Music label sues Ayo Maff over ‘breach of contract’

Ayo Maff, the fast-rising Nigerian singer, is embroiled in a legal dispute with his record label TunesBid Limited over alleged violations of their recording agreement, as reported by TheCable Lifestyle.

In a statement via their social media pages, TunesBid accused Maff and his management team of breaching the contract signed in December 2023.

The label claimed it invested heavily in the singer’s career, funding singles like ‘Street Anthem,’ ‘7 Days,’ and ‘Dealer,’ and securing a distribution deal with Empire Distribution.

According to TunesBid, Maff and his management — Oyefeso Oluwamayowa Olumide, Okolie Amobi Chiedu, and Oyefeso Ayotunde — “acted in bad faith by secretly negotiating with Empire behind the label’s back and later refusing to honor their contractual obligations”.

The label disclosed that despite attempts at mediation, the dispute escalated, forcing them to pursue legal action.

They emphasised that Ayo Maff remains under contract and warned third parties against engaging with him or his management, OceanStreet Creative Limited, without their approval.

“Tunesbid Limited, following a series of discussions, entered into an Exclusive Recording Agreement with three Nigerian Ayofela Ayodele, who performs under the stage name ‘Ayo Maff’ (hereinafter referred to as ‘The Artiste’). The contract, which commenced on December 3, 2023, was made between Tunesbid Limited and the Artist, with the Artist’s professionals legal team—Oyefeso Oluwamayowa Olumide, Okolie Amobi Chiedu, and Oyefeso Ayotunde—representing the Entity, OceansTreasure Limited,” the statement reads.

“The contract was in the form of the contract had a stipulated period agreed upon by both parties, under which the artiste was required to deliver a certain number of projects (EPS and LP Albums) as commitment delivery. Tunesbid Limited completed significant resources—both financial and otherwise—to promote the artiste’s music and brand image. This included the release of singles such as ‘Street Anthem’, ‘7 Days’ and ‘Dealer’ all fully funded by Tunesbid Limited within the first 7 months of the agreement.

“And throughout this period, the label always invested her resources to promote the artists to the level, which successfully moved the artists from relative obscurity to prominence in the Nigerian music industry within the six months. These efforts attracted the attention of a major music distribution Company, Empire Distribution, who subsequently offered a deal to distribute two EPs for the artiste, with an option for an LP album. As part of this agreement, Empire Distribution also agreed to provide upfront payment to Tunesbid Limited.

“The contract Elias with Empire were finalized with documents sent to the Tunesbid Limited for onward acceptance. However, unbeknown to the Label, Mafoluku Ayorinde (AyoMaff) and his management team; Oyefeso Oluwamayowa Olumide, Okolie Arnold Chieuci and Oyefeso Ayotunde had continued conniving to deceive and defraud Tunesbid Limited by entering a dishonourable contract with the label, which they had no intention of honouring.

“And, in a swift unravelling of their true fraudulent intents, the artist and his management had begun ignoring the music distribution contract having gone behind the label to hold separate meetings and discussions with representatives of Empire Distribution. The label, in the course of the aforementioned ongoing discussions/negotiations, and following pressures received from the artist’s management team, had pre-decided to finance the recording of songs that would be released as the first Extended Play project under the contract with Empire Distribution.

“And as soon as the recordings were done, the Label was only informed about the Label possibly not honouring the Label or submitting the recorded songs under the pretext, Oyefeso Oluwamayowa Olumide, who operates as the key head for the Management team, went incommunicado, blocking off all communication—deliberately ignoring the contract, which they had earlier signed.

“Their ongoing disregard for the contracts, which they had eagerly entered into, culminated into letters from the artist and his management, dated May 17, 2024, and May 30, 2024, expressing their intention to breach the contract less than six months after signing it. In view of the alleged team, Zaeda Oracle, rejected these attempts to violate the agreement and refuted the false claims made by the artist and his management against them.

“The Label made several efforts through mediation and formal communications, in a bid to resolve this contract breach amicably, but it quickly became evident that neither the Artiste nor his management had any interest in peaceful resolution. As a result, Tunesbid Limited instructed its legal team, led by Zaeda Oracle, to begin exploring legal avenues to address this blatant breach of contract. Through this press release, we wish to make it clear to the public that Ayo-Maff is still bound by an existing contract with Tunesbid Limited and that any representation to the contrary should be duly regarded as invalid and false.

“More so, Any and every individual and/or entity that relates with or enters into a Contractual, Commercial or Collaborative Agreement/Contract/Partnership with AyoMaff or OceanStreet Creative Limited (parading themselves as the Management of the Artiste), in exclusion (and without the express permission/approval) of Tunesbid Limited, do so at their own risk and will face the prospect of legal actions from Tunesbid Limited.

“Ergo, we would like to advise every show-promoters/ entertainment company who have previously or are currently participating with AyoMaff and his management team in organizing any artiste tours, shows or events (without the permission/approval of Tunesbid Limited), to wit, RoadMan Ent., Make Da Melanin Group, AfroVibes Sheffield Ent., 1XMedia Ent., amongst others, to immediately desist from any such illegal association or face the risk of legal actions from Tunesbid Limited.”

When contacted by TheCable Lifestyle, Ayotunde Oyefeso, Ayo Maff’s manager, confirmed that the matter is already in court.

“The matter is in court already,” he stated.