Award-winning music artist, Mr. Eazi is launching a fund that will invest in Africa’s stars of the future.

Mr. Eazi, (real name Oluwatosin Ajibade) told CNN that the Africa Music Fund (AMF), is worth $20 million dollars. The lead investor is 88mph, a company that provides capital for African businesses.

Through the AMF, the 29-year-old artist from Nigeria says he wants to create a new funding model for the music business on the continent.

Mr. Eazi says one of his primary motivations for funding music is to provide financial support for artists to expand their catalog.

Many investors and financial institutions don’t understand the business of music and as a result, are unable to properly fund musicians, he says.

“Artists cannot go to banks to get money for their music because financial institutions don’t understand how to secure intellectual property. They get it for physical properties but not for music. So, because not a lot of people understand the music business, there is no finance product for musicians,” he explained.

Selected artists will be given funding depending on their revenue and projected incomes, using metrics such as streaming revenue, Mr. Eazi told CNN.

Mr. Eazi, who has more than five million monthly listeners on Spotify says the AMF will also create access to a larger audience for music acts by helping them find and book shows as well as distribute their music.

Credit: ameyawdebrah.com

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