Ghanaian afro-dancehall artiste, Stonebwoy, has addressed the common perception that African artistes, particularly Nigerians, are performing on global stages due to the major record labels they are signed to.
Stonebwoy has dismissed such notions, stating that African artistes rather need the right investors, not major record labels, to perform on global stages.
In an interview on July 16, 2025, Stonebwoy explained that what is needed most to achieve such success is investment, not necessarily an affiliation with a major record label.
“Every time you just say that because this person is on a record label, that is why they are achieving such feats. What is a record label? A record label is not necessarily an investor,” Stonebwoy said.
He further elaborated on the different kinds of deals artistes sign with record labels.
According to him, these agreements vary, and not all of them guarantee financial backing from the label.
Recording labels have a different set of agreements. There is a licensing agreement that you can use to license your songs. Some people have a 360 agreement where the labels are in charge of everything from marketing to everything else; therefore, they can invest their money, and everything is coming to them basically,” he said.
Stonebwoy mentioned that another factor is the focus of these major record labels based in the US, noting that they don’t necessarily focus on African artistes.
He believes Nigerian artistes, who are often seen leading the charge on global stages, work with independent investors who support their craft.
“The major labels, most of them are from the outside, America, and they are focused on artists, not necessarily African artistes… These are our Nigerian counterparts that do the big stuff, they do so many things for themselves, they have independent investors who actually support them. It’s not a matter of having a big record label,” he added.
