Deal sheet
- Status
- Announced 6 November 2026 by Sony Music Publishing West Africa via its own social media, reported the same day by a Nigerian entertainment publisher. Not amended or clarified by either party as of this record (8 November 2026).
- Parties
- Sony Music Publishing West Africa
- Amount
- Not disclosed. No advance, royalty rate, commission, term length or exit clause appears in Sony Music Publishing West Africa's own announcement or in any report of it obtained by this desk.
- Rights covered
- Publishing representation of Zinoleesky's songwriting catalogue. Sony Music Publishing West Africa's own welcome post and every report of it reviewed describe the arrangement only as a "publishing deal"; none states whether it is a copyright assignment, a fixed-term administration agreement or a sub-publishing deal, the same unresolved wording this desk found in Sony Music Publishing West Africa's August 2024 fuji-catalogue arrangement (afw_deal 4324). No report connects this deal to Zinoleesky's master recordings. Those sit with Zinodict Music, the label he founded on leaving Marlian Music in April 2026, per this desk's own 24 April 2026 phonogram-credit record (afw_deal 3861); no source for this new deal states that position has changed.
- Territory
- Not stated. Sony Music Publishing West Africa, Lagos-based, is the signing entity, and Zinoleesky is Nigerian; no report specifies whether representation is Nigerian, West African or worldwide. This desk's own company record on Sony Music Publishing West Africa (afw_company 4323) notes "West Africa" functions as a market name for the Lagos operation, with no public register found recording it as a separate legal entity from its parent, Sony Music Publishing; no document obtained for this deal states otherwise.
- Announced
- 2026-11-06
- Primary document
- Trade press
- Sources
- Pulse Nigeria (@PulseNigeria247), the official account of Pulse Nigeria, a Ringier-owned pan-African digital publisher, 6 November 2026: "OFFICIAL: Zinoleesky joins Sony Music Publishing West Africa." Verified by this desk via the X/Twitter oembed endpoint, which returned the exact tweet text and the 6 November 2026 date; the live URL itself also resolves (HTTP 200). · rn0nline.com, 7 November 2026, read directly, quoting Sony Music Publishing West Africa's own Instagram welcome post verbatim: "We look forward to supporting his artistry and being part of what's ahead." Also the source for the catalogue titles cited in the announcement ("Ma Pariwo," "Kilofeshe," "Personal," "Gone Far"). This is a thin, masthead-less entertainment blog; retained only for the direct Sony quote, not treated as the primary citation. · An account using the name "Billboard Nigeria" (@Ngnbillboard), also posted 6 November 2026, repeating the same claim. This desk found no evidence this account is licensed by or affiliated with Billboard, the US trade publication; verified via the X/Twitter oembed endpoint and not relied on as a source for this record's claims, only logged here for the provenance trail. · Leadership (Nigeria), 24 April 2026, on Zinoleesky's exit from Marlian Music and launch of Zinodict Music, previously verified by this desk for afw_deal 3861 and re-cited here for context on the masters side only. · Apple Music catalogue page for Nostalgia, checked 8 September 2026 for afw_deal 3861, phonogram credit read as (P) 2026 Zinodict Music; the most recent masters-side confirmation this desk holds ahead of this publishing deal. · Sony Music Publishing's own newsroom. Fetched directly for this record on 8 November 2026; returned no page naming Zinoleesky or this signing, the same result this desk got checking the same newsroom for the company's August 2024 fuji-catalogue arrangement (afw_deal 4324).
Read this before citing: It could not be established whether this is a copyright assignment, an administration agreement or a sub-publishing deal: no report of the signing obtained by this desk uses a verb of transfer or the word "administer," which Sony Music Publishing West Africa's own Nigeria office has used precisely elsewhere (the June 2025 Bright Chimezie announcement). Consideration, royalty rate, term length and territory are all undisclosed. Whether Zinoleesky had a prior publisher of record could not be established; no source names one. This record makes no claim about Zinoleesky's master recordings beyond restating this desk's own April 2026 finding that they sit with Zinodict Music, his own label; no source for this new deal states that position has changed, and none connects the two matters. A social account using the name "Billboard Nigeria" also circulated this news; this desk found no evidence of an affiliation with Billboard and did not rely on it.
