For purpose of information, the CBN policies guiding physical goods is different from those for digital goods such as Wallpapers, Ringtones, CRBTs, SMS…
To this note, MyMusic is a duly licensed and regulated VAS provider by the NCC.
NCC is different from the CBN. Please where in the CBN rule book does it make an exception for non physical goods to accept mobile prepaid credit billing? Perhaps Spinlet and others are too stupid to have discovered this.
http://www.cenbank.org/Out/2015/BPSD/Guidelines%20on%20Mobile%20Money%20Services%20in%20Nigeria.pdf
Spinlet actually started out this way in 2012. Charging your airtime for downloads - I know this because I tried it out at the time. Fast forward to 2014, they allowed you to purchase Spinlet bundles using MTN airtime as reported here - Spinlet And MTN Nigeria Have Just Signed A Music Services Deal | TechCabal
Edit: Found a screenshot
Thanks for the info. Clearly I am out of touch with the Nigerian music app market. But…on mobile payments I don’t think so. I remember asking the question to a cbn guy of why prepaid mobile credit billing was not popular in Nigeria as it was in other African countries and was given a long lecture on why the telcos should never replace the banks etceterum. Of course it seems that the CBN is as effective as the rest of Nigerian government in enforcing it’s own rules. But not surprising when you see the farce that is sim registration where MTN Nigeria still registers customers without validating ID or address.
Ah! I’ve got nothing but love for Radar commentators.
That said, let’s be on the look out for echo chamber effect in our dialogue.
Really appreciate the conversation nonetheless.
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That’s what you get when the proposition doesn’t come with a new angle but is posited to disrupt an entire industry.
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Nubi, It’s an open floor.
We are all swapping convictions based on varied pool of experiences. Nothing is waxed in stone.
You have to make a convincing point. That’s the only chance an opinion has got on forums.
Anyways, mymusic has a lot to proof, definitely not to Radar, but to its target audience, as per a Radar verdict.
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Actually MyMusic is doing a number of things that Spinlet did not do - both from a technology (how they are plugged in to the telcos and delivery channels), and business (target consumer and marketing) point of view. Just thought I’d bring those up re: new angle part of your comment.
As for disrupt an entire industry, we’d have to wait and see but I’m less sceptical now than I was when MyMusic was first pitched to me 2-3 years ago.
well … am a big fan of streaming series, movies and music… i kinda done with downloads. apple music takes my 4.99$ every month but i know i can access any song at any time…( its also possible to download in app though)
Stumbled on this article that says Netflix is looking to make its content available for download. Definitely an interesting rebuttal for those who say the future is streaming.
They said mobile will kill PC.
They said Slack will kill Emails.
See article below
We’ve been so focused on click-and-watch and the beauty and simplicity of streaming. But as we expand around the world, where we see an uneven set of networks, it’s something we should keep an open mind about.
…Hastings is less concerned with amusing you on your flight to LA and more worried about countries with limited and/or expensive bandwidth.
They are simply taking a measured dip backwards (downloads), while maintaining a lead forward (streaming) to compensate for a varied global audience.
Slack is not killing email. Or killing anything.
Mobile is not killing PC.
TV didn’t kill Radio.
Letter writing is not even dead sef.
I get you, @nubikayode but I think Netflix download is just a reaction to its presence in Africa and other developing countries with Internet issues. Its a matter of time for these countries to have better Internet, for them to catch up. That’s in the future. The future, that is already present-day in the US where streaming is norm now.
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Yup and Nigeria (MyMusic.ng’s target market) happens to be on the short end of the stick when it comes to that uneven set of networks talked about.
With our currently realities, it makes more sense (financial and UX) to pay to download the music once and always access from storage than to paying monthly to stream. #imho
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Now I think everything is making sense. Mymusic is building for now. The average Joe doesn’t stream. He downloads.
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I thought the argument was around the fact that by the time last name average first name joe is done downloading his tenth track, he would go raid his friend’s hard drive for the rest. Or aren’t we talking about the same guys who pay 100 naira for one week of whatsapp and bbm chats?
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You’ve just aid it all bro! That’s how the industry works,that’s simply the model…the only twists to these facts you’ve stated is that they actually monetize their songs via ITunes very well , thanks to foreign based fans patronage tho, then also, MTN music + seems to be taking over the scene in the music content monetization too…
I recently got an Android phone and discovered this inbuilt app called Boom Player. You can stream and download Naija and Africa songs and music videos free of charge. They’ve also got a lovely comment system for each song and a community seems to be growing out of it.
Let’s not forget that there’s a huge adoption of Tecno phones by Average Joes.
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Not sure I get this but hope you weren’t comparing N100 weekly Whatsapp and BBM to paying to stream music in Nigeria. 
I think at the moment, there are just a few categories of Internet users in Nigeria.
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Group 1: A group that can actually afford to stream, Internet savvy and pay for services. That’s obviously not mymusic market. They know their way around the Internet to get free songs if Deezer isn’t worth it for them. Or song is not available on Deezer yet.
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Group 2: Group can afford to pay but not very savvy to know where to find things. Like Deezer or even stream. His default player is his device player. Money is not a problem but Internet tools and services are not just his thing.
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Group 3: He is broke, and doesn’t know much about Internet service as well. Facebook and 2go is his Internet.
MyMusic if I’m not mistaken is after group 2, and 3. Those are their average Joe. I can’t remember the last time I paid for callertune. I believe @xolubi is referring to Group 3 fellas. Group 3 will be hard to sell to because he can’t pay. He’ll likely Bluetooth all songs.
What I know, from friends and personal experience is that Group 2 is quite large. Back in NYSC days, a friend was building a queue manager service he hoped banks and crowded place would adopt. At the time, he was pitching it to nysc folks in Ekiti. This is 2011/12.
He gave his fellow graduates the url but they would asked if they could Google it. “Bro, that’s the url, you don’t need Google to see it.”
It’s easy to reduce things because we look at problems from our perspective, thus conclude everybody else is like us. This is a type of error. Mymusic has a shot because callertune is a major business. But what I think is, it’s an enterprise hinging on people’s ignorance and such businesses don’t last because knowledge spreads quite fast these days.
Good luck to them.
P.S.: This is how I think about the Nollywood distribution business in Nigeria. The majority of the category that can actually afford unlimited and fast Internet likely don’t care much about Nollywood, and if they do, cable is enough.
Those that do too much can’t afford the unlimited Internet to download or stream. Or care enough to bother about apps and any of the fancy things. And that’s because of the kind of people Nollywood appeal to. Mainstream. Streaming and spending on Internet services is not mainstream yet. Fast and cheap Internet is not as well.
It’s a connudrum. Those that care can’t pay. Those that can pay don’t care. However on the international front, it’s prosperity all the way. Because those that care enough actually have the Internet to stream all the way.
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Also not sure I mentioned streaming anywhere in that post, or have tried to make an argument for MyMusic going the streaming route so far on this thread.