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Nigerian artists face uncertainty as Universal Music slower streaming growth

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Universal Music Group, the leading music label backing Don Jazzy’s Mavin Records, has seen its shares drop over 20% amid intense competition in the streaming market.

The Netherlands-based Universal Music Group (UMG), representing top artists such as Taylor Swift, Drake, Justin Bieber, and Adele, experienced this significant decline shortly after the market opened on Thursday.

This drop followed the company’s below expectation results in its streaming and subscription businesses.

On the earnings call, UMG Vice President and CFO Boyd Muir attributed the year-over-year slowdown in subscription growth to “the timing of price increases” from its partners. UMG’s partners, including Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Music, have raised prices in recent years, which has helped UMG generate additional revenue from its subscription business.

“The other factor impacting our subscription revenue growth this quarter is the slowdown in subscriber growth at certain platforms, which is occurring while the overall subscription marketplace continues to experience significant growth in subscribers globally,” Muir added. “While Spotify, YouTube, and many regional and local platforms have continued to exhibit healthy growth in subscribers, other large partners who have been less successful in driving global adoption have seen a slowdown in new subscriber additions.”

The executive did not specifically call out which platforms were seeing a downtick in subscribers but did say the company is “engaged with all of our key partners” in dialogue regarding product innovation.

Earlier this year, UMG implemented a restructuring plan aimed at generating €250 million in annual savings by 2026, which included job cuts.

Deals with social media platforms have become problematic for Universal Music Group (UMG) in recent months. In May, UMG ended its partnership with Meta Platforms (META), which was licensing premium music videos for Facebook. Management stated that the offering “was less popular with Facebook’s user base than other music products.”

UMG recently acquired a majority stake in Mavin Global Limited (Holdco), founded by Don Jazzy, to enhance its full-service offering in Nigeria through UMG’s global network. Mavin is currently distributed internationally through Virgin Music Group.

Its artists, including Rema and Ayra Starr, are already well integrated into UMG’s network, with signings across U.S. labels such as Republic and Interscope.

Mavin’s roster features notable artists like Ayra Starr, Ladipoe, Johnny Drille, Crayon, Magixx, Bayanni, Boy Spyce, DJ Big N, Lifesize Teddy, and Rema.

Rema’s hit single “Calm Down” [featuring Selena Gomez] reached No.3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, becoming the biggest Afrobeats song of all time and the most viewed video by an African artist on YouTube, as well as the first African artist-led track to surpass 1 billion Spotify streams.

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Bimpe Akintunde warns Nigerians against scammers impersonating her on WhatsApp

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Bimpe Akintunde, the Nollywood actress, has raised an alarm over a fake WhatsApp account created in her name to scam unsuspecting individuals.

The film star took to her Instagram story to share screenshots of the impersonator, posing as her to solicit money from her followers.

Akintunde expressed her frustration and disappointment, cursing the scammer for attempting to profit from her hard work. She warned the public to be cautious of the impersonator on any media platform.

The actress urged her fans to help report the scammer’s WhatsApp and bank accounts.

She also prayed that God should keep such fraudulent individuals away from her and her loved ones.

“What a morning. Tell me how this country wants to be great, when a lot of people are struggling, working hard to build a name and brand, and boom, one person will take their pictures and name only to be defrauding people up and down,” she wrote.

“Who gave birth to such a child? Useless children, may God keep them away from us.

“Please disregard any message from anyone, either in your DM or WhatsApp, asking you to send money.

“Please, it not me. I do not own this above number. I would appreciate it if we could find a way to report both the WhatsApp and the Opay account.”

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Davido advises black Americans not to relocate to Nigeria, says ‘the economy is in shambles’

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Davido, the Afrobeats star, has advised black Americans against relocating to Nigeria, citing the country’s economic challenges.

In an appearance on The Big Homies House podcast, the singer shared his thoughts on the struggles bedeviling Nigeria, stating, “It is not cool back home. The economy is in shambles”.

Davido also mentioned Nigeria’s struggles with bad leadership, a high exchange rate, and skyrocketing oil prices, which are negatively impacting the country.

“It is not cool back home. The economy is in shambles. I do my part, I am an ambassador. When I go home and I am filming, I am no going to show the bad parts,” he said.

“I am talking about the situation in the country. Now the exchange rate is messed up, a lot of stuffs are not going well.

“The economy is just not good enough. The oil price is too high. Imagine the country that produces oil, paying more for it than a country importing oil.”

Despite the challenges, Davido emphasised the entertainment industry’s positive impact on Africa’s global image.

“Regardless, entertainment is one of the thing that has made Africa look good. We do not have the best leader, that is a fact,” he said.

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US actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction for staged attack overturned

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American actor, Jussie Smollett’s conviction for fabricating a racist and homophobic hate crime in Chicago in 2019 was overturned Thursday on due process grounds.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that Smollett, 42, should not have been charged again by prosecutors after a prior agreement saw over a dozen original charges dismissed.

It is the latest twist in Smollett’s legal saga, which began with his initial claim in January 2019 that he had been attacked on a Chicago street.

The gay African-American actor, then a cast member of the hit TV series “Empire,” said two masked men assaulted him late at night, shouting slurs and placing a noose around his neck.

Smollett staged the attack after receiving a legitimate piece of hate mail which he felt was not taken seriously by his employers, prosecutors said.

But those charges were suddenly dropped in March 2019, under an arrangement in which Smollett forfeited his $10,000 bond and agreed to do community service.

The dismissal was met with anger by some city officials, including then-mayor Rahm Emanuel, who argued $10,000 was only a fraction of the actual investigation costs.

A special prosecutor eventually took over the case and several charges were reinstated.

Smollett, who has always maintained his innocence, was found guilty in December 2021.

Though he was sentenced to 150 days in prison with 30 months on probation, he was released pending the outcome of his appeal.

He was also ordered to repay $120,106 to the Chicago Police to cover their investigation costs.

The case had initially sent shock waves through a deeply divided country still plagued by racial and sexual discrimination, and the actor had immediately received support from celebrities in political and cultural circles.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruling said that bringing the charges a second time after “the defendant has performed his part of the bargain” represented “a due process violation.”

“We therefore reverse (the) defendant’s conviction,” the ruling said.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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