Communiqué 57: How Mavin Records became an African content powerhouse

For a long time, Mavin Records had been known as just a music label. Now, it has evolved into a content marketing company that also develops artists and makes music.

1. Chapter X

In November 2024, Nigerian record label Mavin Records released Chapter EX, a short film featuring a cast of actors and creatives. The 11-minute drama was the film directorial debut of Daniel David, the music video director renowned for his work with some of the label’s most prominent acts, including Ayra Starr and Crayon. It was also the coming-out ceremony of Savant, Mavin’s in-house production studio.

The move signaled Mavin’s evolution from a traditional record label to a multimedia business. At the heart of this transformation was a content marketing strategy built upon Afrobeats’ universal appeal. It was also Mavin’s way of staking a claim beyond music. For a long time, Mavin had been known as just a record label. Now, it is evolving into a content marketing company that also happens to develop artists and make music.

2. The content gamble

After three years of working in traditional media with stints at Pulse, and CNN, Segun Akande knew he needed a new challenge. He did not know where it was going to come from, but that did not stop him from resigning from his job at Zikoko—where he had helped platform artists like Joeboy, BNXN, Blaqbones, and Oxlade before they blew up —at the end of September 2019. While waiting for the next opportunity he got a text from a friend, Mavin Records was looking for someone to lead their content marketing efforts.

In January of that year, Kupanda Capital had invested $5 million into the record label. This deal was significant for the Nigerian music industry because it was one of the earliest examples of a music label like Mavin Records being valued like a tech startup. Tech startups are often valued based on their potential for rapid growth, scalability, and future revenue rather than their current financial performance. Venture capital investments like the one from Kupanda Capital, are typically aimed at fueling this kind of exponential growth, with the potential for outsized returns. For Mavin content marketing was the vehicle that would drive that growth.