Mavin Records is a Nigerian record label founded by record producer and recording artist Don Jazzy The label was home to recording artists such as Tiwa Savage, Wande Coal, Reekado Banks and Iyanya but now housing the rest such as Korede Bello, Dr SID, D’Prince, Di’Ja, Johnny Drille, Poe, DNA Twins and Rema.
Journey So Far…
Mavin Records started as a result of D’banj’s departure from Mo’ Hits. D’banj’s exit from Mo’ Hits, there were allegations that D’banj signed over Mo’ Hits to Don Jazzy. After rebranding Mo’ Hits to Mavin, Don Jazzy signed Nigerian singer Tiwa Savage. It was reported that Jazzy admires the singer’s work ethic and drive. Mavin Records also signed producers Aluko “Altims” Timothy and Sunday “BabyFresh” Enejere.
On May 7, 2012, the record label launched its official website and the Mavin league, a social networking site designed to cater to their fans worldwide. Don Jazzy signed endorsement deals with Samsung and Loya Milk after establishing the label; Tiwa Savage also signed an endorsement deal with Pepsi. Within a year of becoming a revamped brand, the record label released “Take Banana” and “Oma Ga” as singles from its debut compilation album Solar Plexus. In February 2014, Don Jazzy signed Di’Ja, Reekado Banks and Korede Bello to Mavin Records a week after each other.
On May 1, 2014, Mavin Records released the hit single “Dorobucci” to critical acclaim. Also on February 25, 2015, Don Jazzy and Tiwa Savage both signed endorsement deals with Konga. On October 31, 2016, several media outlets in Nigeria reported that Iyanya signed a record deal with Mavin Records. Both Iyanya and Don Jazzy confirmed the report on Instagram. On February 28, 2017, Don Jazzy announced the signings of Johnny Drille, Poe and the DNA Twins to Mavins. In March 2019, he also announced the signing of Rema to Mavin.
Reports about Wande Coal’s departure surfaced after he released and promoted the single “Kilaju” without the support of Mavin Records. On November 5, 2013, Wande Coal released a song titled “Baby Face” and said Shizzi produced it for him. Subsequently, Don Jazzy went on Twitter and accused Coal of intellectual property theft. Jazzy uploaded a studio demo of “Baby Face”, which was supposedly recorded the previous year. Coal tweeted several times, debunking Jazzy’s allegations. In addition, Coal tweeted a link to the “original” studio version of the song.
Entertainment lawyer Demilade Olaosun spoke to Premium Times newspaper about intellectual property (IP). He said the song is a property of Mavin Records since it was produced, arranged and voiced by an official of the label. The lawyer also stated that since Coal’s recording contract was not made available to the public, speculations cannot be made about the IP of the recording sound. On November 7, 2013, Mavin Records sent out a press release officially announcing the departure of Coal. The press release came shortly after the Twitter feud between Jazzy and Coal.
In a radio interview with Beat FM in February 2018, Iyanya announced his exit from Mavin Records, saying, “I’m now signed to Temple Music but I’m a Mavin for life. It was not a beef. I was there and it was time to move on”. In December 2018, Reekado Banks announced his departure from the Label via Instagram. In May 2019, Universal Music Group announced the signing of Tiwa Savage. During said announcement, it was revealed that Savage left Mavin Records.
Mavin Records was only decorated with award in the year 2013/2014 when it was nominated in the “City People Entertainment Awards” and won the award.
The question is, will the label still continue to stand out amidst other record labels with all their Key Singers gone?
This Article was mainly coined from Wikipedia
