What It’s Like To ... Be An International Music Lawyer In Nigeria

Today, Ayinoluwa works as a music lawyer. He has provided legal assistance to some of the biggest stars in Nigerian music today, with a strong focus on songwriters and record producers across Africa. Ayinoluwa is also renowned for providing sensitisation on laws or policies that could potentially affect the music industry. Ayinoluwa also runs acontinental songwriting contest to encourage adequate support for songwriters on the continent.

In Nigeria, music law is a fairly new aspect of the legal ecosystem. It’s a legal specialty that has become necessary following issues of contract disputes and an industry expanding its global reach. As more Nigerian artists grow beyond the local scene and into bigger markets, music lawyers like Ayinoluwa have been integral in safeguarding their interests and ensuring that the people who create the work are protected from exploitation.

Below, Ayinoluwa talks to OkayAfrica about his early days as a music lawyer, the difficulties of operating a legal entity dedicated to music in Nigeria, the challenges facing the music industry on the legal front, and what the future holds.

Akinyemi Ayinoluwa: I grew up in a very conservative household, and at the time, we were not allowed to watch TV. The only way we got entertained was by listening to gospel music or the radio. Still, I fell in love with music. In secondary school, I would sing a lot of Plantashun Boyz (Nigerian music royalty 2Baba’s former group), and when I went to University, I began making music and performing at local shows. It was in my third year that I discovered something called entertainment law. I had read something about Audu Maikori of Chocolate City, and I knew then that if I didn't make it as an artist, I wanted to be another Audu Maikori.

Post-law school, I tried to manage a friend of mine who was an artist, but finally decided to focus on being a music lawyer, and it’s been 13 years of actively working in this space.

When I was starting out, a lot of lawyers were intellectual property lawyers, but not many of them were branded as music lawyers. A music lawyer, simply put, is a lawyer who works in the music industry. He understands the business. He understands all the interactions. He understands the value chain. He understands how to forecast things. He understands how to structure deals, how to sidestep problems. He understands how to facilitate things for the benefit of the people he represents.

Being a music lawyer in Nigeria has its peculiarities. For example, the laws that regulate certain aspects of the music business in the U.S are non-existent in Nigeria.

In the early days, there were a lot of record label and artist troubles. The sanctity of contracts was not understood by many people. But through advocacy, I'm happy that it's getting better, although the problem persists in some way.

The second problem was that a lot of producers at that time were getting the short end of the stick. I make a bold claim to say that our work, and that of my colleagues, were instrumental in helping everybody appreciate how valuable record producers are. Ten years ago, if a producer brought out a contract, nobody was going to deal with them. But in 2025, I'm happy that the situation is a lot different.

For someone looking to enter the industry, you have to love this community. If you're not obsessed with trying to serve it or love the people, you would not be able to stomach a lot of the frustrations and challenges — like dealing with artists, navigating industry politics, and establishing trust with artists who have been sabotaged in the past — that will come your way.

Being a part of so many people's journeys, I find a lot of fulfillment that money can't buy. Another enjoyable perk is that I get to see the world. Today I'm in France, tomorrow I'm in Germany, the day after that, I'm in South Africa. Also, Billboard recognizing me as one of the 2025 Top Music Lawyers means a lot to me, considering my journey. I'm thankful to all my clients who have trusted me with their careers to champion their interests.

While I have had the privilege to work on several deals and projects, two of them stand out to me in my career.

I particularly enjoyed negotiating with Beyonce's lawyers. I think that was a pinch-me moment. They were trying to get some services from one of my clients, and I negotiated and got my client a really good deal.

Also, when I was a young lawyer, just in my second year, I was fortunate to represent an artist who was in disputes with his label and I sat across across the table with a very important intellectual property lawyer and that was all the confirmation that I needed that in just two years of me working as a lawyer, I'm already rubbing shoulders with my seniors that I admire and would only see on TV.

To be a successful music lawyer, you must be a people person, which means you care for other people because that is how you are going to be in the mood to be of service. You can't start out proud and edgy and feel like you already have it all. You must be likeable, and then you must be teachable. You should also be able to learn things for yourself and be self-driven. You must also want to be a change agent for the better. And it helps if you can also aggressively network. I think those are the qualities that I admire in people right now.

In terms of what the future holds, I will continue to build my law firm into the foremost music law-focused firm in Africa. Number two, I would also continue to help songwriters and vocal producers in different capacities. I run a songwriting contest that I believe is going to continue to expand across Africa already.