Lagos: Prominent Nigerian music lawyer, Akinyemi Ayinoluwa, has called on African producers and songwriters to prioritise ownership of their music catalogues. Ayinoluwa, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said, ‘rights must come before streams’ if the continent’s creatives are to build sustainable wealth.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Ayinoluwa expressed concern that many back-end creators, producers, and songwriters still lose long-term value because they sign away their rights too early. He shared an example from 2019 when a young producer he represented was offered $50,000 for the outright purchase of his publishing interest in a record. While the offer seemed tempting at the time, it would have resulted in the loss of all future publishing income streams, including royalties and publishing shares. The composition in question has since generated over £500,000 in royalties, highlighting the significant difference that ownership can make.
Ayinoluwa explained that owning a catalogue is about more than just creative pride. It involves controlling master rights, sound recordings, and publishing rights, which are considered the real currency in the music industry. These rights generate royalties, sync fees, and licensing income, and whoever owns them decides how, where, and for how long the music lives.
He attributed the current situation to industry traditions that primarily benefit performers. Record labels typically provide funding, marketing, studio time, and access structures designed around performers in exchange for catalogue ownership. This system often overlooks producers and songwriters, who end up with one-time fees despite their contributions to global hits. Ayinoluwa cited instances where beatmakers and songwriters fuel viral hits but struggle financially due to accepting flat fees instead of royalties.
Ayinoluwa compared music catalogues to real estate, emphasizing that music is property that can appreciate, be sold, leased, licensed, or inherited. By giving up ownership, creators potentially forfeit future income. A $2,000 beat fee might seem attractive initially, but that same beat could generate significant revenue over time through sync deals, streaming, and partnerships.
He stressed the importance of understanding the music value chain for African creatives, noting that knowledge of publishing, licensing, rights assignment, and revenue distribution is essential. Ayinoluwa concluded that artists who understand both their art and its economics are the ones who will thrive in the industry.