Chin Okeke appointed new boss of Universal Music Nigeria

On January 4, 2021, the appointment of Chin Okeke as the new General Manager of the Nigerian arm of Universal Music Group, the world's largest record company was announced by the company.

The news has been bubbling in the Nigerian music industry over the past 10 months. He will become the second boss of Universal Music Group Nigeria since the company announced its re-entrance into the Nigerian music industry in 2017.

Who is Chin Okeke?

Chin Okeke appointed new boss of Universal Music West Africa. [Independent] Pulse Nigeria

Chinedu Okeke was the Managing Director of ECLIPSE LIVE, a Nigerian entertainment and integrated festivals, concerts, tours and ticketing company. They are the organizers of Lagos Music Week, ECHO Music Conference (EMC), Arise Fashion Week, Gidi Culture Fest and Sneaker Exchange at XII.

He is also the Managing Director and Executive Director of Agriculture Companies, Wicklow Group and Carnvest Nigeria Limited respectively. A graduate of Law from the University of Bristol, Okeke also was also an analyst at Credit Suisse and a Marketing Manager at Maersk Nigeria Limited.

Widely respected as a smart entrepreneur with a core interest in Nigerian entertainment, he has played a significant role in the success of the following acts; Show Dem Camp, Poe, Lynxxx, Efya, Tiwa Savage, Vanessa Mdee, DJ Obi and more.

Word on the street also says he and his then company, Eclipse Productions played an important role in the successful nationwide tour, Lynxxx and Friends. He also served important roles in the success of Syndik8 Records.

Who held the post before Chin Okeke?

Ezegozie Eze, consultant at Republic 54 and Partner at Alore Media. [UMG] Pulse Nigeria

The post of General Manager, Nigeria and Anglophone West Africa was previously held by Princeton University Graduate, Ezegozie Eze from April 2017 till January 2020. Under his direction, Universal Music formed alliances with Tay Iwar, Odunsi, Larry Gaaga, Vector, Tekno, Wurld and more.

The former Marketing Executive at Channel O/M-Net has since moved on to do things with Alore Media Group and his company, Republic54.

Currently, he is also the Vice President of Market Development, Africa and Diaspora Markets at EMPIRE Distribution.

What is Universal Music Group Nigeria?

On September 26, 2017, Pulse Nigeria reported that Universal Music Group had relaunched iits Nigeria. This marked a comeback for the label, which exited Nigeria alongside other majors in the 90's. This was due to the economical uncertainties, civil unrest and tyrannical governance.

The exist of UMG and other majors heralded the structural problems that Nigerian music still battles.

Since its relaunch, it has signed or been associated with acts that include but not limited to Vector tha Viper, Wurld, Larry Gaaga, Tay Iwar, Odunsi The Enginer, Chike, Nonso Bassey, Idahams, Alpha P, Tiwa Savage, Tekno, Tomi Owo and more.

The last four projects released under the label are the critically-acclaimed EP, King of Wolves by Alpha P, Wolves and Mustangs by Alpha P, Old Romance by Tekno, Celia by Tiwa Savage and Man On Fire by Idahams.

Some of the current notable staff include Bayo Fatoba, Stephanie Adamu, Damola Yusuf, Kemi Smallz, Honour Aghedo and more.

Universal Music Group is a subsidiary of Vivendi, UMG is the world's largest recording company, boasting about 20 record labels, including Capitol Records, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Island Def Jam, Motown Records, UMG Nashville, and Verve Music Group.

Its popular artists include Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Sting, and Kanye West, among many others. Its Universal Music Publishing Group is the world's largest music publishing house, with more than a million copyrights under control. UMG owns the largest catalog of recorded music in the world.