The issue of artistes falling out with their record labels at the peak of their careers has been a recurring issue in Nigeria for over a decade.
Stephen Ezihe, a Nigerian entertainment lawyer based in the United States, has been actively sharing his thoughts on the ongoing debate surrounding the short lifespan of Nigerian record labels and their artistes.
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As the executive director of operations and co-founder of Maze Media, a global brand management agency, Mr. Ezihe strives to push boundaries and shape cultural trends.
During an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, he provided insights into the intriguing aspects of the Nigerian music industry, shedding light on the reasons behind some of the abnormalities in the industry.
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Excerpts:
PT: What are your thoughts about the Nigerian entertainment industry today
Mr Ezihe: Many artistes need to understand that they are supposed to have a contract before they begin any official dealings with a label. They do not know that they have certain rights as artistes and specific benefits for their talents and music; this is something inspirational coming from them. A lot of record labels take advantage of them.
The good part is the artistes Mr Uzoeshi, my partner, worked with back then; he tried to educate them, and I was excited that he could take care of them. Many of them were taken advantage of by their record label. They signed away their rights, privileges and certain royalties that were supposed to be accrued.
I took note of that and tried to implement that in other contracts that I formulated to make sure that the artistes had excellent deal so that they would understand that we have them in mind, not just for the present but also for the future, so that even if our business deal end, you can still come back to us and refer people to us.
That experience was educational because I was learning, and I am still learning because we see new laws, rules, and processes of doing things now; it is not like before.
PT: Why do Nigerian musicians fall out with their record label at the peak of their career?
Mr. Ezihe: Many artistes still go through that because they don’t have a professional manager. Every artiste needs a legal representative because many of these contracts are based on laws, and a layperson can(not) understand some of these laws. It would require interpretations from a professional.
But it is better than before because many people know it due to online exposure. With the internet, a lot of people know everything going on everywhere.
There is no room for options, so artistes need to compare and try to find information. In the past, we did not have access to the internet, but now that we, the musician himself, should be able to go online and ask questions and find out if he is adequately represented or has a good record deal.
PT: From experience, what do you think are the top three costly mistakes artists make when it comes to labels and contracts
Mr. Ezihe: The number one mistake they make is taking whatever their record label gives them first because they believe this is their only chance. They believe this is their only opportunity; let me not try to claim my right, benefit, or royalties so the person bringing the deal wouldn’t walk away. So they try to play safe.
Secondly, many artistes need to be adequately educated; you are supposed to attain a certain level of education as a human being. If you didn’t go to school, try to educate yourself. At least be able to read or write; you would be surprised some people cannot read correctly or recognise certain words even in their contracts, even the basic agreements.
They need help to read and understand it. They may pay more attention to their musical talent without having a formal education and are uninterested in a proper education.
Thirdly, Management: many do not believe they don’t need management or managers; they think they can do everything themselves, which is impossible. You cannot be your publicist, you cannot advertise yourself, and you cannot manage yourself. You can write and sing your songs, but that is just one aspect of the music business. So many other things have to be outsourced.
Some feel that they don’t want to spend money or think they are losing a lot if they try to have a manager, but it is best to have good management. Even boxers have managers; how much more musicians?
PT: How do you handle challenging artistes? It can be tasking managing their talent, managing their ego, and the legal aspect. How do you manage these complexities?
Mr. Ezihe: In the aspect of ego, my partner takes more care of that than I do. If an artiste feels too big, we try to reason things out as much as possible.
We try to make the artiste understand that we are not competitors; we also try to level the ground. We try to let them know we are working for you for your good.
And I don’t know how big your ego can be when someone tries to do something for your benefit, and you kick the person out. When we talk to many artistes that way, we show them the direction we will build their future. A lot of them comply, and they decide to work with us.
PT: How do you complement each other on the label?
Mr. Ezihe: At Maze Media, Chidi Uzoeshi, my partner, spots the artistes, and I try to get a feel of them, what they want, their prospects, and know the direction they want to go.
I just returned from Los Angeles. There was an artiste I went there to talk to, to get a feel of what she wants to do with her music, but a lot of people don’t have future goals; they just want a short-term career, and some people just want to make money as fast as possible, while some people just want to move with the flow. That will determine the kind of direction we go with the artiste.
When we prepare the contract, I look at the legal aspects and what can benefit both parties: we and the artist. After preparing the agreement, I send it to the artiste to take your time and go through it; if you are not satisfied with any aspect of it, we can have a round table discussion, and we will trash it out.
We are open to having discussions and coming to terms with the artiste, and we try to make it as good as possible, and that is what I do when I go through the legal aspect of the contract. At the same time, I am working to raise the funds to keep the business going in Nigeria.
PT: You specialise in corporate law and entertainment law?
Mr. Ezihe: I worked as a corporate lawyer in Victoria Island with Staco Prime Capital Limited; I don’t think the company exists anymore. It was a subsidiary of Staco, an Insurance firm.
Then, my friend, Chidi Uzoeshi, introduced me to the entertainment world. However, I had delved into entertainment before that when I was in my third year at the University of Ibadan, where I studied law.
Around my third year, Mr. Uzoeshi invited me to Lagos from Ibadan to prepare a contract for Soul E Baba, and I drafted the agreement. Beyond the contract, I was exposed to that aspect of business and life.
After law school and Youth Service, I returned to Lagos and started working as a corporate lawyer; then, Mike and I hooked up again and started working together. Then, he was representing a company in charge of Bracket. That is how we started working together; he gave me forms and agreements to prepare, like documents, client contracts and artiste management contracts.
READ ALSO: Why Nigerian record labels fall out with their artistes
Along the line, I travelled to Japan, where I bagged a master’s in Global Studies at Sofiya University, Tokyo.
I spent about six years in Japan. I left Nigeria in 2012, and I was in Japan till 2018. In 2018, I moved to Chicago. Mike and I are still in touch, and he has now decided to float a business that belongs to us. Initially, he worked for other people, but we decided to partner because we have been friends since 1992. We attended the same secondary school boarding house and have maintained our friendship since that period. He is closer than a brother to me.
PT: What was it like when you were first asked to create an entertainment contract for Soul E?
Mr. Ezihe: It was my first time doing something like that, and at that period, I had just finished a course called ‘Company Law’, which was in my third year. When Chidi broached the idea, I told him I was still a law student and did not know much about this.
He encouraged me that all I needed to do was to come in and read some contract documents that were already available and then use my legal mind to assess if it had substance and if it was something they could use to establish a business relationship. And I gave it a shot. That was my first exposure to that. It was scary. I was very young then and was not exposed to something like that.
PT: Can you recall how much you were paid for that?
Mr. Ezihe: The contract perse was between Mike and Soul E for him to manage him. At least Soul E had a separate contract with his record label, Colossal Entertainment, on the money aspect. I was supposed to wait until he started making money from his album or song sales, then we now get paid on it, but the money didn’t come—Soul E kind of betrayed my partner.
PT: What is your vision for Maze Media?
Mr. Ezihe: I am planning to make Maze Media significant and competitive in the global setting. I want it to be big, not just in Nigeria, but to compete with the major record labels and media companies even in America. I want to have a proper foundation to be able to compete here.
PT: Any final comments?
Mr. Ezihe: The changing dynamics in the entertainment industry is crazy; aside from the business aspect of it, especially with the advent of technology, people go for quality; they want to see a short film and comedy, unlike before, people would listen to stories, but now people are very selective with what they pick, and you have to go with the prevailing content that the audience wants.
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