Josplay, a platform dedicated to Afrocentric audio content including African music and news, has entered into a partnership with Sony Music Entertainment (SME).
The company revealed this collaboration in a statement released on Monday. This move is intended to broaden the international presence of African musicians and improve music discovery within Africa.
According to the statement, signed by Chief Operating Officer George Ogala, the agreement will provide Josplay users globally with access to Sony Music’s comprehensive catalogue, thereby enriching the platform’s available content.
Mr. Ogala further stated that the deal encompasses recordings distributed by The Orchard, as well as the full catalogues of Lusafrica and Africa Nostra. These labels were acquired by Sony Music France and Sony Music Publishing France in 2025.
Collectively, Lusafrica and Africa Nostra hold over 4,000 tracks, representing more than three decades of Lusophone and African music.
The COO highlighted that this alliance will also make a vast array of recordings from Sony Music’s international roster accessible to Josplay users.
He added that a portion of this music content will be delivered via The Orchard, which possesses a significant presence in South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya, contributing to a widespread and culturally diverse music distribution network throughout Africa.
Mr. Ogala explained that Josplay was founded on the principle that music connecting listeners to their heritage, regardless of their location, deserves more than a simple genre tag on typical streaming services.
He emphasized that this partnership not only expands the platform’s music library but also reinforces the core mission behind Josplay’s establishment.
“For the African diaspora, music is not background noise. It is identity, memory, and community. Music is a living thread connecting listeners to home across time zones, borders, and generations. African music is not a subset of world music. It is a world of music,” Mr. Ogala asserted, adding that this philosophy guides every product and partnership decision the company makes.
He elaborated, “African music is not one thing — it is Juju and Gnawa, Morna and Amapiano, Afrohouse and Tishoumaren. Our listeners know this. They live it. Every feature we build, and every partnership we announce, is in service of that truth.”
Additionally, Mr. Ogala mentioned that Josplay intends to enhance this partnership by increasing access to its 'Frames' feature. Frames offers a culturally tailored listening experience designed for how Afrocentric audiences interact with music.
He explained that Frames allows users to integrate music into their daily activities, such as commuting, focusing, relaxing, or socializing, by selecting a song, album, or artist that reflects their cultural preferences.
Unlike traditional playlists, Frames crafts a dynamic, time-sensitive listening session around a user's initial selection, mixing favoured tracks with new discoveries while staying within their personal tastes.
For instance, Mr. Ogala cited that a Nigerian listener might focus a session on Juju music, a Moroccan listener on Gnawa, or a Cape Verdean listener on Morna.
He concluded by stating that instead of diminishing these cultural distinctions, Frames actively celebrates and builds experiences around them.
“This cultural specificity is what Josplay brings to the Sony Music partnership. Cesária Évora’s discography gains new meaning when it surfaces through the lens of who is actually listening, and why. The catalogue is vast. The context is Josplay’s.”
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