Universal Music Group acquire Majority Stake in Nigerian Label Mavin Global
With musicians like Rema and Ayra Starr calling it home, the organisation is leading the way in Africa's Afrobeats trend, which has been taking the world by storm.
The renowned record label Mavin Global, created by Don Jazzy and is home to Rema, Ayra Starr, Crayon, and Ladipoe, was acquired by the Universal Music Group for a 75% interest. The firms stated that assuming regulatory approval, the merger should be finalised by the third quarter.
The agreement's terms were kept a secret. It was unclear whether publishing was included in the deal when Billboard reported in October that Shot Tower Capital was shopping Mavin at a valuation of more than $125 million, with a potential sale price of $150 million to $200 million. Don Jazzy, the CEO and founder of Mavin, and COO Tega Oghenejobo have entered into an investment agreement.
"Great artists, great entrepreneurs, and great people are our simple criteria for identifying partners," UMG chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge said in a statement announcing the agreement. We've found the perfect partners to expand within Don Jazzy, Tega, the Mavin Global crew, and their artist list. We're excited to have Mavin's talented musicians join the Universal Music Group family as they have helped to make Afrobeats a worldwide sensation.
With Rema's "Calm Down," the biggest Afrobeats song ever and the number three spot on the Hot 100 last year, initially released by Virgin Music and its remix featuring Selena Gomez licenced to Interscope, Mavin had already built a relationship with UMG. Meanwhile, Starr has a contract with Republic. Since its debut, "Calm Down" has received over 1 billion on-demand plays in the United States alone, with a much higher total number of plays worldwide.
According to a press release, the investment is intended to accelerate Mavin's global expansion. It specifically targets the company's Artist Academy, which develops its roster's musical and performance abilities, as well as its executive leadership team, which aims to develop the next wave of African leaders in the music industry.
Oghenejobo stated in a statement, "Given the diversity and potential of our business, we have a strong belief that they are the ideal partner for the next phase of our growth, especially with our proven history of collaborations within the UMG family."
Some of the top musicians and record companies in the world call UMG home, which makes them the ideal fit for our goals. We are committed to creating a dynamic creative atmosphere that elevates African music to new heights on the international scene, and we are doing so by working with UMG.
Winning the Mavin auction propels UMG farther into the Nigerian Afrobeats industry, which is an umbrella term for Afropop, Afro-fusion, high life, and other genres that are still exploding globally. Wizkid, Davido, and Burna Boy are just a few of the artists who have become international superstars in recent years. Meanwhile, fresh African talent is being spearheaded by artists like Rema, Starr, Tems, Tyla, Ckay, Asake, and Fireboy DML. The movement has gathered so much traction that the Recording Academy created a new category for the Grammy Awards called "Best African Music Performance." Tyla's song "Water" won in this category earlier this month.
How Ayra Starr made short dresses her brand
In terms of the prettiest clothing for women, Ayra Starr is at the top of the list.
Even off the social media radar, Ayra Starr embraces all that makes her uniquely a member of Generation Z.
She is one of several rising stars who have turned their backs on the conceit that comes with "selfie culture" in favour of something much more authentic—a relatability and confident independence that come through in her sense of style.
She maintains the kind of pace one would expect from an emerging artist; she travels almost every other day and has a full calendar that includes press appearances, many live performances, and many other obligations.
When she's not on the road, she spends most of her waking hours either writing music or recording in late-night studio sessions.
The clearest example of Ayra Starr's 19 years of career dedication may be found in the fact that her debut studio album, 19 & Dangerous, was released in August 2021, just seven months after her self-titled EP debuted.
The auditory and visual differences between the two bodies of work, as well as the level of growth seen in the latter album, demonstrated to the public and industry insiders how dedicated she is to her work and how deliberate she is with her style, sound, and career.
She worked so hard to get here, and I want to emphasise that. Each step has been divine, wonderful, gratifying, and lovely.
Ayra Starr once stirred much controversy with her song "If I cast then I cast, everything wey wan sup go sup," from her 2021 album 19 & Dangerous.
A similar mentality can be seen in Ayra's fashion choices, which are daring and risk-taking but also occasionally vulnerable to critical feedback from admirers.
Tyla vs Ayra Starr (South Africa vs Nigeria)
Tyla vs Arya Starr is like another Nigeria Vs South Africa
So don't be carried away with my point to the level you will lose your temper, this a battle of Amapiano vs Afrobeats, in which South Africa is leading Nigeria 1-0 based on the Grammy result, I hope Wednesday our football team can make us all proud as they did with Back to music, let me share some little fact you can confirm yourself, presently this Gen Z believe a bit in evidence, on YouTube Tyla follower is 1.07M while Arya Starr is 1.6M, Tyla has more monthly listener of 28.9M on Spotify more than Arya Starr which is only 19.7M. By this who do you think is best between the two of them? Forget about Grammy
Another valid point is to listen to their music and tell me which toy you prefer. Or rate better? While doing that don't forget Tyla was signed to a record label in the US named Epic Record while Ayra Starr was signed to a Nigeria Record label named Mavin Record, the focus is if Ayra Starr with a Nigerian record label can make her music known around the world says a lot or organic work to reach that level, in my own opinion I will stick with Ayra Starr, but don't let us forget Tyla just won Grammy which we can all agree her record label plays a major role by making sure her song was pushed into people’s face, but all that was achievable because Nigeria started playing more of Amapiano than Afrobeat
My last opinion, Grammy is nobody to Africans making them an institute we want to respect is BS, their goal and intention is not to value us in any way but to use our audience and culture to establish themselves more, Grammy recording academy which was formally known “NARAS” which their main purpose is for American Artiste. I see no reason why we will go so deep into making their validation supersede our own culture. Tyla might have a couple of hit songs but by record Ayraa Starr should be respected Koreans value due to her Organic growth sticking with Nigerian audience that propel her to the world. In your own opinion who do you think is the best between Tyla and Ayrra Starr?
Tyla made history: first Grammy nomination & first win
Tyla Wins Best African Music Performance, Beating Out Burna Boy, Davido, and Other Nigerian Stars
The song "Water" by the South African superstar beat the following: "Amapiano" by Asake & Olamide, "City Boys Miracle" by Burna Boy, "Unavailable" by Davido featuring Musa Keys, and "Rush" by Ayra Starr.
At this year's Grammy Awards, the fierce struggle for Nigerian Afrobeats musicians ended in disappointment when Tyla, a South African singer and songwriter, won the golden gramophone for Best African Music Performance.
Ayra Starr's "Rush," Davido with Musa Keys' "Unavailable," Burna Boy's "City Boys Miracle," and Asake & Olamide's "Amapiano" were all surpassed by the South African beauty's "Water."
Following Jimmy Jam's prize presentation during the awards premiere ceremony, the singer was shocked.
in her words she said “What the heck?!” she declared once on stage. “This is crazy, I never thought I’d say I won a GRAMMY at 22 years old.”
The pop song "Water," with an amapiano base, defied fierce competition to become the first single by a South African solo artist to reach the Billboard Hot 100 since Hugh Masekala in 1968.
She became the highest-charting African female solo performer in Billboard history when Water eventually peaked at No. 7. The song also reached the top of the Billboard US Hip-Hop/R&B and Afrobeats Songs charts.
During her winning speech, the 22-year-old called out her family, stating, "I know my mother's crying somewhere in here."
As the inaugural recipient of the Best African Music performance award, she created history in the newly established category that, according to Academy President Harvey Mason Jr., was designed to commemorate music from the continent of Africa.