Why Nollywood producers can’t freely use Afrobeats songs – Dami Twitch

Nigerian filmmaker and video director Oluwadamilola Owolabi, popularly known as Dami Twitch, has spoken on why Nollywood producers can no longer use Afrobeats songs in their movies without permission.

While speaking on the Afropolitan podcast, Twitch revealed that the limitations is as a result of artists having publishing deals with foreign companies.

He explained that securing the fees for securing legal use of Afrobeats songs in movies can be quite pricey, noting that the new development is gradually affecting the synergy between Afrobeats and Nollywood.

“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.