nelson Mandela.” [/blockquote]
South Africa’s MTN Group, owners of MTN Nigeria, said that the success of the music download service in the country is now a major revenue driver for the mobile phone giant which is expanding the service across its operations as artists embrace the channel to distribute their music.
[youtube url=”http://youtu.be/oiHh2-6jmnU” autohide=”0″ fs=”1″ hd=”1″ rel=”0″]The MTN Callertunez service that was launched in 2008 has grown to become one of the safest and largest distribution platforms for music content in Nigeria, with about 30 million subscribers, the mobile phone giant announced noting that, “It is this success that has prompted artists to look to MTN to grow their businesses.”
MTN said that its Callertunez cannot be pirated or duplicated and therefore presents a unique solution to the distribution problem in the ecosystem.
According to MTN Group, “a more recent example of how MTN Callertunez is successfully monetising content is that of Harry Song, an MTN Nigeria music ambassador who recorded over 3.5 million downloads within three weeks, for his tribute to Nelson Mandela.”
[youtube url=”http://youtu.be/x74bY8brHXM” autohide=”0″ fs=”1″ hd=”1″ rel=”0″]To drive the ambition of becoming a key player in the music distribution ecosystem, MTN has announced the launch of the song “Tchelete” or “Good Life” via its MTN Play entertainment platform.
The song is a collaboration between South African pop group Makifizolo and Nigerian pop sensation Davido, and was facilitated by South African music producer, Oscar ‘Oskido’ Mdlongwa.
In South Africa, the song will be called ‘Tchelete’, which means money, and in the rest of the MTN markets, including Nigeria, it will be known as ‘Good Life’.
The song is being distributed via MTN Callertunez, which is available via MTN Play across MTN markets.
The collaboration will also be released as a music video.
Pieter Verkade, MTN Group Chief Commercial Officer said that MTN Callertunez has been successfully utilised to distribute music in Nigeria, allowing artists to monetise the distribution of their music in an industry marred by piracy.
“MTN is always looking at ways to bring the best local content to its customers. For this reason, we are very excited about the collaboration between Nigerian and South African artists as it further showcases the musical talent on our continent. We are particular proud that our customers will have access to such rich content at their fingertips via MTN Callertunez,” Verkade says.
“MTN is investing in music, and distributing our music in this manner helps artists counter piracy, while also developing a new revenue stream. For us as artists, the collaboration between Mafikizolo and Davido was another important example of how we can unite and work together,” says Oskido.
Davido and Mafikizolo first met at MTN Nigeria’s Elite Night event in December last year, where they both performed. The meeting resulted in the birth of ‘Tchelete’ or ‘Good Life’.
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