Sauti Sol still owes Universal Music an album, from the multi-million deal that was prematurely terminated by the band in 2022, Polycarp Otieno has revealed.
At the time of terminating the deal, Sauti Sol’s vocalist Bien Aime Baraza revealed that the band had decided to end its contract with Universal Music Africa, an arm of one of the world’s largest music labels, to focus on their individual careers as well as building their own imprint Sol Generation.
“What happened is that our contract had reached its expiry date, and it was either that we sign a new contract or terminate the one we had… We thought it was best that we do not renew our contract and go independent.” Bien said in a radio interview in August 2022.
Behind the scenes, however, the ledger did not close neatly. A senior executive at Universal later revealed to Nation that the deal was effectively written off after the group’s breakup, despite an active contract still in place.
“In business, we take calculated risks. We didn’t anticipate Sauti Sol would break up, but here we are. There was still a running contract between them and us when they broke up. Hopefully, they will come back at some point and continue releasing music as a band, as they are so talented, and even get signed to another label if possible. We can only wish them well,” stated the executive.
Sauti Sol band members perform during Sol Fest at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi on November 4, 2023.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
While the exact value of the deal remains under wraps, conversations are still ongoing among the band members, Polycarp Otieno, Bien, Willis Chimano, and Savara Mudigi on how to settle that final obligation, the remaining one album, which was part of the deal when they signed in 2020.
‘Midnight Train’, one of their most successful album, was part of that agreement, with Universal holding the rights.
Polycarp notes that the landscape has since shifted as deals with record labels are no longer as rigid as they were before, and artists now have room to renegotiate the rules of engagement.
“Right now, there are different ways of making deals with record labels that work. In our case with Universal, we are still in negotiations because we still owe them one album. And they have been very open about how best we can work it out. You can do a 50/50 deal. Labels have realised there are many ways to sign artists, not necessarily the traditional 360,” he said.
Polycarp shared these insights during an exclusive screening of Sonic Nation, an upcoming documentary tracing the evolution of Kenya’s music industry from pre-colonial times to the digital age. The film is produced by Recording Industry of Kenya (RIKE) with support from the British Council.
