Empire Mates Entertainment Evolves To Creative Agency

The failure to develop proper infrastructure has created a Nigerian music industry where there are simply too many labels. The dominance of 360 deals has led to most artists breaking away from their labels following the expiration of their contracts and in some situations, actually breaching these contracts to get their will. A handful of well run labels exist today with DMW, Mavins and Chocolate City often coming to mind first in these conversations. The likes of Empire Mates Entertainment (EME) and Mo Hits, preceded these and while Mo Hits basically morphed into Mavins, in recent years, EME has struggled to recruit any artists in their prime.

The decision to evolve its business model was announced through a series of Instagram posts by its two stakeholders, Banky W and Tunde Demuren. The announcement did reveal that the record label was closed at the beginning of 2017 and while EME will continue to operate, it will now do so as a media agency with its focus on marketing, advertising, public relations, events management and talent management.

With the switch in focus comes the ability to widen its reach beyond the world of music and more towards entertainment at large as the group’s current roster which features Banky W, DJ Xclusive, Ebuka Obi Uchendu, Toolz Oniru and Adesua Etomi shows. In what they have likened to Jay Z’s conversion of Rocafella to Roc Nation, the new EME definitely has the firepower to create a full-on entertainment house.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfbSTHJnxAI/?hl=en&taken-by=bankywellington

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfbV-1pHzP5/?hl=en&taken-by=bankywellington