Fela Kuti Estate Joins WME Legends Ahead of Unreleased Music and Biopic

In 2021, William Morris Endeavour (WME) introduced WME Legends, a specialized division focusing on managing the legacies of artists and brands to nurture them for future generations. 

Recently, they announced the signing of the estate of Fela Kuti, the Afrobeats pioneer, for global management. Under the guidance of WME Legends, Fela Kuti’s name, image, life, intellectual property (IP), music and publishing rights will be managed in collaboration with the administrators of Fela’s estate.

What Does Artist Estate Mean?

An artist estate refers to the collection of assets, rights, and interests associated with a deceased artist. It encompasses various elements such as the artist's creative works, intellectual property (such as copyrights and trademarks), licensing and merchandising rights, personal effects, name, likeness, and any other tangible or intangible assets related to their artistic endeavors. 

Olajide Oyewole, a member of DLA Piper Africa, represented the Kuti estate during the negotiation process. 

WME Legends aims to extend Fela Kuti’s legacy to a new generation through various exciting projects. These include developing a scripted biopic, expanding the Fela stage musical franchise, releasing previously unreleased masters, exploring licensing and merchandising opportunities, commercial collaborations, endorsements, and more. The distribution and administration of the unreleased material is, however, yet to be determined.

Notably, the Fela biopic, the first authorized by the Kuti estate, is currently in development. It should be noted that 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen had worked on a separate Fela biopic for Focus Features, in which Chiwetel Ejiofor was set to star, but the Kuti estate had no involvement in the said project. 

In addition to Fela, WME Legends also represents several other renowned estates such as The Notorious B.I.G, Andy Kaufman, Eartha Kitt, Waylon Jennings, Peter Tosh, and Charlie Sifford, among others.

Existing agreements regarding the control of Fela Kuti’s recordings and music publishing remain unchanged while Partisan Records will continue to handle worldwide distribution of his catalog. Fela’s music publishing is divided between BMG and Sony on a global scale.