EMPIRE

EMPIRE is an independent American record label, distributor and music publisher founded in San Francisco in 2010 by Ghazi Shami. It built its business on non-exclusive distribution deals that let artists retain ownership of their masters, then expanded into a full label, publishing arm and a string of acquisitions, including dance label Dirtybird and merchandise company Top Drawer.

The company entered Africa formally in 2022 with the launch of EMPIRE Africa, a division headquartered in Lagos and later expanded with a Johannesburg office. The unit is staffed by executives including former Universal Music West Africa general manager Ezegozie Eze Jr., and serves Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Ivory Coast. In February 2020, ahead of the formal Africa launch, EMPIRE signed a joint-venture distribution and publishing deal with Olamide’s Lagos label YBNL Nation, its first such arrangement with an African label. EMPIRE has since distributed African releases including Burna Boy’s Twice As Tall, Fireboy DML’s “Peru” and Kizz Daniel’s King of Love.

EMPIRE remains independently owned and led by Shami, with no parent company or majority outside investor identified in public reporting. That independence, and its willingness to sign deals with African labels rather than acquire them outright, distinguishes its African footprint from the major-label subsidiaries operating in the same markets.