Afrotunes and UMIJam are the same music distribution platforms that have been accused of scamming musicians. These platforms claim to help musicians get their music distributed to digital stores like Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music. However, there are many reports of musicians who have signed up with Afrotunes have never received any payments for their streams or downloads.
Exposing Afrotunes
In one recent case, a music label contacted me after they had signed up with Afrotunes in December 2022. The label’s analytics showed that its music had been streamed over 100,000 times on various digital stores. However, Afrotunes never updated the label’s sales statistics or payments. When the label contacted Afrotunes, they were not answered. The Label then reached out to EMEA Tribune and we contacted Afrotunes on social media but they have given incomplete answers and told us that there were “bugs” in the website.
After I contacted Afrotunes on social media, they finally updated the sales statistics, but only for 18,000 streams, and $11 only for sales that cannot be withdrawn. This means that Afrotunes had been keeping the vast majority of the label’s earnings. When I showed Afrotunes proof of the streams, they claimed that their website was still updating and that the payments would be made soon. However, it has been 7 months and the payments have still not been made.
Read about them on Trustpilot https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.afrotunesdigital.com
Afrotunes joining UMIJam
Afrotunes sent an email last week that they are closing their platform and merging with UMIJam. As per our investigation, both companies are the same and after Afrotunes received many negative reports and scams report, they are closing their site. This is just one example of the many reports of scams involving Afrotunes and UMIJam. There are numerous complaints on social media about these platforms, and many musicians have said that they have been cheated out of their earnings.
I urge all musicians to be aware of these scams and to avoid using Afrotunes.com & UMIJam.com. If you have music on these platforms, I recommend that you take it down immediately. We are also contacting all the companies involved to blacklist Afrotunes and UMIJam, including the digital stores. If you have been scammed by Afrotunes or UMIJam, I encourage you to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). You can also file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
We need to protect musicians from these scams. Please share this article with your friends and colleagues so that we can raise awareness of this issue. Send me email with more evidence so we can block their operations in various countries [email protected]
