Quincy Jones, one of the most decorated icons of the global cultural landscape, partnered with music programmer Reza Ackbaraly in 2017 to launch a groundbreaking venture called Qwest TV.
The streaming service, which launched in SA last week, leverages Jones’s unparalleled access to the music industry to bring genre-agnostic musical content to the $100bn video streaming market.
With more than 1,000 pieces of music-related content — including what The New Yorker calls "perhaps the most significant treasure chest of archival jazz concerts to emerge in years" — the catalogue includes documentaries and performances in hip-hop, funk, soul, jazz, rock, indie and classical styles. It features contemporary artists such as Anderson Paak, Bilal, the late Gil Scott-Heron, Miles Davis and Nigerian drummer Tony Allen.
In under five years, Qwest TV has accumulated 8.5-million monthly active viewers. It is available in 47 countries — including most of Europe, India, the US, Mexico, Brazil and Australia. Its launch in SA marks its entry into Africa.
"Africa has been central to Qwest TV’s focus since its inception," Ackbaraly, who is of Madagascan heritage and serves as CEO, tells the FM.
"The links between jazz and Africa are plain to see and hear, and its influence has permeated all forms of African American music since the start, from Congo Square to funk and the origins of hip-hop."
The streaming service has three viewing options for individual subscribers: free, ad-supported TV; ad-supported video on demand; and subscription-based video on demand. In SA, subscription comes at a cost of $4.99 (about R72) a month or $49.99 a year.
Netflix is the undisputed leader in the battle for African eyeballs, with just shy of 2-million subscribers, a figure expected to reach 13-million by 2025, according to London-based Digital TV Research.
MultiChoice’s Showmax has 688,000, and Amazon Prime 100,000.
With its musical niche, Qwest TV expects it will attract between 20,000 and 25,000 subscribers in SA in the first 18 months, and that the number will rise to 40,000 if it expands into the rest of the continent in that time.
Ackbaraly thinks it has a competitive advantage, which he says is rooted in curation, user experience and access.
"We are unrivalled in the richness and variety our viewers can experience. We focus on curation by artists and music lovers rather than on algorithm-led patterns that keep people in their bubbles.
"We think this provides people with a more rewarding and valuable service."
He says Qwest TV has made connections with producers, rights holders, musicians and management teams, and "that is why nobody has been able to put together the kind of catalogue we have".
Mamela Luthuli, the CEO of technology consulting firm Take Note IT, sees value in Qwest TV’s offering for an SA audience.
"I think this will be viable, because when you have rare content you have an edge over other competitors. The subscription [cost] is still very minimal. And having a local reliable content hub will help sustain the business, as overhead costs will be reduced."
Other streaming services have used local content as a way to expand their subscriber base in countries all over the world. To help build its catalogue of African music, Qwest TV has teamed up with Native Yard, which will serve as its local agent.
Native Yard is a partnership between Tim Mangwedi, the co-owner of Discop Africa and executive producer of the Joburg Film Festival, and Sisa Nondumo, a former sales manager for Côte Ouest AudioVisuel and former executive producer of streaming portal Skyroomlive.
Ackbaraly says: "Our partnership with Native Yard means we will be well placed to gradually acquire content from SA and Africa, producing originals that celebrate great African artists."
Qwest TV recently managed a livestream with Salif Keita from the French festival Jazz à Vienne, providing exclusive access.
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