Publisher
Africa Nostra
Paris music publisher holding the Lusafrica label's editorial catalogue, principally Cape Verdean repertoire; acquired by Sony Music Publishing France in July 2025.
Paris
Directory
Publisher
Labels, distributors, publishers, studios, promoters and platforms working across African music. Listings are editorial and free, and every one is checked against its sources before it appears.
- 622 companies
- 13 categories
- 57 markets
Publisher
African Composers Edition
South African sheet music publisher of African art music, founded in 2012 and now owned by UK company The Maestro Online Ltd.
Johannesburg, South Africa
african-composers-edition.co.za
Publisher
Avex USA Publishing
Former Los Angeles publishing arm of Japan's Avex Inc., which signed Nigerian artist Victony to a joint-venture deal with Coup D'Etat Music in 2023 before folding into Avex Music Group in 2025.
Los Angeles, United States
avex.com
Publisher
Beggars Music
London music publisher, signing songwriters, administering their copyrights and placing sync licences.
London (registered office: Elsley Court, 20-22 Great Titchfield Street, London, W1W 8BE), United Kingdom
beggarsmusic.com
Publisher
Big Machine Music
Nashville music publisher, signing songwriters and administering songs.
Nashville, United States
bigmachinemusic.com
Music group
BMG
Music publishing and recorded-music company with headquarters in Nashville and Berlin, listed here for its African partnership.
Nashville (global headquarters); Berlin (European headquarters); London (UK registered office at Floors 1-3, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, SW1V 2SA), United States
bmg.com
Publisher
Coup D’Etat Music
Los Angeles publisher and Revels Group subsidiary behind the 2023 Victony publishing joint venture with Avex USA and the 2022 signing of Nigerian producer Tejiri Akpoghene.
Los Angeles, United States
therevelsgroup.com
Publisher
Downtown Music Publishing
South African music publisher, founded as Sheer Publishing in 1996, now owned by Universal Music Group's Virgin Music Group.
Johannesburg, South Africa, United States
downtownmusic.africa
Publisher
Gallo Music Publishers
South African music publisher, part of Gallo Music Investments (Arena Holdings, with Black Coffee a minority shareholder).
South Africa
gallomusicpublishers.co.za
Publisher
Inner Circle Publishing
Lagos music publisher founded in 2025, which signed a Nigerian market-entry deal with Kobalt later that year.
Lagos, Nigeria
Publisher
Kobalt Music Group
Global music-publishing administrator, founded by Willard Ahdritz, now majority-owned by Primary Wave Music, with publishing joint ventures across Nigeria's independent sector.
New York, United States
kobaltmusic.com
Label
Kountry Klub Records
Independent Pretoria label owned by the Zimbabwean-born artist Kingsley, whose publishing division is administered by Gallo.
Pretoria, South Africa
Publisher
Madoky Music
Dakar-based music company spanning label, publishing, touring and training arms, representing Orchestra Baobab among others.
Dakar
madoky.com
Publisher
Mama Dance Music Library
Cape Town production music library founded by Craig McGahey, licensing African sync repertoire internationally since 2006.
Cape Town, South Africa
mamadance.com
Publisher
Music Publishers Association of South Africa
The non-profit trade association representing music publishers in South Africa, based in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
Johannesburg, South Africa
mpasaonline.co.za
Label
Muzikawi
Ethiopian record label, publisher and studio founded in Addis Ababa in 2020.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
muzikawi.com
Publisher
Nooks Recordings
Independent Lagos music publisher, co-founded by three Nigerian talent managers, with a 2023 scouting partnership with BMG UK.
Lagos, Nigeria
Label
Now-Again Records
Los Angeles reissue label and publisher founded 2002 by Egon Alapatt; licenses Zambia's WITCH catalogue.
Los Angeles, California, United States
nowagainrecords.com
Publisher
PopArabia
Abu Dhabi music publisher for the Middle East and North Africa, co-owner of the Egyptian label 100COPIES.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
poparabia.com
Publisher
PopArabia FZ-LLC
Abu Dhabi-based MENA music publisher and distributor, majority-owned by Reservoir Media, with a formal Egypt presence via its Viral Wave acquisition.
Abu Dhabi, UAE (Egypt office in Cairo), United Arab Emirates
poparabia.com
Publisher
Room 308
Publishing imprint and joint release vehicle for Kenyan artists Calvo Mistari and Naiboi, used for their collaborative singles ahead of a joint album.
Kenya
Publisher
S94 Publishing
Music publishing arm of Dapper Group, handling copyright licensing and royalty collection for its signed writers.
Lagos, Nigeria
dappermusicent.com
Publisher
Sheer Publishing Africa
South African music publisher founded in 1996, acquired by Downtown Music Holdings in 2020.
Johannesburg, South Africa
downtownmusic.africa
Publisher
Sony Music Publishing
Major-owned music publisher (Sony Music Group); operates a Lagos office since 2022 alongside its longer-standing Johannesburg base.
New York, United States
sonymusicpub.com
Publisher
Sony Music Publishing France
French publishing arm of Sony Music Publishing, based in Paris; acquired Lusophone-African publisher Africa Nostra in July 2025.
Paris, France
sonymusicpub.com
Publisher
The Maestro Online Ltd
UK online music education company and exam board that owns South African sheet music publisher African Composers Edition.
Yarm, United Kingdom
the-maestro-online.com
Label
Universal Music Group
Recorded music and publishing group running Universal Music Nigeria, Universal Music Africa and Def Jam Africa, and majority owner of Mavin.
Hilversum, Netherlands
universalmusic.com
Publisher
Universal Music Publishing Group
The music publishing arm of Universal Music Group, publicly documented via US copyright filings as the administrator of Nigerian label group Mavin's catalogue since September 2025.
United States
umusicpub.com
Label
Warner Music Group
Recorded music and publishing group controlled by Access Industries, running Warner Music Africa and owning Africori outright.
New York, United States
wmg.com
Publisher
West Night Publishing
Independent music publishing administrator run by Seidu Iddrisu, with a contact address in East Legon, Accra.
Accra (East Legon), Ghana
westnight.co.za
Distributor
Zambia Music Parlour
Early Zambian record distributor named by WITCH's Jagari Chanda as buyer of the band's master tapes.
Not established. No document obtained states the company's address., Zambia