This is Music InduSTREET, a weekly series where I also speak to music business players on a range of music business scoops, dynamism etc. Unlike other series, you’re not always sure who to expect as some interviewees will remain anonymous but be assured that whatever turn a story takes, it’s definitely one worth being aware of.

Congratulations on being the first Black representative for Africa at Merlin. How did you get a seat at that Table and what does it mean for the African music scene?

It's all politics at the end of the day. I learned over the years that to be nominated for a board seat, you need to be nominated by 3 other board members before you can enter the actual ballot. You really have to have relationships with other Merlin board members to be considered. Since becoming a Merlin member many years ago, representatives for Africa have been White execs - one, an Israeli music exec based in South Africa. As cool as I think those guys were, it honestly didn’t feel right because I cannot go to the Middle East as a Nigerian, and represent Israel. I believe that out of 1 billion Black Africans, there should be at least one person capable of representing Africa. I included that in my manifesto and board election proposal while I pitched to the board members that I was that person as I campaigned for votes from other members. That’s how I got in.

Merlin is sometimes referred to as the fourth “major'' label based on its circa 15% share of the global recorded industry. What it has done is to give a fair voice to some music companies on the ground. Nigeria is the most important music market on the continent, so the voice of our music companies ought to be heard in the right forums. As distribution is the commercial heart and soul of the music industry from a recording perspective, what Merlin does is to enable independent labels in Nigeria and around the world have direct deals with global companies such as Spotify, Tiktok, Snapchat which would be typically impossible based on the rigorous technical and commercial negotiations you need to have in order to get a direct deal with them, which is why they’d rather you just use Tunecore, CD Baby etc. 

Merlin diligently focuses on pushing for better collective bargaining rights, brokering deals on behalf of its members with major global partners. All these things most independent labels won't be able to do on their own or without a business or legal team. Merlin becomes the vessel that helps facilitate such deals. I can also now access and discuss with Merlin members in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya etc. about their issues and take it to the board. 

How can young African music execs better position themselves for such opportunity to rightly demand representation and equity at these levels?

There needs to be stronger consolidation among music companies and young people should be gunning to drive success within these companies. I didn’t have to work at Sony but I humbly did for the learning, to listen, to contribute just to become a better exec which has helped mold me, my perspective, my CV etc. I’d advise young people to join legitimate music companies, learn the ropes, build relationships both far and near, attend conferences and know why they’re attending them. I’d attended many conferences solely for the networking opportunities and face-time than the subject being discussed. Relationships have helped me get into some places that I ordinarily won’t reach by being at home. As we move towards professionalizing our industry, we’re then seen more as serious. 

You’d hinted on pitching Nigerian artists during your time in a major label but they didn’t seem to be ready. What was the situation at the time?

On a regular basis I turn in Nigerian music at meetings where everyone submits music during the central A&R meetings. Of course, the team is familiar with the big names like Wizkid, Davido etc but based on what I perceived as limited local budgets, I decided to focus on emerging talents and sounds that we could sign and help develop from earlier on in their careers. I once pitched Ric Hassani and then Tems to the team but they felt these artists were not popular or ‘afro-poppy’ enough. However, this was me playing it to a team primarily made up of male, white music executives based in South Africa.

I honestly felt that the existing structure where Nigeria reported to South Africa was suboptimal. I think a level of autonomy was definitely needed and Sony West Africa could have potentially made better signings. Till today I would still suggest they capitalize a budget for Sony Music Nigeria, and let Sony Music Nigeria make mistakes, have some wings, learn and not have to route everything by South Africa. Some things may have changed since I left but for now I still don't see the label's impact in the local market based on the fact that independent companies still consistently command bigger market share by a large margin.

PS: Interestingly, Tems is now distributed by The Orchard, a distribution arm owned by Sony.

African artists signed to the majors have made a case about not getting that Bieber, Eilish-esque push by their labels. With your stint there, do you perceive racial inequality in terms of global opportunities?

I don’t think it's a racial thing. Billie Eilish, Justin Bieber and all the other big US, UK artists are streaming well in their home markets. A Nigerian artist’s home market is Nigeria, any other market they are streaming in are export markets only. You must've realized that US, Latin, K-Pop artists are focused on their home markets first and the export opportunity becomes an add-on. It’s like the icing on the cake, not the cake. The major label is primarily interested in how well you stream in your home market. Sometimes there will be a push to establish in a major market like the US but that doesn't change the fact that it's typically not your home market. 

Another thing is, Billie Eilish does pop, Pop Smoke did Hip-Hop, you have several artists who are in defined genres, hence you’re predominantly just selling the artist and their talent. Some of the challenges of signing these big African stars and exporting is that you’re not just selling or breaking the artist, you’re also trying to break the sound. It's doubly hard, trying to break a sound like Afrobeats into mainstream consciousness. If you sign Khalid because he’s R&B, Neo Soul, it’s easier because the genre has a large existing audience, it has radio stations, marketing channels, charts etc. There are different specialists that drive a particular genre. I think it’s a matter of time for African acts. In these early stages of pushing for mainstream adoption, some major labels have taken the risk and lost on signed record deals whilst learning and refining strategies. When I say lost, I mean commercially, because an album, EP or single has not performed as expected in a specific export market. 

During my time as the GM Sony Music Entertainment West Africa  I was called up by Rob Stringer (Chairman Sony Music) to attend a number of MD meetings at the Sony Music HQ, New York. Each country MD from China to Spain to Brazil attends these yearly meetings so it's a major meeting. It was at these meetings that I really learned Nigeria is nowhere on the global music map. As brilliant as our music is and as loud as we are, Nigeria doesn't even make it into the Top 30 music markets. We might have some of the biggest African artists in the world but in terms of the real commercial value of the Nigerian music industry, we still have a very long way ahead. There are countries like Turkey, Spain, Norway, India with 5-15 million monthly paying music subscribers. These are the stats that interest a major music company and validate your market as a valuable music market, not one or two superstar artists who primarily export their recorded music. In the Latin and K-Pop markets, local consumers drive the majority of their streams/views domestically before exporting to the global market but here, we’ve got it reversed.

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