Mr. Eazi Raises $20 Million in Funding to Invest in African Artists

• Nigerian Afrobeat star, Oliwatosin Ajibade, widely known as Mr. Eazi, has raised $20 million for his Africa Music Fund (AMF) to invest in African music talents.
• The platform will make upfront payments to artists who already have a presence on the continent, providing them with more money to enhance their craft.
• The platform will also help upcoming talents distribute their songs for as low as 500 naira.

Nigerian music star, Oliwatosin Ajibade, widely known as Mr. Eazi, has raised $20 million for his Africa Music Fund (AMF) to invest in African music talents.

Mr Eazi revealed this in a statement to CNN. According to him, the fund was led by 88 mph, a company that invests in African business.

He explained that his aim was to establish a new platform to fund the music entertainment ecosystem in Africa, adding that the entertainment ecosystem is not understood by intuitive investors in Africa and this limits funding in the industry.

It is worthy of note that there has never been an investment of this magnitude in the Nigerian music space before.

“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,” he told CNN.

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How the fund works

Artists, who already have a presence on the continent, are expected to join the platform, and their data will be gathered to see how many music streams they are truly receiving. Upfront payments would be made to the artists which would give them more money to enhance their craft.

The artists would pay back the upfront payments in instalments as the profits on their earnings increase.

“Let’s say we have a two-year contract with someone. In those two years, we will be their representative, helping them manage their music, and as they grow we will be deducting the initial investment from their earnings,” he said.

Why the fund is essential

AMF will give African creatives exposure to a wider audience through streaming services and technology that would allow them access to their music festivals and shows. Mr. Eazi himself has received more than five million views on music streaming services such as Spotify.

He disclosed that the AMF would partner with Vydia, a music technology firm, and both will launch Cinch Distro, a music distribution network. The platform will help upcoming talents upload their song for as low as 500 naira.

“The way it works is that they register on the platform and make their music. It has an AI-based tech that will filter their possible revenue based on the number of streams they get on the platform alongside a couple of other metrics,” he added.

He explained that the platform would assist artists in distributing their music and monitoring their progress through AI, allowing Cinch Distro to make data-backed investment decisions.