Jamaica and the Caribbean have one less DSP music platform as Digicel’s D’Music has exited the market according to a statement from Antonia Graham Head of Group Communications Digicel Group.
“After much research and feedback, the decision was made to retire some of our apps. As of 29th July 2022, Billo, D’Music and PlayGo will no longer be included in our suite of apps (with no new customers for those services as of 29th June 2022).”
Graham’s statement which she said was sent out to Digicel’s customers stated that a “number of factors have gone into this decision” to discontinue the service.
D’Music’s logo is a registered trademark in Jamaica by the Digicel group and it was launched in 2017 on the cusp of the streaming revolution. The app was a license product by KUACK Media to Digicel but that licensing arrangement came to an end at the end of July.
The app had over 40 million songs licensed form the major record companies. Graham was mum on how much money has been paid out to right holders over the lifetime of D’Music.
In a follow up correspondence, WMV asked if there were plans afoot to replace D’music, but she only pointed to the fact that customers can still use their data plans to access other streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music that both entered the Caribbean market early last year.
“You will still get the same great value for money that our Digicel Prime Bundles offer, but instead of being restricted to Billo for storage, D’Music for music and PlayGo for video content, we’re providing you with new options and leaving it up to you to decide how you want to use your dedicated data,” the statement said.
“As long as you have a required account for the platform of your choice, you will now be able to use your data to listen to music on Spotify and/or Apple Music;” the statement to WMV continued.
Last year D’Music emerged as a leading streaming platform according to their sister app Loop Jamaica. With their focus on live music concerts; Kes the Band and Shaggy both had concerts shown live through the app and they were also a sponsor for Shenseea’s Alpha album launch in Kingston where Sean Paul, Beenie Man, Tarrus Riley, Aidonia, Denyque and others graced the stage.
During the pandemic they had a series titled “Safe and Sound” which featured several up and coming Caribbean artists.
