Boomplay Music screenshot

What is Boomplay Music?

Boomplay is a music streaming service with a catalogue of 50 million songs, focusing on African and international artists. It works as a freemium platform, so you can listen to music without paying, though you'll encounter adverts. The service lets you search for specific tracks, browse recommendations, and build your own playlists. It's particularly useful if you want access to a broad range of African music alongside mainstream international releases, all in one place.

Key Features

Search across 50 million songs

Find tracks by artist, album, or genre across African and international catalogues

Playlist creation

Build and customise playlists for different moods or occasions

Discovery features

Browse recommendations and pick playlists to find new music

Freemium model

Stream with adverts at no cost, or upgrade to remove ads and improve audio quality

Offline listening

Available on paid plans, allowing you to download tracks for listening without an internet connection

Cross-platform availability

Access your music on mobile apps (iOS and Android) and through the web player

Pros & Cons

Advantages

  • Strong focus on African music makes it a good choice if that's your primary listening interest
  • Free tier is genuinely usable, not just a limited trial
  • Simple, straightforward interface for creating and managing playlists
  • Available across multiple platforms so you can switch between phone and web easily

Limitations

  • Audio quality on free tier is limited compared to some competitors
  • Adverts on the free plan can become frequent and intrusive
  • Pricing and feature availability varies significantly by region

Use Cases

Discovering new African artists and expanding your music knowledge across the continent

Creating themed playlists for workouts, studying, or social gatherings

Listening to music on a budget via the free tier with ads

Building a personal music library you can access across devices

Exploring international music alongside local and regional African releases