Legal Battle Erupts Over Burna Boy’s Early Masters as Labels Clash in Court

A high-profile dispute over Burna Boy’s early music catalogue has escalated into a major legal and criminal battle, following a controversial transaction allegedly carried out in mid-2024.

At the centre of the conflict is the reported sale of Burna Boy’s historical intellectual property and master recordings, a deal that has now sparked lawsuits in the Federal High Courts in Lagos and Port Harcourt, as well as a criminal investigation by the police.

The controversy traces back to May or June 2024, when Aristokrat Music—the record label that signed Burna Boy in 2011—allegedly sold the artist’s early masters to Spaceship Music, Burna Boy’s current imprint, jointly run by the singer and his mother, Bose Ogulu.

However, 960 Music Group, which owns a 40 per cent stake in Aristokrat Music, has challenged the transaction, insisting it was carried out without due process. The company argues that it was neither informed nor consulted before what it describes as the sale of the label’s most valuable assets.

In response, 960 Music filed a suit at a Port Harcourt court, asking that the deal be declared invalid. According to the company, the transaction lacked board approval and violated corporate governance rules, given its significant shareholding in Aristokrat Music.

Beyond the civil dispute, the matter has taken a criminal turn. The Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) has reportedly filed charges against Aristokrat Records founder, Piriye Isokrari, following an investigation into allegations of fraud and financial misconduct raised by 960 Music.

Isokrari is accused of fraudulent conversion, with claims that proceeds from the multi-million-dollar transaction were diverted for personal use or channelled outside the company’s official accounts. He is also alleged to have breached his fiduciary duty as chief executive.

960 Music maintains that the deal with Spaceship Music was a private arrangement that sidelined its interests as a major shareholder.

An executive of the company, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said involving law enforcement became unavoidable.

“You cannot sell 100 per cent of an asset when you only have the authority to manage the company,” the executive said. “This was a coordinated effort to move the IP under the radar, and we are asking the court to return those assets.”

The dispute now places Burna Boy—winner of the 2021 Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album—in a complex legal position. While the 2024 transaction may have been aimed at securing full control of his early masters, the legal challenge has thrown ownership of those recordings into uncertainty.

Should the Port Harcourt court rule in favour of 960 Music, Spaceship Music could be compelled to relinquish rights to Burna Boy’s early hits, including Like to Party and Tonight, returning them to the original stakeholders.

The outcome of the case could have far-reaching implications for artist rights, corporate governance, and music catalogue acquisitions in Nigeria’s entertainment industry.