Warner Music Africa adds brand strategy division

The division has plans to tap into the East and West African markets, with countries like Nigeria and Ghana as its initial territories of interest.

It will be led by entertainment lawyer Thembi Mpungose-Niklas who will report directly to WMA managing director and senior vice-president of special projects in sub-Saharan Africa Temi Adeniji.

Before joining Warner Music Africa, Mpungose-Niklas was the head of synchronisation licensing at Universal Music Group Africa. She had also assumed multiple positions at various firms as a compliance analyst. The new division will also license music rights and attend to brand and non-recorded income strategies.

“By its very nature the division exists to diversify artists and create income through non-recorded income streams like image and depiction rights for brand and partnerships, and sound recording rights for synchronisation licensing,” Mpungose-Niklas told Music In Africa.

“We primarily service the Warner roster and its affiliate businesses Africori and Coleske. However, we are label-agnostic, meaning we work with artist irrespective of genre or affiliation where possible. The point is to match and pair artists and creatives, including content creators, with brands to create organic and successful brand partnerships. It has to make sense for both the creatives and brands to collaborate.”

Mpungose-Niklas says she wants to create a conducive business environment for WMA’s artists and the brands they are associated with.

“I always have in mind two things where brand strategy is concerned: what is the ROI [return on investment] for my client or brand, and what do the brands really want? If we can truly comprehend the needs of a brand’s supply chain in its entirety – from the bottom up – and move from that premise, I believe that is what distinguishes us as a business and unit within Warner,” Mpungose-Niklas said.

The new division has already secured South African rapper Rouge a partnership deal with alcohol brand Jägermeister, which sponsored an all-female hip hop songwriting workshop called the She Writing Camp in April.

“What propels me every day is the idea of shifting and shaping the African music landscape so that we can finally have a good, truthful and successful story about major record labels in Africa. I want to positively impact and shift the African music landscape and it is part of my agenda to ensure that I work in alignment and aid of both Temi’s and the business’ objectives and vision for WMA,” Mpungose-Niklas said.