Azuri Music To Build Structures To Help The Next Generation’ – Asunni

For the longest time, one of the most critical issues facing the Nigerian music industry was the crippling effect of piracy and its outsized impact on artist’s ability to earn money.

The global rise of afrobeats around the last 2010s and the incursion of Western players into the Nigerian market has led to the country’s music ecosystem embracing digital platforms that protect the rights of artists and provide a source of income for them.

One of the companies actively facilitating this pipeline is Azuri Music, a music distribution firm founded by music and tech entrepreneur, Akorede Asunni, in 2021.

Coming off a background working in multiple roles in the music industry, Asunni has witnessed firsthand the plight of artists who are yet to fully establish themselves in the music industry.

“Right now, in our space, if you are not a big name, you can’t do a gig,” he says. “There’s only a handful of people who can actually do gigs and say, ‘Yeah. I’m doing this show here.’ In other parts of the world, people do gigs. It’s not a big deal. Unknown persons selling out one space every other time. It might not be stadiums or big arenas, but small spaces. We don’t have that yet.”

Eager to help these rising acts make money off their music one way or the other, Asunni started Azuri Music with the goal of ensuring that their music was reaching the right audiences.

“I just basically believe in young guys and the underdogs,” Asunni explains. “People who you conventionally would not give a chance. Obviously, like every Nigerian, I’m a sucker for a grass to grace story. ‘Nobody expected this person to do this thing or this thing to happen like this, but then, it just happened.’ I think that basically was the crux of my decision.”

The decision to invest in a young generation has paid off for both Azuri Music and many of the artists they have backed. Not long after Azuri Music kicked off operations, they had a breakthrough success thanks to AV’s catchy single, “Big Thug Boys” and have worked on popular releases by acts like Spy Shitta, Wizard Chan, Nana Fofie, and Jaywillz.

This year, they’ve recorded further success thanks to the widespread acceptance of Spyro’s “Who’s Your Guy” which is one of the most popular songs from Nigeria this year.

Through all of this, Asunni is still focused on his goal of helping the coming generation find their footing in the music industry easier than most have it now. “I think that the future is us as a country, a people to make sure that we build enough structures to help the younger generation,” he says. “Obviously, even if you are not the biggest artiste in the world, you know that by the time you start your journey, you’ll be able to see some money to keep you going. I’m not saying you have to be the biggest superstar, but you can just be on the come-up and try to start this journey and avenues for monetisation should be available to you.”