The Nigerian music industry needs stronger structures, greater transparency and sustained investment in artist development to consolidate its global growth, music executive, Chukwuemeka Nnaemezie, popularly known as Odumegwu, has said.

Nnaemezie, who was born on January 22, 1996, in Anambra State, has worked across A&R, artist management, public relations and distribution with artistes including Flavour, Odumodublack and Jeriq — most recently contributing to A&R and pre-release planning on Jeriq’s 2024 album, King.

Speaking with The Guardian, he said the industry’s rapid international growth had not been matched by sufficient infrastructure and professional systems to support artistes and other creative workers.
According to him, areas including royalties, publishing, copyright, intellectual property, streaming revenue and catalogue ownership require greater accountability and understanding among artistes and other industry stakeholders.

“Many artistes create valuable intellectual property without fully understanding the commercial implications of what they own. We need to educate creatives about the business value of their work,” he said.

Nnaemezie also called for greater investment in artist development, particularly in identifying and nurturing emerging talents before they attain commercial success.

He said the role of A&R professionals should go beyond identifying potential hit songs to developing artistes, shaping their repertoire, defining their identity and connecting their creativity with sustainable business strategies.

“A&R should not simply mean finding a hit song. It should involve developing artistes, understanding their identity, helping shape their repertoire and connecting their creativity to a sustainable business strategy,” he said.

He also identified internationalisation as an area requiring greater attention, arguing that Nigeria’s infrastructure for taking its music and artistes into international markets needed to improve.
According to him, stronger systems are required for international touring, artist mobility, distribution, publishing, partnerships and market development.

“It should not simply be about taking Nigerian music abroad; it should be about creating sustainable international businesses around Nigerian creativity,” he said.

Nnaemezie further advocated greater adoption of technology and data in the industry, including digital tools and artificial intelligence, while maintaining the cultural identity and human creativity that distinguish Nigerian music.

“The next stage should not merely be about exporting music. It should be about building an industry with strong institutions, better business practices and sustainable opportunities for artistes, producers, songwriters, executives, publicists, managers and the wider creative workforce,” he said.

Nnaemezie, whose professional experience spans A&R, artist development, public relations, music curation, distribution and project management, said combining Nigeria’s creative strength with stronger institutions, business intelligence and technology would be critical to building a sustainable creative economy.