The Nigerian music industry is one big marketplace with each person about the different ventures that pay them; primarily musicians working and distributing their music with record labels and distribution or licensing companies they already struck individuals deals with. And in other cases, musicians operating all on their own, setting up shop with whatever they have and hoping for the best end of the business. Just like any superstore, these record labels which musicians get into to push their music to the next frontier all have different and unique ways of doing business as well as unique perks which members of the public may be unaware of as their main concern remains the end product; the music and the musicians. Lately in the Nigerian music scene, as the goal of Western domination becomes more actualisable, all thanks to world-bridging technologies and the almighty internet, the rush has become even madder, underlining the need for strong record deal backings to help artistes reach their goals. In this story, we take a look at 12 of the record labels in the country which have via their artistes; success and hit-making power proved to be the biggest record labels in Nigeria.
What is a Record Label Company and What do they DO ?
Record labels are companies, large or small, that manufacture, distribute, and promote or market the recordings of affiliated musicians which are established by the signing of a record deal. The name “record label” is originally from the paper label at the center of a gramophone record. Record labels engage in a wide range of functions in the music industry, including new artist recruitment and development (known as A&R, which stands for artist and repertoire), music publishing, and copyright enforcement.
The good thing about this is that all these up coming artists are making progress in the Nigerian music industry, This however, give a good reputation to the various record labels they belongs. Let’s take Zinoleesky, Joeboy, Fireboy, Lyta, Cblavk and likes of others as a case study, You could agree with me that these guys are giving good name to their various record label.
Top 10 Richest and Biggest Record Labels In Nigeria 2022
On this post i shall be taking you through the top 10 biggest and most successful record labels in Nigeria.
Which Record Label are the biggest and richest Record Labels In Nigeria? Keep calm if that is your question we will take you through them bit by bit.
Top 10 Biggest Record Labels In Nigeria 2022
For the past few years, record labels in Nigeria have been making much progress as each year goes by, With no doubt, this is proven from the increasing numbers of up coming artist being trained and bred by these record labels.
Who are the Biggest Music Labels in Nigeria?
1. Mavin Records
Having just recently celebrated their 10 year anniversary in an industry where the spoken consensus was that there was no structure, Mavin Records ability to find some of the most promising talents and establish them as superstars has them holding down an undisputed spot as one of the biggest, most loved and most respected labels in the country. Owned by Don Jazzy who has a double decade worth of experience working with artistes in Nigeria, and oodles of goodwill from the Nigerian populace, the label’s clout also comes with strong financial backing from international investors in Kupanda Holdings which is a joint venture owned by Kupanda Investment and TPG Growth which has backed multinational companies like Uber.
Mavin Record itself has now grown into a business entity complete with a holding company with Mavin Holdings and an imprint label with D Prince’s Jonzing World which has Rema and Ruger as its artistes.
With Rema, Ayra Starr, LadiPoe, Johnny Drille, Crayon, Magixx, Korede Bello and Boy Spyce on their roster, the label in fact seems set for further greatness and dominance into the next decade.
2. Spaceship Records aka Spaceship Entertainment
Spaceship Records may not have a long list of popular recording artistes but it does house Grammy-award winning Burna Boy, the one true African Giant, Nissi, veteran music producer and the Grammy award winning producer, Telz. All of these backed by their impressive repertoire of global collaboration deals, global deals with Atlantic Records and Bad Habit as well as campaigns and tours off the back of their flagship star, Burna Boy, makes them eligible for a claim to the title of being one of the biggest record labels in the country.
Founded on the 18th of February in 2015, by Burna Boy after his exit from Aristokrat Records, Spaceship Records is a primary company of Spaceship Collective which is the holding company that houses the record label as well as the publishing company, Spaceship Publishing. A family company true and through, the holding company is owned by none other than the energetic momager, Bose Ogulu with Burna Boy himself as the executive director and his sister Ronami as the creative and branding director.
While the record label company indeed seems like a close-knit affair, it is important to note that it once housed new school sensation, Buju and has displayed an acute sense in working with the best talents and in Burna Boy’s case, continues to do so in sparkling colours.
3. Davido Music Worldwide aka DMW
If every record label has their strong suit and unique face, DMW definitely wears the cap of being the most popular thanks to the label’s ability to leverage off the fame, prestige and largesse of its founder, Davido. Founded in 2016 after Davido left HKN Music, DMW also comes with a list of music industry favourites such as Peruzzi, Dremo, Yonda and DJ ECool while also moving the conversation of female inclusion forward with their latest addition, Liya.
DMW’s popularity and prestige has also been able to take flight due to the rapport the artistes obviously share and have transposed unto frequent well-received collaborations in the past.
DMW has also been able to make their mark with the success of their flag bearing artiste and founder, Davido who continues to rake in megadeals and make mega moves.
4. Chocolate City
One of the few labels that made our childhood fun and served to bring our music stars closer, Chocolate City is by itself a teenage record label with 17 years in the music game. Over this period, the label has given us golden memories with music from former signees such as Brymo, Jesse Jagz, Ice Prince, Jeremiah Gyang, Koker, Victoria Kimani and more. The label was also instrumental in establishing the second wave of the Nigerian hip-hop era with rappers like M.I Abaga, Jesse Jagz and Ice Prince. It also helped inform the current experimentation of Afropop by endorsing and signing the likes of Dice Ailes and CKay, whose Love Nwantiti, off his EP, CKay the First, was initially distributed through them and now jointly in collaboration with Warner Music.
Chocolate City is however not to be conflated with the group as it operates as a subsidiary of Chocolate City Group, which is one of the biggest entertainment conglomerates in Africa. Other arms of the group are Chocolate City Distribution, Chocolate City Events, CCX and Chocolate City Media. On 28 March 2019, Warner Music Group announced a partnership with the Nigerian label Chocolate City. This deal enables Chocolate City artists join WMG’s repertoire and receive the support of the company’s distribution and artist services.
Chocolate City continues to keep up with the current pulse of Nigerian music and add fresh life to it even with their artistes from veteran rapper, M.I Abaga who is set to release a new album, Young John, following his transition from music production to include music recording on the highly successful Dada, indigenous rapper Candy Bleakz, new age rap favourite, Blaqbonez and Afropop singer, Noon Dave.
5. YBNL Record Label
When music genres are listed in the country, the conversation is often whittled down to Afropop which is the new phase of Afrobeats, hip-hop and sometimes RnB, but space is never held for the street-hop scene which has been a veritable subgenre and culture since Olamide hit the music space in 2010 with Eni Duro. The veteran indigenous rapper has since that time worn many caps but continues to hold the door open for the subgenre and promising acts with his record label, YBNL which was formed in 2015.
Founded by Olamide in 2012, YBNL which means Yahoo Boy No Laptop has grown rapidly in the last few years to become one of the top record labels in the country.
Popular acts like Adekunle Gold and Lil Kesh were once signed on to Olamide’s YBNL. However, they have since left the record label.
Currently, DJ Enimoney, Temmie Ovwasa, Davolee and Olamide are the acts on YBNL Nation. Young John and Pheelz are the producers at YBNL.
From then till now, YBNL has proved instrumental in spotlighting acts in the street-hop scene and beyond. A bumper to bumper list of talented and interesting acts, YBNL’s rich history counts acts like Viktoh, Temmie Ovwasa, Davolee, Lil Kesh, Adekunle Gold and others as former signees. In 2020, the record label which is home to DJ Enimoney, secured a distribution deal with Empire, an Empire distribution and record label company and has been able to shoot current acts such as Fireboy DML and Asake as well as Olamide himself, to fresh new heights.
7. Starboy Entertainment
2020 was the year of Wizkid’s Made in Lagos but till date, the streets are still hot with records off the album, making it one of the most successful projects out of the African continent and cementing Wizkid’s status as a global star and like his record label’s name, the Starboy.
Named after Wizkid’s moniker, Starboy Records was founded in 2013 following his exit from Empire Mates Entertainment and while Wizkid himself bagged a deal with RCA Records, the star continues to distribute his music through his label while the latter gets exclusive licensing deals.
In the past, Starboy Records has also been home to the top acts like Mr Eazi and LAX, Efya, Maleek Berry and others. At present, it caters to Terri, DJ Tunez and maestro producers, Legendury Beatz.
8. Eezee Concept
This Gospel Record Label is the Imprint flying the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ higher with Music and Arts. The label is the home for Chindinma, Mercy Chinwo, Judikay, Minister GUC and so much more.
9. FlyBoy Inc
Currently, conversations have been swirling all over the Nigerian internet sphere regarding Kizz Daniels and the need to give him his due flowers following the relish and commercial success his Barnabas EP and Buga single have been met with.
All of this is also doubly noteworthy as the artiste keeps a super low profile and for the most part is only in the news for his music. Kizz Daniel has been able to pull this off with his record label, FlyBoy Inc which he found in 2017, after leaving G Worldwide.
While Kizz Daniel is currently the only act signed to the label, FlyBoy Inc had in the past signed two artistes; Demmie Vee and producer, Philkeyz. Fly Boy’s act Kizz Daniels, also works with Empire who distributed his critically acclaimed Barnabas EP.
10. Keyqaad
There is no monopoly on the sources of excellence and the Keyqaad and Omah Lay story outlines that perfectly. For instance, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and its ensuing lockdown in 2020, if anyone had told music enthusiasts that a musician would breakout in the way Omah Lay had, purely through streaming platforms and with music at the tempo that he’d released on Get Layd, it would have been turned down as a bad joke. But Omah Lay, himself a former producer, had indeed shone through the deafening silence of the pandemic days, cutting through the many barriers to become a new-school favourite in an era where we couldn’t be outside to feel the music. Behind him was another new force, an upstart label if you may in form of Keyqaad Entertainment. Owned by Valentine Ngaji who had spent several years working in popular radio stations such as Cool FM where he was the Programs Producer, Soundcity Radio where he was the Head of Music, and other impressive music positions, Valentine had ventured fully into the business end of the music world by establishing Keyqaad Entertainment in 2018.
Omah Lay has since then been able to grow with guidance from his label to become the next big thing out of the country with successful tours to his name and a record with Justin Beiber as a prelude to his forthcoming EP. Keyqaad also boasts of another talented act, Kaestyle, and it is clear that the label is set to revolutionise music in and from Nigeria.
Some Other Top Biggest Record Labels In Nigeria 2022/2023
LOVEWORLD RECORDS
Owned by the charismatic pastor, Chris Oyakhilome, this record label is geared towards discovering and grooming gospel artistes.
It was established in 2009 and some of the notable gospel musicians belong to this record label. These include Sinach, Frank Edwards and Joe Praize. Others include Ada Ehi, Chris Shalom, Eben, Buchi and Jahdiel.
The vision of Loveworld records is to take God’s divine presence to the people of the earth through Gospel music and creative arts.
The management team of Loveworld Records is headed by Ehi Moses, an accountant turn musician and producer. He has over 15 years experience in the music industry.
KAYCEE RECORDS
Established in the United Kingdom, Kaycee Records is owned and managed by Kennedy Kesidi Richard and Kingsley Chibuzor Aguoru.
Kaycee records have been promoting Nigerian acts in the U.K as far back as 1995. However, in 2010, the company expanded and launched its record label. During this launch, Kaycee Records presented the following artistes: Uche Barry Nwobi (Swith Barry), Ikechukwu Iroegbu (Snappy), Meldaline Maureen Uzoigwe (Mel-Dee), Chike Ken Nwoke (Seaflo), and the group Southend.
Currently, one of the popular artists at Kaycee Records is Safin de Coque, the son of the legendary musician Oliver de Coque. They also have Mr Bistop, a former member of Bracket under this label.
960 MUSIC
960 Music is another top record label in Nigeria. The headquarters of the label is in Lagos and it is headed by Mark Redguard.
This musical label has several independent record labels under it. These include Hypertek Digital, Aristokrat Records, Ultima Productions and Password.
960 Music was founded in 2013 and it was the first label in the country to have several record labels under its watch.
Some of the popular acts that have been involved with 960 Music include 2Face, Dammy Krane and Burna boy. Also, the legendary musician, Victor Uwaifo was recently signed to 960 Music through one of its subsidiaries, Hypertek Digital.
CAPITOL HILL RECORDS
Capitol Hill Records is owned by the music video director, Clarence Peters. Clarence Peters is the son of legendary musician, Shina Peters.
Capital Hill Records has had several major acts on their label. Some of the past acts include Tha Suspect, rapper Kel.
Currently, the artistes with Capitol Hill Records are Ill Bliss, Tha Suspect, Chidinma, Fefe and Mz Kiss.
A few years ago, all the acts on Capitol collaborated to sing a song titled, ‘Finally (Adekunle)’.
Chidinma recently left the record label due to a disagreement in the sharing formula for revenue generation.
FIVE STAR MUSIC
The boss of Five Star Music is Emeka Okonkwo popularly called E-Money. He is the younger brother of popular musician, Kingsley Okonkwo popularly called K-Cee. The famous producer, Harrysong was also signed on to this record label until recently when a feud between the management of Five Star Music.
The exit of Harrysong from the record label was quite messy as the management of Five Star went after him a couple of times and got him arrested. But all that is behind them as their feud has been resolved amicably and Harrysong has moved on to his own record label, Alterplate.
Recently, Five Star Music signed a young rapper, Xbusta on to their record label and there’s currently much hype around him.
Smen Music Company
Olashoplife is the artiste behind Smen Music Company which is a subsidiary of Souljar Mind Entertainment Network.
Souljar Mind Entertainment Network was established in August 2013.
Olashoplife released his first Official Single titled Odun under the imprint of Souljar Mind Entertainment, now transformed into a Smen Music Company, which is a digital Record Label for gospel and Inspirational music and Musical Label, Olashoplife released Abundant Life and the Song is gaining a lot of traction. Smen Music Company also give good digital recording deal for Indie Music Artist to get their music distributed and Promoted across all Platforms.
G-WORLDWIDE ENTERTAINMENT
If you’ve ever heard any song by the popular Kiss Daniel, you must have heard him often give tribute his record label, G-Worldwide Entertainment.
This record label was founded by Festus Ehimare popularly called Emperor Geezy and it was established in 2007. However, the company didn’t start promoting musical acts until 2011. G-Worldwide signed their first performing artist which was Kiss Daniel in 2013.
Two years later, G-Worldwide signed reggae and RnB sensation, Sugarboy.
The label has a focus on specific music genre which include Afrobeat, RnB, Reggae and Soul Music
G-Worldwide is one of the top labels in the country and the major act, Kiss Daniel has won various awards in recent years.
Founded by the trio of Audu Maikori, Paul Okeugo and Yahaya Maikori in 2005, Chocolate City is one of the biggest labels in the country. Initially, Chocolate City was founded as nightclub but it later became a promotions company then a record label.
EMPIRE MATES ENTERTAINMENT (EME)
Founded in 2002, EME is owned by the popular Nigerian music star, Bankole Wellington (Banky W). The record label was established while Banky was a student at a local university in Albany, U.S.A.
The recording artistes at EME include Banky W, Niyola and Shaydee. DJ Xclusive is the official DJ for this record label.
Popular acts that have been groomed by EME and have gone on to establish themselves in the Nigerian Music industry include Wizkid and Skales. Wizkid and Skales exited EME at the expiration of their contracts.
Some of the popular albums released by EME over the years include:
- Mr Capable (2008) – Mr Capable
- The W Experience – Banky W
- Superstar (2009) – Wizkid
- Ayo – Wizkid (2014)
MADE MEN MUSIC GROUP
Made Men Music Group was founded by Ubi Ekapong Ofem (Ubi Franklin) in 2010. Prior to founding Made Men Music Group, Ubi Franklin worked as an assistant to Julius Agwu. He also worked with AY Makun and other artist before becoming a show promoter.
Franklin would later become the manager of Iyanya who would later become the first recording artist when Made Men Music Group was founded in 2010.
In 2014, the label later expanded to include Tekno, Emma Nyra and Selebobo. Two years later, Made Men Group released a compilation album, “the Evolution” which was produced by Selebobo along with Tekno and DJ Coublon.
In 2016, Ubi Franklin won the City People Music Awards for the Best Music manager of the year.
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