By Comfort Yakubu
Recently, it was widely reported that Warner Music Africa (WMA) is reinforcing its commitment to Nigeria’s creative sector through strategic engagements with key government officials.
The reports said WMA plans to expand its coverage into Nigeria through Lagos in a move that aims to amplify African artists’ voices on the global stage while fostering innovation and inclusivity in the region’s dynamic creative landscape.
The reports suggested that WMA’s has a long-term dedication to Nigeria, including investments in local businesses and contributions to the country’s creative.
But What is Warner Music Africa up to, Helping or exploiting?
Only recently, a judgment from the Commercial Division of a High Court in London ruled on a loan dispute between Nigeria’s legacy music label, Chocolate City, and the American record label WEA/WMG.
The judgment prohibits Chocolate City from prepaying a $1.7 million loan ahead of its 2024 due date and affirmed WEA/WMG’s right to choose between full payment with interest or converting the loan into 60 percent of Chocolate City’s shares.
The court’s decision thwarted Chocolate City’s attempt to exit the loan early, preventing the lender from demanding a majority share of the company. The dispute arose when Chocolate City sought to prepay the loan in 2022, contrary to the loan agreement, which did not envisage early repayment.
Despite Chocolate City’s argument, citing clauses in the agreement, the judge ruled in favour of WEA/WMG’s interpretation, stating that prepayment was not permitted.
This ruling granted WEA/WMG the discretion to accept cash payments or convert the loan into shares when due. The judgment’s implications potentially put Chocolate City at risk of losing a majority of its shares to WEA/WMG.
How is it possible that a Nigerian firm worth millions of dollars can be sold to an American firm by order of a London court?
It is important that, as a society, we are watching these types of developments and what they mean for Nigeria’s music industry and the well-being of the national and regional music markets. Music is not like oil; it reflects our history, our culture, our dignity, and our labor.
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) was established by the Nigerian government to, among other things, combat anti-competitive practices, monitor business and interactions among partners, wholesalers, and retailers, and prevent practices that could lead to abuse of market dominance or monopolies. Despite the existence of this commission, Nigerian artistes are being ripped off by foreign labels who come as wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Professor Olufunmilayo Arewa, a leading copyright and music scholar in the US, has argued that many black musicians signed promising deals with leading music firms in the US but were kept in a subordinate position even though their music was a “central creative resource” in the industry and culture.
The government must carefully consider the terms on which these firms merge and take over Nigerian firms, while the laws of the country must ensure that Nigeria’s music market, and indeed Africa’s music market, does not give control of our culture to others and avoid destroying local music firms and robbing artistes of meaningful returns for their creativity.
Yinka Adegoke, a public commentator, said, “We need to be careful about our IP.”
The concern about intellectual property here is that the African music business is going through a boom period, which has led to plenty of talented young artistes and even executives being signed up to big international organisations and financiers.
‘’Often these deals are quite lucrative on the face of it, especially relative to where some of the long struggling artists are coming from. But the caution wasn’t about the short term, but rather, as my friend put it, whether we’d wake up one day and find that the creativity of young Africa was completely owned by non-Africans,” Adegoke said.
He added that ”It is worth noting that this isn’t just about the music business or even just creative sectors, like entertainment and art, where many of the biggest African art buyers are not African”.
“This applies to sectors like tech, where large chunks of some of the continent’s most successful start-ups are funded by Silicon Valley venture funds or Chinese backers’’.
Nigerians have been reacting and commenting on social media, but nothing is done. Who will oversee these things? Will foreigners be allowed to continually rip off these artistes?
As some Nigerians have already been asking, are these developments good for Nigeria’s music industry?
Some of these foreign firms are framing their takeover plans as “investment,” but one must ask whether it is really an investment, if our artists and local companies are worse off, and if these deals are just like the ones black musicians in America and Europe were always complaining about.
Nigeria’s artists and its creative industry are making waves on the global scene. Since the 1980s, renowned legacy artistes like King Sunny Ade and Fela Kuti have been nominated for the highly coveted Grammy Awards.
A new generation of artistes has continued this history, making Nigeria’s music market a global attraction. Burna Boy, Wizkid, and Tems are all global brands. As reported just last week in the New York Times, Tems is the first African artiste to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for her song “Wait for U.”
But as Nigerian musicians rise, the knowledge and capacity to ensure they are properly recognised and compensated in global markets is a serious challenge.
The government needs to be on high alert and seriously evaluate whether this completed Chocolate City transaction or the recently concluded Maven transaction that was also recently reported in the media (also with another US firm) are good, fair, and defensible for the Nigerian market.
Judging by what the leading scholars in the field are saying, these takeovers of Nigerian firms do not bode well for our cultural future and independence.
Importantly, they do not treat our musicians well by global standards. The government must be vigilant.
