Music streamers turn to telcos to make Africa pay

FILE PHOTO: A trader is reflected in a computer screen displaying the Spotify brand before the company begins selling as a direct listing on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, U.S., April 3, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

JOHANNESBURG/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Africa, with its internationally recognised musical talent - and growing mobile phone use - is central to Swedish music streamer Spotify's plans to extend its reach to a billion customers.

As African artists such as Nigeria's Burna Boy and South Africa's Black Coffee are streamed across the world, the continent was seen as an obvious choice and is the home to more than a third of the company's 85 new markets.