In what can best be described as a long-awaited development, Universal Music Group has announced that it will be launching a Nigerian division as part of its expansion efforts. This was made known, yesterday, by representatives of the company.
Lagos is both the commercial and entertainment capital of one of Africa’s biggest markets.
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Speaking on the development, the Managing Director of Universal Music South Africa, Sipho Dlamini, said the Nigerian division will focus on the development of artists from the West African region; specifically Nigeria, Gambia, and Ghana.
In his words-
“I am delighted to be officially launching Universal Music’s Nigerian division at such an exciting time for African music around the world. The world’s largest music company opening an office within the region is a huge statement of belief in our local music talent. The signings we have already made show our ambition to help our artists reach the widest global audience and we are looking forward to working closely with our UMG label partners around the world to make that happen.
“Our Nigeria team will support, nurture, and help develop artists while creating opportunities for new talent from the region to reach the widest possible audience.” -Dlamini
Universal Music Nigeria will also have a full purpose recording studio, the second of such studio owned by Universal Music in Africa. The first one is in Johannesburg South Africa.
In the meantime, the new Nigerian division will be headed by seasoned music executive, Ezegozie Eze Jr, who has been named General Manager. He and his team will work in partnership with the global music group’s already existing operations in Morocco and Ivory Coast.
A long-awaited development
Nigeria arguably has the most vibrant entertainment scenes in the whole of Africa at the moment. Nigerian music, popularly called Afrobeat, is popular across the continent and beyond. As such, there are thousands of Nigerian superstars today, many of whom have managed to achieve superstardom as independent artists.
Today, artists like Wizkid is selling out arena concerts in London and elsewhere, and even collaborating with major international artists like Drake. All the while, major global music companies either chosen to ignore these opportunities or failed to take advantage of them; until now.
It should, however, be noted that many artists of Nigerian descent are already signed to by Universal Music Group.
Hopefully, the company’s full entrance into the Nigerian market will help structure it, while bringing a lot of professionalism into it. It is also expected to solving several of the issues that are plaguing the music business in Nigeria, including the absence of legal framework, piracy, and distribution challenges.
Entertainment in Nigeria is one of the biggest sources of employment to many, particularly the youth. Official records show that it contributed 0.29% to Nigeria’s GDP in the first quarter of 2018.