A legal battle has erupted over the ownership of Burna Boy’s early music catalogue, setting his former record label against his current management amid allegations of fraud and secret dealings.
The dispute centres on a transaction allegedly concluded in mid-2024, which has sparked a criminal investigation and multiple lawsuits at the Federal High Courts in Lagos and Port Harcourt.
The conflict began around May or June 2024, when Aristokrat Music—the label that signed Burna Boy in 2011—allegedly sold the singer’s historic intellectual property rights and master recordings to his current label, Spaceship Music. Burna Boy and his mother, Bose Ogulu, lead the imprint.
However, 960 Music Group, which holds a 40 per cent equity stake in Aristokrat Music, has challenged the transaction, insisting the sale was unlawful.
In response, 960 Music approached a Port Harcourt court, asking it to nullify the deal. The company argued that Aristokrat completed the sale of its most valuable assets without informing shareholders, securing consent, or obtaining board approval.
Beyond the civil action, the dispute has escalated into a criminal case. The Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) has filed charges against Aristokrat Records founder, Piriye Isokrari, following investigations into allegations of financial misconduct raised by 960 Music.
Authorities accuse Isokrari of fraudulent conversion, alleging that he diverted proceeds from the multi-million-dollar sale for personal use or channelled them away from official company accounts. Investigators also accuse him of breaching his fiduciary duties.
960 Music alleged that the Aristokrat CEO sidestepped corporate governance processes to strike a private deal with Spaceship Music, effectively undermining the interests of its partners.
An unnamed executive at 960 Music said the company had no option but to involve law enforcement, insisting that a manager could not sell assets without the consent of shareholders who own a significant stake.
The executive added that the company believes the transaction aimed to quietly transfer the intellectual property and has asked the court to restore the assets to their original ownership.
The legal standoff could expose all parties to serious liabilities. For Burna Boy, a Grammy Award winner in 2021 for Best Global Music Album, the dispute presents a complex challenge.
Although the 2024 deal may have aimed to give him full control of his early masters, alleged procedural breaches by Aristokrat have left the catalogue in legal uncertainty.
Should the Port Harcourt court rule in favour of 960 Music, Burna Boy’s label may have to relinquish rights to some of his early hits, including Like to Party and Tonight, back to the original partners.