Deal sheet
- Status
- Established for master-recording ownership and licensing structure; not established for consideration, term or contractual territory. Across three named periods, the credited rights holder is first a Nigerian distributor (Freeme Music, one album only), then the band's own Delaware LLC (Sounds From The Cave, continuously from October 2021), and finally that same LLC with RCA Records holding an exclusive licence from May 2025. No party has issued a press release announcing the RCA relationship; it is established entirely through phonogram credits corroborated across 38 catalogue entries pulled directly from Apple's lookup API, cross-checked for the Agogo Records and J'dess credits that turn out to be unrelated guest features rather than a change of label.
- Type
- Licensing
- Parties
- Freeme Digital, Sounds From The Cave, LLC, RCA Records, Sony Music Entertainment
- Amount
- Not disclosed Not disclosed
- Rights covered
- Master recordings only. The phonogram credit on The Cavemen.'s catalogue, read across all 38 collections returned by Apple's iTunes Lookup API for artist ID 1460484829, shows three distinct periods. Debut album 'Roots' (21 August 2020) carries the credit '℗ 2020 Freeme Music', matching a licensing-and-distribution arrangement the band's Kingsley Okorie described to Pulse Nigeria in an interview published 13 August 2020 and that Freeme Music founder Michael Ugwu described to Merlin, the independent-label rights body, in an interview published 9 November 2022, as having 'licensed, distributed and promoted' the album. No release before or after 'Roots' carries a Freeme credit. The duo's next full release, 'Love and Highlife' (29 October 2021), and every self-released title between October 2021 and December 2023, carries the credit 'Sounds From The Cave' or 'Sounds from the Cave', a name that by 2025 resolves to a specific Delaware LLC (registration 4804064, confirmed via OpenCorporates). From 'Dancing Shoes' (7 May 2025) onward, including the album 'Cavy In The City' (31 October 2025) and the single 'Collide Session #28' (30 January 2026), the credit reads '℗ 2025 RCA Records, under exclusive license from Sounds From The Cave, LLC', meaning RCA Records, a Sony Music Entertainment label, holds an exclusive licence to exploit the masters and Sounds From The Cave, LLC remains the named owner. Publishing is not addressed by any document reviewed. A second, separate Delaware LLC, Sounds From The Cave Publishing, LLC (registration 5215085), exists and may be the publishing vehicle, but no document confirms its use or its administrator.
- Territory
- Not stated on any release credit checked. The RCA-era phonogram string is identical on the United States Apple Music storefront for every title tested; no territory carve-out is visible in the metadata. RCA Records and Sony Music Entertainment are United States entities; The Cavemen. are a Nigerian band formed in Lagos. No document states a contractual territory for either the Freeme or the RCA arrangement.
- Announced
- 2025-05-07
- Primary document
- Rights registry
- Sources
- Apple iTunes Lookup API, The Cavemen. full catalogue (artist ID 1460484829), 38 collections read 2 October 2026, returning the phonogram (℗) credit string stored against every album and single. · Apple iTunes Lookup, 'Roots' album record, read 2 October 2026: copyright '℗ 2020 Freeme Music', release date 21 August 2020. · Apple iTunes Lookup, 'Love and Highlife' album record, read 2 October 2026: copyright '℗ 2021 Sounds From The Cave', release date 29 October 2021, the first full release after 'Roots' and the first to carry the band's own imprint rather than Freeme's. · Apple iTunes Lookup, 'Cavy In The City' album record, read 2 October 2026: copyright '℗ 2025 RCA Records, under exclusive license from Sounds From The Cave, LLC', release date 31 October 2025. · Apple iTunes Lookup, 'Collide Session #28 The Cavemen' single record, read 2 October 2026: same RCA/Sounds From The Cave credit, release date 30 January 2026, the most recent own-label release checked. · Pulse Nigeria interview, published 13 August 2020 (re-dated on Pulse's CMS but covering the August 2020 signing window), direct quote from Kingsley Okorie describing the Freeme arrangement as a 'licensing and distribution deal' and stating 'the deal pays us more than Michael sef'. Confirmed resolving at HTTP 200 on 2 October 2026. · Merlin Network interview with Freeme Music founder Michael Ugwu, published 9 November 2022: 'Over the past 24 months, Freeme licensed, distributed and promoted the debut album of acclaimed Afro-Highlife band The Cavemen.' Direct statement from the named counterparty confirming licensing, distribution and promotion; does not address master ownership or an end date. · OpenCorporates record for SOUNDS FROM THE CAVE LLC, Delaware registration 4804064, domestic LLC, registered agent Registered Agent Solutions Inc, Dover DE. Read 2 October 2026. · UK Companies House search, read 2 October 2026: SOUNDS FROM THE CAVE LIMITED, company number 15952713, dissolved 17 February 2026. A separate, UK-registered entity; no document connects its dissolution to the Delaware LLC or to the RCA licence. · Apple Music, 'Be a Lover' single by Jembaa Groove, Tim Lyre & The Cavemen., copyright '℗ 2026 Agogo Records'. Checked and excluded: this and two other 2026 Agogo Records credits ('Obi', and the forthcoming Jembaa Groove EP) are guest features on a German label's release, not a change of label for The Cavemen.'s own catalogue, which continued on RCA/Sounds From The Cave as recently as 30 January 2026.
Read this before citing: THE PHONOGRAM CREDIT IS EVIDENCE OF WHO HOLDS THE MASTER, NOT A COPY OF THE CONTRACT. 'Under exclusive license from Sounds From The Cave, LLC' is the parties' own published statement of position. It does not disclose a term, an advance, a royalty rate, a reversion clause or an end date. Nothing here should be read as a description of the underlying agreement between RCA Records and Sounds From The Cave, LLC.
THE FREEME CREDIT COVERS EXACTLY ONE ALBUM. 'Roots' is the only release in 38 checked that carries a Freeme Music phonogram credit. Michael Ugwu's November 2022 statement to Merlin describes the Freeme relationship as running 'over the past 24 months', which would extend into 2022, but no release after August 2020 carries Freeme's credit: the very next full release, 14 months later, already reads 'Sounds From The Cave'. This desk cannot reconcile Ugwu's framing with the credit trail and is publishing both: Freeme's own description of an ongoing relationship, and the catalogue evidence that the phonogram credit moved after a single album. This is a contradiction in the record, not a resolved fact.
SOUNDS FROM THE CAVE, LLC'S CONTROL IS INFERRED, NOT DOCUMENTED. No filing reviewed names a member, manager or owner of the Delaware LLC. Its exclusive, continuous use as The Cavemen.'s own phonogram credit since October 2021, and no other artist's, is the basis for treating it as the band's vehicle. No officer disclosure confirms this directly.
A SECOND DELAWARE ENTITY IS UNEXAMINED. Sounds From The Cave Publishing, LLC (registration 5215085) was located in the same OpenCorporates search and is not investigated further here. Do not assume it administers the band's publishing; that is unestablished.
A DISSOLVED UK COMPANY IS NOT EXPLAINED. SOUNDS FROM THE CAVE LIMITED (UK company number 15952713) was dissolved 17 February 2026. Nothing in the documents reviewed states what this company did, why it was wound up, or whether it ever held rights distinct from the Delaware LLC. Recorded here so the gap is on the file, not filled with a guess.
CHANGE OF CREDIT IS NOT PROOF OF A SALE OR AN EXPIRY DATE. The announced date on this record, 7 May 2025, is the release date of the first title carrying the RCA credit. It is not the date any agreement was signed, and the Freeme arrangement's actual end date is unknown beyond 'sometime between August 2020 and October 2021'.
THE 2026 AGOGO RECORDS AND J'DESS CREDITS ARE NOT A LABEL CHANGE. Three 2026 releases carrying non-RCA, non-Sounds-From-The-Cave credits ('Be a Lover', 'Obi', 'Chinyere') are guest-feature appearances on other artists' own releases (Jembaa Groove and J'dess, respectively), confirmed by the artist-of-record field in each case. They do not indicate The Cavemen. left RCA or Sounds From The Cave.
The Cavemen. have never sold a master recording to anyone. Their debut album went out in 2020 through a Nigerian distributor under what the band’s own guitarist called a “licensing and distribution deal.” Every release since October 2021 has carried the band’s own Delaware-registered company as owner. And since May 2025, when RCA Records entered the picture, the phonogram credit has stayed exactly as specific as it was before: RCA holds an exclusive licence, Sounds From The Cave, LLC remains the owner. No party has announced that last arrangement at all. It exists only in release metadata, and that metadata is consistent across 38 catalogue entries this desk pulled directly from Apple’s lookup API.
Three credits, three periods, one pattern
Phonogram (℗) credits were read directly from Apple’s iTunes Lookup API for artist ID 1460484829 on 2 October 2026, covering the full 38-collection catalogue attributed to The Cavemen. The credit changes exactly twice.
| Period | Phonogram credit | Key releases |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 to August 2020 | The Cavemen. / Sounds from the Cave (self-released) | “Osondu” (29 March 2019), “Bolo Bolo” (24 June 2019), “Akaraka” (18 October 2019) |
| 21 August 2020 | Freeme Music | Roots, debut album, 16 tracks |
| October 2021 to December 2023 | Sounds From The Cave / Sounds from the Cave | Love and Highlife (29 October 2021), “Adaugo” (11 November 2022), “Dance Your Dance” (24 December 2023) |
| 7 May 2025 onward | RCA Records, under exclusive license from Sounds From The Cave, LLC | “Dancing Shoes” (7 May 2025), “Chameleon” (26 September 2025), Cavy In The City (31 October 2025), “Collide Session #28” (30 January 2026) |
“Roots” is the only release in the entire catalogue checked that carries a Freeme Music credit. The band’s own imprint resumes on the very next full release, 14 months later, and has not left the credit line since, major label or not.
What the band and Freeme said about the first deal
Freeme Music’s involvement was never described, by either side, as a conventional record deal. In an interview published 13 August 2020, days after the arrangement became public, The Cavemen.’s Kingsley Okorie described it in his own words: “The deal pays us more than Michael sef. He just wanted to help us… If we ever sign a major record deal, it must involve FreeMe,” referring to Freeme founder Michael Ugwu. The same interview characterised the arrangement as “a licensing and distribution deal,” reached after the band’s creative director sent their music to Ugwu directly.
Ugwu himself, in a published interview on 9 November 2022, put it this way: “Over the past 24 months, Freeme licensed, distributed and promoted the debut album of acclaimed Afro-Highlife band The Cavemen.” That framing describes an active relationship running toward late 2022. The catalogue evidence does not support that: no release after “Roots” carries Freeme’s credit, and the band’s own imprint is already in place by October 2021, roughly 14 months after the album came out. This desk cannot reconcile the two. Both are published here rather than silently resolved in favour of one.
The company behind the credit: a Delaware LLC, not a Nigerian or UK one
“Sounds From The Cave” is not just a label name stamped on a release. By the time RCA Records enters the credit line in 2025, it resolves to a specific, active legal entity: SOUNDS FROM THE CAVE LLC, Delaware registration number 4804064, a domestic limited liability company with its registered agent in Dover, Delaware, confirmed via OpenCorporates on 2 October 2026.
Two things complicate a clean reading of that entity. First, a second Delaware LLC, Sounds From The Cave Publishing, LLC (registration 5215085), exists in the same corporate family and is unexamined here; nothing reviewed confirms what it administers or whether it is in use. Second, a related UK company, SOUNDS FROM THE CAVE LIMITED, company number 15952713, was dissolved on 17 February 2026, according to Companies House. No document connects that dissolution to the Delaware LLC’s activity, to the RCA relationship, or to anything else in this record. It is noted because it exists, not because it is explained.
No filing reviewed names a member, manager or owner of the Delaware LLC. It is treated here as the band’s own vehicle because it is the exclusive, continuous phonogram credit on their self-released catalogue since October 2021 and appears on no other artist’s release checked. That is strong circumstantial grounding. It is not an officer disclosure.
RCA Records: a licence, and an unannounced one
No press release, trade report or official statement from RCA Records, Sony Music Entertainment or The Cavemen. announcing a signing was located anywhere. The relationship surfaces only in the phonogram line: “℗ 2025 RCA Records, under exclusive license from Sounds From The Cave, LLC.” That construction is unambiguous about which party owns what. RCA, a Sony Music Entertainment label, has the right to exploit the recordings. Sounds From The Cave, LLC is named as the owner underneath that licence. It is the same legal structure this desk has documented in major-label arrangements with other African artists: the label buys access to distribute and market, not the copyright itself.
The most recent release checked, “Collide Session #28,” dated 30 January 2026, still carries the identical RCA/Sounds From The Cave wording, eight months after the first RCA-credited release. The structure has held.
Two credits that look like a change and are not
Three 2026 releases carry neither the RCA nor the Sounds From The Cave credit: “Be a Lover” (22 May 2026) and “Obi” (17 July 2026), both credited to Agogo Records, and “Chinyere” (11 September 2026), credited to J’dess / ONErpm. Checking the artist field on each one resolves the apparent discrepancy: all three are guest-feature appearances, “Jembaa Groove & The Cavemen.” and “J’dess & The Cavemen.”, released under the primary artist’s own label, not The Cavemen.’s own catalogue. They do not indicate a departure from RCA or Sounds From The Cave, which is why the band’s own most recent release, from January 2026, still carries the unchanged credit.
What is not established
- Consideration, for either arrangement. No advance, royalty rate, revenue split or option structure has been disclosed for the Freeme licence or the RCA licence.
- Term and territory. Neither credit line states a contractual length or a geographic scope. The RCA credit is identical on every release checked on the United States Apple Music storefront.
- When the Freeme licence actually ended. Somewhere between August 2020 and October 2021, on the evidence available. No closer date is documented.
- Publishing. Not addressed by any document reviewed. Whether Sounds From The Cave Publishing, LLC administers the band’s compositions is not established.
- Who controls Sounds From The Cave, LLC. Inferred from exclusive, continuous use as the band’s credit; not confirmed by any ownership filing.
- Why the UK entity of the same name was dissolved in February 2026. Not addressed anywhere in the documents checked.
This desk’s full sourcing, including every Apple catalogue URL checked and the statements quoted above, is recorded in the structured deal record above.
