The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ssyma, Uju Nnanna, has revealed that she ventured into music record label without formal guidance, saying she has been able to excel through determination, resilience and willingness to learn through trial and error.

The record label, who signed notable artistes including TJay Kartel, among others, has urged upcoming artistes to reach out to her contact and the rest will be history.
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Commenting on her music career, Nnanna said: “My journey has been a remarkable one so far. Besides being a huge fan, and consumer of music, I didn’t know a single soul in the industry. Neither did I even know the first thing about owning/running a Record Label. I also didn’t know the cost of it. But these all worked in my favour because it meant I had no particular person, or people to disturb or seek help from. So, anyone who gave me a listening ear became very important to me.”

She added: “I learned from a fresh point of view, from a humane point of view, not from “wow this person is a big deal in the industry” perspective. Along the way, everything I lacked starting out, I can now say, I’m not lacking too much anymore because I now know some people; they are steadily teaching and helping me, and so far, I’ve had enough resources to start and finish the projects I have done. I’ve always known I’d do music, I just wasn’t sure in which capacity. Hopefully, more females can look at me and say, ‘I can do this too’ even without long connections, and strong financial backings. I’d also like to see better artiste-label relationships. We can all win.”

Speaking further about operating in an arena dominated by men, the Ssyma boss said: “I’m not a music producer, though I know what I’m looking for in a production. But being a female label owner has been amazing. I’ve never met anyone who has not tried to encourage me one way or the other. I’m not intimidated by other men that are doing well. Absolutely not! More than anything, I try to learn from them as much as I can.”
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