DMW, an acronym for Davido Music Worldwide is one of the top record labels in Nigeria that has paved way for so many Nigerian artists to reach the music limelight, not just in Nigeria but across the globe as well.
In this post, we are going to look at who is the owner of DMW records, and without any waste of time, let us get started with it.
Who is the owner of DMW Records?
DMW records is owned by Davido, a Nigerian-American singer, songwriter and record producer who was born David Adedeji Adeleke on 21st November 1992.
This record label has been home to top Nigerian musicians like Morravey and Logos Olori; producers Fresh VDM and Speroach Beatz are also signed to the label. Artists formerly signed to the label include Ichaba, Lola Rae, Lil Frosh, Dremo, Yonda, Peruzzi, Idowest, DJ Ecool, Danagog, B-Red, Deekay, May D, Deinde, Ayanfe, Liya, and Mayorkun.
Though most of the artists above are no longer signed to the label, it is worth noting that they are all doing great in the new labels they moved on to and the fact remains that if not for DMW records, they would have never been able to make it to the music limelight in Nigeria today.
History of DMW Records.
DMW records was founded on 18 April 2016, and as we said earlier DMW stands for Davido Music Worldwide.
The same year, i.e. 2016, exactly September 29, Ichaba became the first artist to sign a joint venture deal with DMW and APPE Music Entertainment, and in November Davido would go on to sign Lola Rae as the first female artist to Davido Music Worldwide.
The following year, i.e. 2017, Davido would sign 2 more artists to the label, Yonda in January and Peruzzi in November.
2018 saw 2 more artists, Idowest and Deekay joining the record label by May and September respectively. Deekay dropped a single titled “Hangover” the same year he joined DMW Records and the single featured label mate, Peruzzi.
On October 2019, another new artists Lil Frosh became a member of DMW Records, and in 2020 Davido welcomed more artists to the label who included, Ayanfe, his cousin B-Red, May D, Deinde, and Liya as the first female artists. And prior to the rumors that Lola Rae is the firt female artists in DMW, she used this opportunity to debunk the rumor and revealed that Daido was just using the label to help her promote her music.
She tweeted: “Excited to hear Davido is signing a new female artist!!! This is amazing amazing news! I was never signed to Davido; he was just incredibly kind enough to help push & promote an upcoming artist aka myself! God bless him forever for that so grateful”
In March 2023, Davido made the announcement that he was signing 2 more artists Logos Olori and Morravey to DMW, and he also revealed that changes has been made to the label’s official logo.
Artists who has left DMW Records.
Having seen all the artists who were signed to DMW Records above, it is also worth mentioning that most of these artists are no longer signed to the label, and below is an update of the artists that has so far left DMW Records.
On 6 October 2020, DMW’s boss Davido terminated Lil Frosh record contract with DMW Records, and allegations of domestic violence by Frosh’s girlfriend Gift Camille was sighted as the reason for the record contract termination.
In 2021, Mayorkun announced his exit from DMW with the release of his single “Let Me Know” off his second album “Back In Office“, released through Sony Music West Africa.[20][21] At the album launch of Back In Office, Davido made it public as he gave a speech at the event.
On 19 July 2023, the first female artist signed to DMW, Liya revealed to a fan on her Instagram comment section that she was no longer signed to the label.
