Davido: I ran label for 4 years without taking a dime from my artistes

Davido, the Afrobeats singer, says he ran DMW, his record label, for four years without taking any money from his artistes. 

The megastar, in a recent interview with Steve Stoute, a US media personality, said initially he operated his label like a family and invested in artistes’ welfare without taking any money from them.

He said he was happy to see that his success could rub up on his artistes.

He added that as Afrobeats gained global reception, he felt the need to educate them about the business side of the industry.

“You know my label was really more like a family to me. I was young. I was just happy putting my boy on to me, that is what it was really all about for me,” he said.

“I ran a label for four years, and I did not take one dime from my artiste and I was paying for videos, I was paying for accommodation, I was paying for welfare and just because I was just happy seeing that my success could rub up on this person, that was money for me.

“But obviously, Afrobeats got to a point now where it is global where now I have to explain to the artiste these days, this is music business. To make money, you have to spend money.”

Davido established DMW in April 2016.

In the last decade, the record label has served as the home to sensational music talents such as Mayorkun, Peruzzi, and Dremo.

In March, Davido rebranded his label to DMW 2.0.

The singer recently signed two new artistes — Morravey and Logos Olori — to his record label.

With strings of awards and honourary mentions, Davido has established himself as one of the leading names in the Nigerian music industry.