A LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE NIGERIAN RECORDED MUSIC INDUSTRY
Valueless? Or Undervalued?
Headlines abound of numerous deals in developed markets involving music copyrights, in particular publishing catalogues, being acquired by private equity firms and hedge funds for seven figure sums, and music company-related mergers and acquisitions in the nine and ten figure range. This is a trend that will continue for the foreseeable future. African music copyrights that are successful in such markets therefore have opportunities to share in the premiums being enjoyed – especially given the limited value generating opportunities in domestic markets currently.
Domestically, things are at a much earlier stage of development. We are still a way from such exciting headlines with many macro-economic variables, and developments in other sectors (telecoms in particular) having a major part to play in the Nigerian market specifically. Better opportunities are available across other African regions but, generally speaking, the populous nature of the continent does not yet present a viable en…