Tinny Entertainment has announced the termination of Ycee’s distribution deal with Sony Music Africa.
Ycee, real name Oludemilade Alejo, is one of the four artists signed to Tinny Entertainment label.
This development comes a little over a year after the contract was signed.
As part of Sony Music Entertainment’s expansion across Africa, the label announced an exclusive deal with Ycee in South Africa in October 2016. The deal saw the rapper’s first E.P, ‘The First Wave,’ released under the Sony Music Africa umbrella.
But the relationship has been fraught with disagreements and social media outbursts for quite a while now.
In August 2017, Ycee (popularly called Jagaban) called out Michael Ugwu of Sony Music Entertainment West Africa, accusing him of treating artists badly and making away with their money.
In a statement released on their website on Sunday, Tinny Entertainment, revealed that the deal was terminated in December and they now have sole right to all materials by Ycee.
According to the label, they signed a license and distribution deal with Sony Africa for the distribution of some of YCEE’s music globally, in the hope that Sony Africa would take their music to the next level.
The statement reads: “We would like to state officially that we terminated our contract with SONY through our lawyers, Olaniwun Ajayi LP, by a letter dated 5 December 2017. Henceforth, we are the sole owners of the copyright in any and all of our music and can exploit our music on any and every platform.
“We have realised that it is best to undertake the distribution of our records by ourselves, as a Record Label and that Made in Nigeria across board, is the only way to be above board.”
“As a Label, we are pushing out great music this year starting with “Say Bye,” “I Wish” and our YCEE and Bella Collabo EP, “Late Night Vibrations.”
Sony Music is yet to publicly react to the development.
