Music video director-turned-filmmaker, Apampa Oluwadamilola, widely known as Dami Twitch, has stated that Nollywood producers are now required to secure proper licences before incorporating Afrobeats songs into films.
Speaking during a recent episode of the Afropolitan Podcast, which gained traction online on Saturday, he explained that the growing restrictions stem from international publishing and distribution agreements signed by many Afrobeats artistes.
According to him, these deals have shifted control of music rights away from the artistes, making song usage in films more formalised and significantly more expensive.
Dami Twitch noted that independent Nollywood filmmakers are the most affected, as they often cannot meet the high licensing fees unless backed by strong financial investors.
He explained that even personal relationships with artistes are no longer enough to bypass licensing requirements.
“I think because people have sold their song already… you can’t even have a conversation,” he said, referring to how publishing and distribution agreements limit direct access to music rights.
He added that in many cases, artistes themselves no longer have full control over their work after signing advance deals with companies.
“Even if the person is my friend… they’ve gotten an advance for something. That is a major factor in our problems because these artistes don’t own the songs,” he added.
The filmmaker warned that the situation is creating a widening gap between Nollywood and Afrobeats collaborations, stressing that only high-budget productions may now be able to afford popular soundtracks.
“So that collaboration for now is at a very weird place… unless a big studio supports your film, you might be able to afford these songs,” he said.
He further emphasised that independent producers are the hardest hit due to limited funding, which makes licensing compliance difficult.
“If you are mostly independent filmmakers, yes… independency won’t let us afford these things,” he concluded.