April 14, (THEWILL)- Late last year, discussions on the future of Mavin Records, one of Nigeria’s most influential music labels, came to the fore when news that its founder, Michael Collins Enebeli, aka Don Jazzy, was mulling its sale went viral.
Don Jazzy was reportedly contemplating a sale or seeking external investment. The Nigerian music community remained on the edge of their seats, eagerly awaiting further details about the future of Mavin Records. The potential sale or investment they believed should mark a pivotal moment in the label’s history while opening up new possibilities and ventures for one of Africa’s most influential music entities.
There were bids from major players like Universal Music Group (UMG) and HYBE, with valuation estimated between $125 million and $200 million with Shot Tower Capital, an independent investment bank, facilitating the negotiation process. Don Jazzy tried to set the records straight. Making clarifications, he revealed that the label had had investors for five years, but they were leaving and that naturally opened the door for other interested investors.
In 2019, the label had secured a multi-million dollars investment from Kupanda Holdings, a subsidiary of Kupanda Capital and TPG Growth. Don Jazzy attested that investors were bidding because Mavin Records possesses valuable assets. Valuable assets in this case meaning bankable artistes like Divine Okubor, aka Rema; Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe aka Ayra Starr; Johnny Drille; Ladipo Eso, aka Ladipoe and several others, such as Charles Chibueze Chukwu aka Crayon; John Ighodaro; Alexander Adelabu, aka Magixx and five in-house producers. However, he kept mute about the specifics.
THEWILL has exclusively gathered that Bono, the Irish musician and activist who uses his celebrity status to call attention to global problems, is now the majority shareholder of Mavin Records. Bono, seeing the huge potential of Nigeria’s burgeoning entertainment industry, especially as the country’s artists have begun to dominate the international music scene, felt he needed to have a piece of the action. So, through one of his companies based in South Africa, he decided to make an inroad, albeit, silently, by facilitating the deal for UMG to make an investment bid on his behalf.
The deal, according to reliable sources close to THEWILL, involves him taking over the management of two of Mavin’s biggest and bankable acts, Rema and Arya Starr. So, while Don Jazzy is the face of Mavin Records, Bono controls what happens in the record label, using UMG as a front. This further raises questions about how this could shape the label’s creative direction and business operations. But hopefully it all turns out well and the label continues to champion artistic excellence and contribute to the vibrant landscape of African music. Mavin Records was founded in 2012, following the closure of Mo’ Hits Records, a record label owned by Don Jazzy and his former partner, Dapo Oyebanjo aka D’Banj. In 2014, Nonso Temisan Ajufo, aka DJ Big N, became the label’s official disc jockey. Tiwa Savage, Oluwatobi Wande Ojosipe aka Wande Coal, Ayoleyi Hanniel Solomon aka Reekado Banks and Iyanya Onoyom Mbuk were all formerly signed to the label at some point.
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