Nigerian Afropop singer, Mr. Eazi with the real name Oluwatosin Ajibade is making waves in the global music industry as the singer has raised $20 Million (Twenty Million Dollars) so as to invest in African music creatives. The singer claimed, in an interview with CNN, that his lead investor is 88mph which is a company that provides capital for African businesses.
Speaking on the purpose of the funds in helping African music creatives, Mr. Eazi said, “Artists cannot go to banks to get money for their music because financial institutions don’t understand how to secure intellectual property. They get it for physical properties but not for music. So, because not a lot of people understand the music business, there is no finance product for musicians.”
Having mentioned the major challenge African music artistes go through, Mr. Eazi hopes to proffer a solution by supporting music artists in Africa financially. Speaking on how the funds will be shared, Mr. Eazi said, “For artists who already have footprints in the industry, we will just do our research. We can check how much they are earning or likely to earn from their streaming revenue, for example, artists will be given funds upfront based on their revenue to expand their music content. The initial advance invested in an artist’s music will be paid back in installments as the artist’s earnings start to rise.”
Mr. Eazi surely has a dream in making sure African music artistes own their own content and intellectual property, so they can be a significant part of the music industry.
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