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Top Music Download & Streaming Platforms/Apps In South Africa

List of the top legal music download and streaming services and websites in South Africa where you can legally stream or download songs without worries or hassle

Here’s a list of the top legal streaming and download services in South Africa.

Here in Mzansi, we are all about our music. The streams and downloads for some of the biggest songs in the country is testament to this fact. While we patronize music from our favourite artists, the country still has a huge problem with piracy. According to previous reports,  music piracy in Mzansi has increased a lot since the beginning of the lockdown.

This of course isn’t good for artists and disc jockeys who have to rely on the royalties made from the streams of their music. It is obvious that artists don’t get to make money performing like they used to. This is due to the nationwide lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Therefore music lovers are adviced to visit legal music download services and streaming platforms for songs. This helps artists profit from the sales of their songs and also really track how well their music is doing as regards to downloads and streaming numbers.

Here in Mzansi, a lot of streaming and download services are quite popular. They are both legal, and also easy to use. With millions of artists and music catalogues to their credit, one can never go wrong with them. You might want to check them out.

Here’s a list of the top 10 Legal download and streaming services available in SA that you need to check out.

  • Soundcloud

Soundcloud is a European audio distribution platform, and a music sharing website based in Berlin, Germany. It is one of the largest streaming sites in the world, reaching over 175 million listeners monthly. With both free and paid membership, it can be accessed with both a mobile phone and a desktop.

  • Audiomack

Just like Soundcloud, Audiomack is a music streaming and audio distribution platform which also allows listeners to access music uploaded by artists from all over the world. Founded in 2012, as of 2019, it had begun recording up to 1.5 million daily active listeners across their website and mobile apps. It also offers free offline playback.

  • Apple Music

Apple Music is a music and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Launched in June, 2015, the service now offers over 60 million songs to its users. Reaching over a hundred countries across the world, new subscribers get a three-month free trial before being required to pay a monthly subscription. Users can also download and play songs offline.

  • Joox

Owned by Tencent, Joox is a music platform launched in January, 2015. It is the biggest streaming platform in Asian markets such as Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc. Quite popular in SA, it offers music from over 5 million artists across the world.

  • Spotify

Launched on October, 2008, Spotify is an international media services provider with headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. It boasts an estimated 286 million monthly active users, of which 130 million are on a paying subscription. The platform provides access to over 50 million tracks. It is currently one of the most accessed music platforms in the world.

  • Deezer

Deezer is a French online music streaming platform founded 12 years ago in August 2007. It boasts a catalogue of over 56 million songs available to its users from all over the world. It allows users to listen to music from various record labels in various parts of the world.

  • Amazon Music

Amazon Music is an online music store and streaming platform operated by Amazon. It was launched in September 2007 and became the first music store to sell music without digital rights in January 2008. As at January 2020, it had over 55 million monthly listeners. It offers up to 50 million songs to its listeners.

  • Google Play Music

Operated by Google, Google Play Music is a music and Podcast streaming platform, and an online music locker launched in November, 2011. A paid subscription with them entitles users to unlimited streaming of over 40 million songs in the Google Play catalogue. New users are also offered a one-time 30 day free streaming trial.

  • Youtube Music

Developed by YouTube, YouTube Music is a music streaming platform launched in November, 2015. It allows users to browse through songs and videos based on recommendations, genres and playlists. Users can download songs for offline and ad-free playback.  YouTube Music is available in 77 countries. It offers free, Premium, and YouTube premium subscriptions.

  • Tidal

Tidal is a subscription-based music, video and playlist streaming service launched in 2014 by Norwegian Public Company, Aspen. It is currently owned by Hip Hop icon, Jay-Z. It is the first streaming platform with high fidelity sound and hi-def video quality. It also boasts expertly curated playlists and original content. Available in 54 countries, it claims to offer access to 60 million tracks and 240,000 music videos.

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