Sony Music opens Lagos office; signs on Michael Ugwu to manage West Africa

Sony Music Entertainment has opened an office in Lagos Nigeria recruiting music business entrepreneur Michael Ugwu as General Manager to manage its West African operations. This is part of a long-term strategy to open offices in a number of key markets in the region.

It also recently began the process of registering to do business in Nairobi, Kenya, which will anchor the Sony Music’s physical operations in East Africa.

In connection with the opening of operations in Lagos, Sony Music recently signed Nigerian superstar Davido to a worldwide deal. In East Africa, SME has partnered with local artists in the region as well, recently signing Redsan amongst others.

These moves build upon Sony Music’s existing business initiatives in Africa, where the company is already a market leader. Sony Music has long had offices in South Africa, in both Johannesburg and Cape Town, and throughout the continent, Sony Music earns revenue from partners including Vevo, YouTube, Apple Music and iTunes. In addition, in West Africa, music content is currently available

through MTN Nigeria’s service via IMI, and in East Africa it currently conducts trade with Kenya’s largest mobile network operator, Safaricom, a company that boasts in excess of 10 million CRBT subscribers.

“Expansion in Africa has been part of our strategy for several years,” said Adam Granite, President, Northern & Eastern Europe and Africa, Sony Music International. “As the region continues to grow, we see significant opportunities to market the incredible local talent in Africa to the rest of the world as well as import our repertoire and exploit it on emerging digital platforms.”

Said Sean Watson, Managing Director of Sony Music Entertainment Africa, “We are really keen to partner with African artists to deliver local, African and global success stories. With over 800 million people living in Sub Saharan Africa, the African continent is a market with huge potential for local artists wanting to expand their horizons.”

Sony Music recently signed a content agreement with African telecoms giant MTN as part of its growth in Africa.