Nollywood Producers Can’t Freely Use Afrobeats Songs In Movies Anymore – Dami Twitch

Music video director and filmmaker Dami Twitch has revealed that Nollywood producers can no longer freely use Afrobeats songs in movies without obtaining proper permission.

Speaking on a recent episode of the Afropolitan podcast, Twitch explained that many Afrobeats artists now have publishing agreements with foreign companies, making it more difficult for filmmakers to secure the rights to use their music.

According to him, the high cost of licensing songs has become a major challenge for many independent movie producers.

He said this situation is affecting the relationship between the Nollywood and Afrobeats industries.

“Nollywood producers can’t freely use Afrobeats songs in movies anymore. Some artists have already sold their music rights, so adding their songs to films becomes difficult.

“Even if the artist is my friend, they can’t give me permission to use their song freely because they have already entered a contract. That is a major challenge in the movie industry.

“The collaboration between Nollywood and Afrobeats is at a very weird place right now. A lot of producers can’t afford putting Afrobeats songs in their movies unless a big studio or investor supports them. Nigerian producers are mostly independent filmmakers so a lot of us won’t be able to afford it,” he said.

Twitch noted that while both industries continue to grow globally, the rising cost of music licensing is making collaboration more difficult for many filmmakers.