Google Play Music debuts in South Africa

Google Play Music has launched in South Africa, marking the music platform’s first entry into Africa. The service includes all three ways to listen on the Google music platform: uploading to personal libraries, buying tracks as digital downloads, and using the subscription streaming service. The South African launch comes at an introductory price of 49.99 Rand ($3.50); normally the membership costs $9.99.

There is a growing music business in South Africa. Research by PricewaterhouseCoopers found solid projected growth for radio, but digital music is only expected to reach 14% of the nation’s music retail sales by 2017.