On How Artists Conduct and Rants on Social Media Affect Record Labels.
We had one of our artists who went to social media and put pictures of some illegal substance. We said please take this off. It is not good for the brand, it is not good for your brand and ours. At that time, we were actually talking about an endorsement deal with a major brand. When the brand saw it, they actually took a step back. I recall we actually lost close to $100,000 and some live performance shows. When he didn’t, we said we would suspend all work on him until he complied because part of the implied terms of his contract was that he would not do anything to frustrate the label or management carrying out the terms of the contract. And if he did, the contract could be suspended pending the correcting of the issue.
On Nigerian Artists and Labels Working Together and Bridging the Gap Between the Groups.
I think there has been a lot of stereotypes in terms of what they perceive Africans to be. They think Africans are either very very poor or very rich… what we are trying to do is basically let them know is that there are huge opportunities here (in Africa), you do have fans here, and there is also an opportunity for us to also build our fans in the USA.
On Why Chocolate City Decided to SUE Brymo
I must say very clearly it is not a personal matter. It is business. Many people want to invest…I have had meetings with banks, with CEO of many companies … and they always say, look “we are afraid of your industry because it is so erratic because if tomorrow some guy wakes up tomorrow and says I am tired and then he will just send a tweet, what happens to my money?
Imagine (y)ou took a loan of $50,000 dollars to finance the career of somebody and then he wakes up one day and says, “look, you shouted at me, I am not happy so I am leaving my contract and there is nothing else you can do. Now how much interest did you pay on that loan? It is important that you do keep your side of the agreement and if you want to leave, that is not a problem whatsoever, just meet the terms of your contract and go. So, we are trying to take everybody to school so that they can learn and the industry can get bigger and better.
On Jesse Jagz’s Abrupt Exit from Chocolate City
His contract was up and he decided he wanted to go another direction, no issues. [W]hen it comes to talent, expect they are erratic and it is normal for those things to happen. The most important thing is after that was done, we did sit down and he told us what he wanted to do and we gave him our blessings. He still features on Ice Prince’s album.
On Artists Erratic Behavior in Nigeria’s Music Market that Jeopardizes Label Investment.
I don’t think it is about the music industry per se. It is a cultural problem across Nigeria…the whole lawlessness. Lawlessness is wide spread and people think they can always get away with things. It’s a whole cultural issue beyond music… there is lawlessness, there is lack of professionalism, there is lack of ethics, people think it is just about now. How much can I get right now, not looking at the future. We have a lot of work to do. www.africamusiclaw.com
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