A Digital Service Provider (DSP) is an online store (iTunes, Amazon Music) or streaming service (Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, YouTube Music) that features digital albums and singles. A Digital Service Provider (“DSP”) is an entity that provides digital music services (whether streaming, downloads, or both), via computer or phone networks. DSPs tend to focus on driving almost all interactions online and across devices.
In today’s industry, DSPs are the marketplaces in which most music is consumed, due to the rise of both paid and ad-supported subscription-based streaming services, like Spotify and Apple Music. DSPs have become an essential part of earning money via songwriting since they are considered both a public broadcast and a reproduction of the song, which qualifies the songwriter to earn both of the major types of publishing royalties: performance and mechanical.
Types Of DSPs
– Interactive Streaming are platforms Listeners select the songs that are played they are also known as On-demand streaming Examples: Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, Deezer
Publishing Royalties Generated: Performance royalties and mechanical royalties
– Non-Interactive Streaming are platforms Listeners play music without the ability to choose the next song
they are also known as Internet radio Examples: Pandora, iHeartRadio, Slacker, TuneIn
Publishing Royalties Generated: Performance royalties only (similar to broadcast radio).
Africa’s DSP market is younger than the rest and largely untapped for a number of reasons. A common major limitation parts of Africa access to data plan is still quite restricted or prohibitively expensive in this part . Spotify and Apple Music have only recently begun to move into Africa. This left the opportunities open for fledgling services like Boomplay Music, which had up to a 50% share of the African phone market as recently as 2019.
For independent musicians, getting music onto most of these DSPs. Nowadays is as simple as signing up with a digital distributor who will deliver their works and take care of any potential issues. For the songwriter or Artist for an upfront fee, a commission on earnings, or a combination of both.
In cases where the creator or artist want s to upload their content themselves.
DSPs like Audiomack, Soundcloud and Hafrikplay (newly launched African based) can be used for both upload and streaming without the involvement of any digital distributor.
Get Hafrikplay App On Google Play
