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Fast forward eight years and the Kenya-based
company he co-founded and now leads, Mdundo, is listed on the
Danish stock market and is posting rapid growth in users in the
African markets it serves.
Africa has been attracting international audio streaming firms
like Sweden's Spotify and Apple Music, keen on capitalising on
growing internet users and rising demand for legal content.
"The market is getting bigger," Nielsen told Reuters.
Mdundo's users jumped 40% to 7 million in the six months to
December and the company now aims to reach 18 million users by
June 2022, he said.
To hit that goal, it is focusing on Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda,
Ghana and Nigeria, offering a platform that does not require
high data consumption or storage space, he said.
LOCAL MUSIC
Demand for local music is also driving growth.
Some of the most popular downloads on Mdundo include gospel
music from Kenya's most populous ethnic group, Kikuyu, and music
in the Hausa language in Nigeria.
"It is not about the top ten artists... it is really amazing to
look at this local music," Nielsen said.
Music fans who use illegal sites, 93% of the total according to
Mdundo, are also switching to sites like Mdundo, which share
their income with musicians.
Artists have flocked to the site, to take advantage of the
growing audiences and a piece of the growing revenue pie. Mdundo
has 90,000 African music artists.
"We have a way to commercialize our music," said Kenyan musician
Nviiri who paused from strumming his guitar in his studio to
check how his music is doing on Mdundo.com via his mobile phone.
Mdundo, which is free to users and makes money through
advertising, pays musicians every time their song is streamed or
downloaded, sharing 50% of cash from adverts with artists.
Nielsen said he is not losing sleep over competition from bigger
rivals like Spotify on the continent.
"It is confirmation that we are not crazy. That is a really
strong validation that African music is headed in the right
direction," he said.
(Additional reporting and writing by George Obulutsa and Duncan
Miriri; editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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