United Masters SelectCon 005 was this weekend, and Davido graced the occasion as a headline speaker. During the discussion, Davido shared his beliefs, faith, newfound joy, and insight into the music business.
Davido sat with reputable music executive Steve Stoute to speak on how he ran his business before the Afrobeats surge, and his intentions going forward. What he shared came as a shocker to the audience.
David “Davido” Adeleke, founder of Davido Music Worldwide (DMW) noted he never took a dime from any of his signees until recently. “My label was really more like a family to me. I ran a label for four years and didn’t take one dime from the artist,” Davido confessed. He says starting DMW was more of instant gratification than starting a business.
Davido says: “I was just happy putting my boy on.” “I was just happy seeing that my success could rub up on one person,” he contextualises to buttress his point.
He even claims to have gone far and beyond for his previous signees. “I was paying for the videos, I was paying for accommodation, I was paying for welfare,” Davido boasts. We can assume he was referring to Mayorkun, Peruzzi¹, and Dremo.
However, the order of the day now is the ‘Afrobeats to the world’ mantra. Davido is well aware and plans to capitalise on it. He even speaks on it. “Afrobeats got to a place where it’s now global. In these days, it’s music business,” he begins with. Continuing he adds “I can explain to the artist: ‘You gotta spend money to make money.’”
The newest signees on the revamped DMW are Logos Olori and Morravey. Both acts featured in Davido’s 2023 Timeless album on PICASSO and IN THE GARDEN respectively.