Universal Music Africa (UMA) is a multilingual music corporation of the global record label

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

, covering 25 French, Spanish, and Portuguese-speaking countries, in Africa, with its corporate headquarters located in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

. Universal Music Africa is known for housing Motown Gospel Africa, Blue Note Records Africa, and Def Jam Recordings Africa.

History

Universal Music Africa was founded on 11 July 2018, as the largest African division of

, operating in

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

, Cabo Verde,

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

, Congo,

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

, Sao Tome and Principe,

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

, and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. In 2018,

, appoints Moussa Soumbounou, as the managing director, and Olivier Nusse, the CEO of Universal Music France, was appointed as the veteran executive, artist manager, and live promoter. Following the launch, Universal Music Africa (marketed as Universal Music Group Africa), kicked off with Kiff No Beat, DJ Arafat, Toofan, Locko, and Ténor, as its first recording artist. On 11 April 2018,

Mr Eazi Oluwatosin Oluwole Ajibade (born 19 July 1991), better known by his stage name Mr Eazi, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and record executive. He is the pioneer of Banku music, a fusion of sound he describes as a mixture of Ghanaian highlife a ...

Banku Music, signed a licensing deal with Universal Music Group Africa, in conjunction with Universal Music South Africa, to distribute '' Life is Eazi, Vol. 2 - Lagos to London'' in Africa. On 17 June 2019, Charlotte Dipanda, Mink's, Magasco, Pit Baccardi, and Mimie, joins Universal Music Group Africa artist roaster. On 30 August 2019,

Yemi Alade Yemi Eberechi Alade (born 13 March 1989), known professionally as Yemi Alade, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, actress and activist from the Akoko part of Ondo State. Her music is a mixture of Afropop, highlife, dancehall, pop music, pop and Rh ...

, released her fourth studio album '' Woman of Steel'', through Universal Music Africa, and Effyzzie Music Group. On September 9, 2019, she signed a licensing deal with Universal Music Africa, in partnership with Universal Music France. On 13 January 2020,

, promotes Franck-Alcide Kacou, as the general manager of Universal Music Group Africa. On 16 May 2020, UMA, host The Africa at Home, virtual concert, with guess performances from

Magic System Magic systems in games are the rules, limitations, abilities, and characteristics that define magic in a game. Magic points A magic point, sometimes known as a mana point, often abbreviated to MP, is a unit of measure that indicates either or ...

, Serge Beynaud, Vegedream, Kiff No Beat, Fally Ipupa, Singuila, Hiro, Toofan, Locko, Didier Awadi, Salif Keita,

Angélique Kidjo Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo (; born July 14, 1960) is a Beninese- French singer-songwriter, actress and activist noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. Kidjo has won five Grammy A ...

, and Patience Dabany. On 4 January 2021, UMG appoints its key Executive in Africa. Sipho Dlamini, and Elouise Kelly was named CEO and COO of Sub-Saharan Africa, and Universal Music South Africa, while Sipho Dlamini continues to report to Adam Granite, UMG's EVP, Market Development, to identify further opportunities for artists signed to Universal Music Africa, and continues to oversee all of UMG's operations within English-speaking Africa countries. Chinedu Okeke was named managing director of Universal Music Group Nigeria. On 7 June 2022,

Virgin Music Label & Artist Services Virgin Music, known as Virgin Music Label & Artist Services until 2022 and originally as Caroline Distribution, was a music distributor of independent artists and record labels, most prominently Death Grips, Weezer, and Radiohead. Virgin Music ...

launched its flagship in Africa, through UMA as Virgin Music Label & Artist Services Africa (also known as Virgin Music Africa).

U-Live Africa

In 2018, UMA launched U-Live Africa, a flagship of U-Live, and a division of UMG. U-Live Africa is an event promoter, producer, and investor in live entertainment in Africa. On 5 October 2018,

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music and DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. They were founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after three years in 2011. He was the ...

''"Soundsystem Live tour Africa tour"'' in Nigeria, was produced by U-Live Africa, at Hard Rock Beach, Victoria Island, Lagos. In 2018,

Adekunle Gold Adekunle Almoruf Kosoko (born 28 January 1987), known professionally as Adekunle Gold and AG Baby, is a Nigerian Afrobeats singer and songwriter currently signed to Def Jam Recordings. He gained widespread attention after releasing the 2015 hit ...

’s three-night residency at Terra Kulture, from 13 to 15th December. On 17 July 2020, Fally Ipupa partnered with U-Live Africa. According to Fally Ipupa "this announcement is accompanied by an African tour from November 2020 to January 2021. A dozen dates are planned between

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

, and

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

at the top of the list".

Blue Note Africa

On 6 April 2022,

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by History of the Jews in Germany, German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it deriv ...

, and Universal Music Group Africa, established Blue Note Africa (marketed as Blue Note Records Africa), to sign Jazz artists from across the African continent. According to UMA, CEO, Sipho Dlamini, "The opportunity to create Blue Note Africa and provide a channel for African Jazz talent to have a home in the U.S., with a dedicated and passionate team led by a legend in his own right – Don Was, is very exciting. We can now walk the African Jazz journey, from Cape to Cairo to California".

Partnerships

Boomplay Music

On 5 November 2018,

announced a multi-year distribution deal with Boomplay, an African music digital download and streaming service, in ten Africa countries. On 17 March 2021,

signed an expanded licensing deal to enable Boomplay Music to stream Universal Music Africa's music catalog.

ONOMO Hotels Group

On 2 December 2020, ONOMO Hotels Group, signed a strategic partnership with Universal Music Africa, in conjunction with ONOMO Africa's Finest Live, an initiative to promote and support African arts, African music, and African cuisine. Right after the government announced that entertainment, events, exhibitions and cultural shows will resume in line with COVID-19 preventive measures, on 10 December 2020, Onomo hotel launched a new restaurant and lounge called "iJURU", with live music curated by Universal Music Africa.

Tallac Records

On 13 July 2021, Booba " Tallac Records", signed a strategic partnership with Universal Music Africa. According to Universal Music Africa, the exclusive deal will see Booba's entire catalog, spanning 10 albums and almost two decades, available for the first time across the continent and will also include future releases. The deal also marks the launch of 92i Africa, a new division of Booba "92 I brand", in partnership with Universal Music Africa (UMA) and Universal Music France (UMF).

TBI Publishing S.A.

On 12 October 2021,

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, ; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' described him as, "perhaps the m ...

"TBI Publishing S.A.", signed a multi-year, exclusive partnership with UMA. According to Franck Kacou, "His incomparable voice is a strong symbol of the direction we have taken over the past couple of years with UMA, establishing the company as a true home for African artists and music, and a bridge to audiences around the world through our network of labels". According to UMG, "The partnership will begin with the surprise release of a new album on November 12th, 2021".

Artists

Recording artists, and producers, signed to Universal Music Africa includes: *Locko * Rophnan *Ténor * DJ Arafat * Singuila * Vegedream * Dena Mwana * Toofan *

* Booba * Sauti Sol * Charlotte Dipanda *

*Mink's * Magasco *Pit Baccardi *Mimie *Kiff No Beat *

* Zainhy(99Loner)

Selected discography

Singles

Albums & EPs

References

{{Universal Music Group 2018 establishments in Ivory Coast Universal Music Group 2018 establishments in Africa