Deal sheet
- Status
- Active
- Type
- Distribution
- Parties
- Next Level Music, Ziiki Media, WCB Wasafi
- Amount
- Not disclosed Not disclosed
- Rights covered
- Rayvanny announced on 1 November 2022 what he called his "first distribution deal in the world," naming Mziiki (trading arm of Ziiki Media) as the counterparty, reported by trade outlets as a "multi-million deal" giving him the ability to distribute, market and monetise his music across sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. No source obtained states a rights transfer, an equity stake, a term length or a figure. The claim of a "first" distribution deal is contradicted by this record's own catalogue reading: a Ziiki Media phonogram credit appears on Rayvanny's own-artist releases as far back as his 2016 debut single, "Kwetu," and continued through the years he was signed to WCB Wasafi, meaning Ziiki Media (as phonographic rightsholder or distributor) was already the dominant credit on his catalogue before the November 2022 announcement, not a new arrangement introduced by it. Separately, WCB Wasafi's own manager, Babu Tale, stated on 24 August 2022, after the July 2022 exit announcement, that Rayvanny's full back catalogue remained under Wasafi's control pending a buyout payment, meaning WCB Wasafi claimed a continuing rights interest that is not reflected in, and is not reconciled by, any of the release-level credits checked in this record. What specific rights, if any, actually moved in either direction, the July 2022 exit or the November 2022 Mziiki announcement, could not be established from any document obtained.
- Territory
- Rayvanny is based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where WCB Wasafi is also based. Ziiki Media is based in Sandton, South Africa, with its Mziiki streaming service headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, and additional catalogue operations extending to India (see the 2025 Super Cassettes Industries credit in the sources below). The November 2022 announcement described the Mziiki agreement's reach as sub-Saharan Africa "and beyond." No document obtained specifies a defined contractual territory for either the WCB Wasafi period or the post-exit Ziiki Media/Mziiki period.
- Announced
- 2022-11-01
- Primary document
- Rights registry
- Sources
- Apple Music catalogue metadata for Rayvanny (artist ID 1156101857), read via the iTunes Lookup API on 9 September 2026: 169 catalogue entries, 94 of them own-artist releases (artist name beginning "Rayvanny"). Of 53 own-artist releases dated on or before 12 July 2022 (his public exit from WCB Wasafi), 44 carry the phonogram credit "Ziiki Media" and only 3 carry "WCB WASAFI" directly (Penzi, 27 April 2018; Mwanza, 15 November 2018; Tetema Remix feat. Pitbull, 9 August 2019, credited "WCB Wasafi/Powerhouse"). One, Jenifer (Rimix), dated 8 March 2022, already carries a "Next Level Music" credit, before the public exit. Of 41 own-artist releases dated after 12 July 2022, 29 carry "Ziiki Media", including the two most recent checked, Touch (14 August 2026) and Rwanda feat. Kusslove (21 August 2026). · Deezer catalogue API, album Mwanza, released 25 December 2018 (Deezer date; Apple Music lists 15 November 2018 for the same title): label field "WCB WASAFI", checked 9 September 2026 · Deezer catalogue API, album Nitongoze feat. Diamond Platnumz, released 11 November 2022: label field "Ziiki Media", checked 9 September 2026 · Deezer catalogue API, album Pele Pele, released 22 July 2022, ten days after the WCB Wasafi exit: label field "Rayvanny", checked 9 September 2026 · Deezer catalogue API, album The Big One, released 13 December 2024: label field "Ziiki Media", checked 9 September 2026 · Trade report, 12 July 2022: Rayvanny's exit video, "It's been six years since we started working together," and Diamond Platnumz's on-record reaction, "NLM PRESIDENT! Let's Gooooooo!" · Trade report, 13 July 2022: confirms Next Level Music launched March 2021 with Macvoice as first signing, named as the reason for the WCB Wasafi exit · Trade report, 24 August 2022, quoting WCB Wasafi manager Babu Tale: "Catalogue zote zipo chini ya mikono ya Wasafi mbaka leo" (all catalogues remain under Wasafi's control until today), and a stated TSh 1 billion (about KSh 50 million) termination clause · Trade report dated 17 January 2023, quoting Rayvanny directly: "In case you don't know I paid Wasafi Tsh1.3 billion," contrasted with Harmonize's stated Tsh 600 million · Trade report, on or about 1 November 2022: Rayvanny quoted, "I am so happy to sign my first distribution deal in the world with my [new] family Mziiki" · Trade report, 2 November 2022: "multi-million deal" framing, Diamond Platnumz's on-record reaction welcoming Rayvanny to the "Billionaire Club" · Ziiki Media's own artist roster page listing Rayvanny, checked 9 September 2026, confirming a current, standing relationship
Read this before citing: A phonogram (P) credit identifies who is named as the sound-recording rightsholder or the party a release was distributed through; it is not, by itself, proof of who owns the underlying masters, and it does not establish the terms of any contract. This record uses it only to describe what is printed in the catalogue, not to state an ownership conclusion. Two named-party statements in this record conflict on the price of Rayvanny's WCB Wasafi exit and are published as a contradiction, not resolved: WCB Wasafi manager Babu Tale, quoted 24 August 2022, cited a termination clause of TSh 1 billion (about KSh 50 million); Rayvanny himself, in a 17 January 2023 social-media exchange with fellow ex-WCB artist Harmonize, said "In case you don't know I paid Wasafi Tsh1.3 billion" (about KSh 68.9 million). Both figures come from the parties themselves, not from a contract or filing; neither this desk nor either report obtained independent documentary confirmation of either number. The November 2022 "first distribution deal" framing is also unreconciled against the catalogue: it was reported without qualification by two trade outlets, and neither addressed the pre-existing Ziiki Media credit line running back to 2016. Rayvanny's label Next Level Music, launched March 2021 and named as his reason for leaving WCB Wasafi, appears in this catalogue only once, predating the public exit, and has not displaced Ziiki Media as the dominant credit on his releases since. No Tanzanian, Kenyan or South African company register was obtainable in this run to check equity ownership of Ziiki Media, Mziiki or WCB Wasafi against Rayvanny, Diamond Platnumz or any other named individual.
Rayvanny left WCB Wasafi in July 2022 and announced a “first” distribution deal with Ziiki Media’s Mziiki brand that November. Catalogue data shows a Ziiki Media phonogram credit on his own-artist releases as far back as his 2016 debut single, six years before that announcement and through most of his time at WCB Wasafi. No price, rights transfer or contract term has been disclosed by either party for either event.
What the catalogue shows
Apple Music catalogue metadata for Rayvanny, read on 9 September 2026, lists 53 own-artist releases dated on or before his 12 July 2022 exit. Of those, 44 carry the phonogram credit “Ziiki Media”; only 3 carry “WCB WASAFI” directly, and 1, dated four months before the public exit, already carries a “Next Level Music” credit, his own label. Of 41 own-artist releases dated after the exit, 29 carry “Ziiki Media”, including his two most recent singles as of this record, both from August 2026. Deezer’s catalogue API, checked independently, returns the same “WCB WASAFI” label on his 2018 single “Mwanza” and the same “Ziiki Media” label on later releases, corroborating rather than merely repeating the Apple reading.
What the parties said, and where they disagree
WCB Wasafi manager Babu Tale said on 24 August 2022 that Rayvanny’s full catalogue remained under the label’s control pending a termination payment of TSh 1 billion, about KSh 50 million. Rayvanny himself, in a 17 January 2023 exchange with fellow ex-WCB artist Harmonize, said he had already paid Wasafi TSh 1.3 billion, about KSh 69 million. Neither figure is backed by a contract or filing obtained for this record; they are the two parties’ own, unreconciled accounts. On 1 November 2022 Rayvanny announced a new arrangement with Mziiki, calling it his “first distribution deal in the world,” reported by trade outlets as a multi-million deal with no figure, term or rights schedule specified.
What this record establishes and what it does not
Established: Rayvanny’s own-artist catalogue has carried a Ziiki Media phonogram credit on a large majority of releases both before and after his WCB Wasafi exit, with only a brief, minority run of direct WCB Wasafi credits during the WCB years. Not established: what, if anything, the July 2022 buyout or the November 2022 Mziiki announcement actually transferred in rights terms; the true cost of the WCB Wasafi exit, given two conflicting figures from the parties themselves; and any equity ownership connecting Rayvanny, Diamond Platnumz, WCB Wasafi, Ziiki Media or Next Level Music, which no company register obtained in this run could check.
