The JOOX music streaming service is abruptly done in South Africa without any explanation.

by Thinus Ferreira

The JOOX music streaming service - including JOOX VIP, Telkom Music run by JOOX, and JOOX through MultiChoice's DStv - are all done in South Africa and will shut down on 31 March 2022.

JOOX has given no reason for the abrupt termination of its services and a few months ago said that South Africans have been so receptive in the take-up of JOOX that it plans to expand to other African countries as well and would announce expansion plans soon.

The Tencent-owned app made its debut in South Africa in 2017 as the first non-Asian market, after which Telkom launched Telkom Music as a new music streaming service in partnership with the Tencent-owned JOOX for R60 per month in July 2021, with the app that is was available on the Google Play Store and Huawei AppGallery.

MultiChoice added JOOX VIP in October 2018 as a free value-added service for certain DStv subscribers but is now losing JOOX although it will still offer Netflix and Amazon Prime Video as third-party streaming services.

"Telkom Music powered by JOOX will come to a close as of 31 March 2022. The music service run by JOOX, will come to an end," Telkom confirms in a statement.

"Users will no longer be able to access the Telkom Music app and continue enjoying its music services. Telkom Music VIP services will be stopped as of 31 December 2021."

"As passionate lovers of music and entertainment, the Telkom Music powered by JOOX team has been honoured to provide you with music that moves you."

JOOX says in a statement that "as of 31 March 2022 the JOOX Music service will come to an end in South Africa".

Telkom and JOOX launch Telkom Music a new music streaming service in South Africa for R60 per month.

by Thinus Ferreira

Telkom has launched Telkom Music as a new music streaming service in partnership with the Tencent-owned JOOX for R60 per month, with the app that is now available on the Google Play Store and Huawei AppGallery.

Telkom and JOOX worked together to create and launch Telkom Music.

Similar to Telkom's video streaming service TelkomONE, users get free access and are able to listen for free but with limited features. Users can subscribe for R59.99 per month to unlock a so-called "VIP package" with more functionality.

The Telkom Music app size is 10MB to download and has been designed to save data usage and space on a smartphone and also has a button where users can turn on and off their data usage.

The "Music Guru" feature allows users to test their music knowledge against other users. This interactive feature plays a song clip for users to identify within a few seconds as they try to get the highest score against other users in various genres and categories.

The music app's "Radio" feature allows users to find new tracks to share. The feature offers a non-stop listening experience that enables users to discover new music, aligned with and relevant to music they love.

The "Flock" feature allows users to create playlists together for their next big event - whether in person or virtual. 

"Telkom recognizes that the landscape of music streaming is changing and highlights that the stand-out feature of its music app is the fact that it focuses on data-saving and shared music experiences between users," says Wanda Mkhize, Telkom head of smarthome and content.

"In true Telkom style, our mission is to leave no man behind and we are thrilled to introduce this offering. We’ve introduced a bouquet of products recently to cater to the content needs of our customers, including a video on-demand and gaming services; and this closes the loop neatly for us from a content viewpoint".

"The technical know-how of the Tencent Africa and JOOX team in this space with our inclusive product portfolio has culminated in the perfect marriage."

Brett Loubser, Tencent Africa Services CEO, says "The future of music streaming will include shared, social experiences. With lockdown changing the way we connect, Telkom Music will include Mods focused on sharing one's music experience."

"We are very excited to embark on this endeavor with Telkom Mobile. The team at Telkom Mobile and at Tencent Africa have put a huge amount of effort into delivering the most accessible music streaming product possible."

"Our app size reduces the amount of memory used in a listener's phone, and integration with Telkom's app ecosystem makes it easy for millions of people to have millions of songs in their pocket."