Collecting Society
Southern African Music Rights Organisation
South Africa's largest music collecting society, formed in Johannesburg in 1961.
Johannesburg, South Africa
samro.org.za
Directory
African Music Companies
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.
- 424 companies
- 13 categories
- 49 markets
Spaceship Entertainment
Independent Nigerian record label founded by Burna Boy in 2015, holding the copyright in his master recordings.
Lagos, Nigeria
onaspaceship.com
Label
Starboy Entertainment Limited
Wizkid's recording and rights-holding company, dissolved by UK regulators in 2026.
London, United Kingdom
Management
Starstruck Management
US artist management company (est. 1998) with stated operations in Nigeria and Angola; manages Wande Coal.
United States
starstruckmgmt.com
Sugar Mummy Records
Teni's own independent Nigerian label, established for her 2023 album TEARS OF THE SUN.
Lagos, Nigeria
Label
Swangz Avenue
Ugandan record label, studio and creative agency founded in Kampala in 2008.
Kampala, Uganda
swangzavenue.com
Distributor
Symphonic Distribution
Independent US distributor with named South African and West African teams.
Tampa, United States
symphonic.com
Label
Tahoe Studios
Independent Afro house label founded by South African/Tanzanian producer DJ MidTempo.
South Africa
Live & Events
Talent Africa Group
Kampala-based artist booking and events company, founded 2007, that expanded into Nairobi, Kenya in 2026.
Kampala, Uganda
talentafricagroup.com
Label
Tall Racks
Nasty C's Johannesburg label, relaunched in 2025 as a self-service distribution and royalty platform for independent artists.
Johannesburg, South Africa
info.tallracks.xyz
Label
Tallac Records
A French hip-hop label founded by Booba in 2004, licensed through Universal's Barclay Records, with an African footprint via its 92i Africa joint venture.
Meudon, France
Tambor Projects (Pty) Ltd
South African company that held the phonogram credit on Jnr SA's own catalogue from August 2023 to November 2025, under exclusive license to Universal Music South Africa.
South Africa
Tamer Hosny Production
Cairo recording imprint of the Egyptian singer Tamer Hosny, used for his releases before and after his 2025 Warner signing.
Cairo, Egypt
Tech Hub Music (Pty) Ltd
South African amapiano label launched by Kabza De Small in July 2026, with Jnr SA as its first signing, distributed by Sony Music Entertainment Africa.
South Africa
Media
The Beat 99.9 FM
Lagos urban music radio station on air since 2003, operated by Megalectrics.
Lagos, Nigeria
thebeat99.com
Label
The Cake Bizness
Lagos artist-development label founded 2024 by Gilbert "A-Q" Bani on a startup-equity model; announced Spyro as a signee in 2024.
Nigeria
Live & Events
The Canvas
Conferencing and events venue in Fourways, Johannesburg, also used for large concerts and festivals.
Fourways, Johannesburg, South Africa
thecanvasriversands.co.za
Live & Events
The Chairman
A live jazz venue, bar and restaurant in Durban's Point Precinct, founded by architect Ndabo Langa in 2014.
Durban, South Africa
Music group
The InterSpace Group
Port Harcourt holding company for a group of Nigerian music businesses spanning distribution, distribution technology, publishing, editorial and radio.
Port Harcourt, Nigeria
business.interspacemusic.com
The Leading Vibe UK Limited
Tems' own UK-incorporated recording vehicle, which held the copyright in her pre-RCA catalogue.
London, United Kingdom
leadingvibe.com
Label
The NATIVE
Lagos music and culture publication founded in 2016, part of Native Networks alongside Native Records and the NATIVELAND festival.
Lagos, Nigeria
thenativemag.com
Distributor
The Orchard
Sony-owned distribution and label-services company with offices in Johannesburg, Lagos and Nairobi.
New York, United States
theorchard.com
Live & Events
The Ostrich
Outdoor entertainment venue on Cape Town's Ostrich Ranch, host to Ultra South Africa and Black Coffee's Cape Town weekender.
Philadelphia, Cape Town, South Africa
theostrichcapetown.co.za
Live & Events
Ticketmaster
Live Nation-owned ticket marketplace. Entered the South African market in 2022 and acquired Cape Town platform Quicket in July 2024.
Beverly Hills, California, United States
business.ticketmaster.com
Technology
Ticketmaster South Africa (Pty) Ltd
Live Nation Entertainment's ticketing platform in South Africa, launched in Cape Town in April 2022.
Cape Town, South Africa
ticketmaster.co.za
Tiso Blackstar Group SE
UK-incorporated, London-headquartered former JSE-listed owner of the Gallo music business, sold Gallo in 2020 and delisted the same year.
London, United Kingdom
To Your Ears Entertainment
Record label carrying Nigerian artist BNXN's phonogram credits, jointly with EMPIRE since October 2021.
Lagos, Nigeria
Technology
ToneGrid
White-label distribution infrastructure from Port Harcourt, letting labels and aggregators run a distribution business under their own brand.
Port Harcourt, Nigeria
tonegrid.pro
TS Records
South African record label named as rights holder on Zahara's 2011-2015 albums, now dormant.
Live & Events
Tukutane Entertainment Kenya Limited
Nairobi-based live events and concert-promotion company founded by Khalani Sichangi, now a subsidiary of his KS Group Africa holding company.
Nairobi, Kenya
tukutane.live
Distributor
TuneCore
Self-service distributor owned by Believe, with offices in Lagos and Johannesburg.
Brooklyn, United States
tunecore.com
TunesBid Limited
Lagos company that launched in 2021 as a marketplace for producers and songwriters and later operated as a record label.
Nigeria
Media
TurnTable Charts
Nigerian music-data and charts company founded in Lagos in 2020.
Lagos, Nigeria
turntablecharts.com
Collecting Society
Uganda Performing Right Society
Uganda's music collecting society, founded in Kampala in 1985.
Kampala, Uganda
uprs.go.ug
Media
Ukhozi FM
isiZulu-language SABC station, founded in 1960 and among Africa's largest by listenership.
Durban, South Africa
ukhozifm.co.za
Media
Ultima Studios
Lagos television and media production company behind Project Fame West Africa and Next Afrobeats Star, and operator of the in-house label U-Records.
Lagos, Nigeria
ultima.ng
Ultra International Music Publishing
New York music publisher founded in 2004, which opened a Lagos creative hub in 2023 and now operates as Payday Music Publishing.
New York, United States
paydaypub.com
UMG Recordings, Inc.
Delaware-based Universal Music Group entity holding US sound-recording rights, named as phonogram claimant on posthumous Zahara compilations.
Santa Monica
universalmusic.com
Umuthi Othi Thi (Pty) Ltd
South African record label run by Afro-pop duo Blaq Diamond, holding their own masters since splitting from Ambitiouz Entertainment.
South Africa
Distributor
UnitedMasters
US self-service music distributor that launched a dedicated Nigeria market entry in December 2023.
Brooklyn, United States
unitedmasters.com
Holding company
Universal International Music B.V.
Dutch Universal Music Group entity named as the acquirer of a 70 per cent stake in the Nairobi label A.I Records in 2018.
Netherlands
universalmusic.com
Label
Universal Music (Pty) Ltd (ZA)
Universal Music Group's South African subsidiary, headquartered in Johannesburg since 1997.
Johannesburg, South Africa
umgsa.africa
Universal Music Africa
Universal Music Group's regional division for francophone, Hispanophone and Lusophone Africa, headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Abidjan, Ivory Coast
umgsa.africa
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
Label
Universal Music South Africa
The South African arm of Universal Music Group, based in Johannesburg since 1997.
Johannesburg, South Africa
umgsa.africa