Davido (born David Adedeji Adeleke) is Africa’s Afrobeat superstar who has taken Nigerian culture worldwide through his authentic music and leveraging the power of digital media.
Yesterday (June 25, 2024), David officially married his fiancée, Chioma Rowland, in an emotional, star-studded wedding ceremony, held in Lagos-Nigeria.
Very few people realise, however, that Davido did something as significant earlier on in 2024 – he entered into partnership with UnitedMasters to launch his own Label, Nine+ Records.
Under the tutelage of Steve Stoute (music industry entrepreneur & CEO of UnitedMasters), Davido will be making his mark as an Executive – and showing that he comes from a lineage of shrewd businessmen (his father is one of the most successful businessmen in Nigeria with interests in banking, energy, farming and real estate).
The UnitedMasters deal is a significant move that, according to Davido, will allow new artists own their masters, pocket all of their royalties and freely release music to fans on their own schedule (traditionally, musicians signed to major music labels such as Sony or Columbia Records are tied to a music release schedule).
Artists under the Nine+ Records label will be given access to the UnitedMasters platform and get assistance with key elements of the marketing mix: product packaging, promotion, and distribution.
Says Davido, who reportedly earned close to $20 million in 2023 from royalties, touring, merchandise sales, and endorsement deals (with Pernod Ricard’s Martell Cognac, smartphone maker Infinix Mobile, and Puma):
I’m trying to teach these new artists that [they] don’t have to do what I did. This is a platform where they [the artists] are free. I give them 100% creative control.
Nine+ Records also plans to feature a wide range of music genres, including R&B, trap, hip-hop, Latin, and country. Davido’s goal is to support new talent from Africa and around the world, and to redefine the global music landscape.
