Sauti Sol walked out on contract – Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group (UMG) has given its side of the story on what transpired between the record label and Sauti Sol music band over a contract deal.
The label receives a percentage of the artist’s earnings from all revenue streams, not just music sales. In return, the artist receives financial and other support, including but not limited to marketing and promotion of their music.
However, two years into the deal, Sauti Sol announced that the deal was off after the band members publicly announced they were going their separate ways after 18 years of making music together.
In August 2022, during a radio interview, Bien explained that the band had decided to end their contract with UMG.
“It was either we sign another contract or we cancel the current one, we terminated it. We are independent again because we are currently working as independent artists,” Bien said in the interview.
However, a senior executive at UMG, who spoke to a sister publication Buzz Magazine on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the record label’s engagement with artists, claims that Sauti Sol walked away from an existing deal.
“In business, we take calculated risks, we didn’t expect Sauti Sol to break up, but here we are. There was still an ongoing contract between us the label UMG, and them when they split. A lot of things were still outstanding like they owed Universal an album and things like that,” the music executive told Buzz.
The deal has since been written off by UMG.
“What do you do in such a situation? We signed a deal with Sauti Sol, and Sauti Sol is no more. You simply write off the contract. Hopefully, they will come back at some point and continue to release music as a band because they are so talented and even get signed to another label if possible. We can only wish them well,” the executive added.
According to the Executive, Bien Aime has since been signed with Warner Music Group as a solo artist.