Nigerian filmmaker Dami Twitch has said the era when Nollywood producers could easily feature popular Afrobeats songs in movies is fading, as licensing and copyright arrangements have become more complex.
Speaking on the Afropolitan podcast, the filmmaker explained that many artistes have entered lucrative publishing and distribution agreements that place control of their music in the hands of companies, making access more difficult for filmmakers.
He noted that obtaining permission to use hit songs now often comes with significant costs, a challenge that many movie producers, particularly independent creators, struggle to meet.
According to Twitch, the issue goes beyond affordability, as some artistes no longer have the final say over how their music is used because of contractual obligations tied to their catalogues.
“I think because people have sold their song already. So it gets to a point where I want to use this song for my film, for example, but I can’t afford it because they’ve signed some distribution deal or some publishing deal with some company somewhere and you can’t even have a conversation,” he said.
He further explained that personal connections with musicians are no longer enough to secure access to their songs, since many rights are now managed through formal business agreements.
“Even if the person is my friend. They’ve literally gotten an advance for something. So that is a major factor in our problems because this artist don’t own the songs,” he said.
Twitch said the changing structure of the music industry has created a gap between Nollywood and Afrobeats, making collaborations harder to achieve unless a project has substantial financial backing.
“So that collaboration for now is at a very weird place. Not until if a big studio comes to support your film, you might be able to afford these songs,” he added.
He maintained that independent filmmakers are feeling the greatest impact because limited budgets often prevent them from securing the rights required to legally use popular music.
“But if you are mostly independent filmmakers, yes. So the independency won’t let us afford these things,”
