House music maestro DJ Black Coffee has acquired a significant stake in South Africa’s largest and oldest independent music label Gallo Music Investments.
Both parties announced the deal inked through Black Coffee’s investment holding company FlightMode Digital — with an undisclosed amount — in a joint statement on Wednesday afternoon.
This comes after Gallo was in March bought by the Lebashe Investment Group from Tiso Blackstar for R75-million — incorporating it into news and entertainment business Arena Holdings.
“This is the first of many moves we are working on to change the landscape of both the South African and African music industry,” Black Coffee said.
“The music in the Gallo catalogue is some of the most culturally rich that has ever been created in this country.
“The partnership with Lebashe to invest in the catalogue and masters, is more than just a business transaction — it’s about creating an environment in which artistes and creatives have a truly equitable stake.
“It is also the beginning of an industry revolution where African artistes are part of structures that are fair and encourage new ways to monetise content.”
Gallo has been in the music business for 90 years and it’s synonymous with big artises such as Lucky Dube, Dorothy Masuka, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Stimela, Sipho Hotstix Mabuse and Mango Groove.
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“We are delighted that South Africa’s most extensive musical archives reside within Arena Holdings, and it is our intention to explore and reintroduce these amazing classical archives to our mainstream market, locally and globally,” said Lebashe chairman Tshepo Mahloele.
“The collaboration with internationally renowned DJ Black Coffee will usher in a new era for the South African music business on a global scale.” — SowetanLive
