According to filmmaker and video director Dammy Twitch on the Afropolitan Podcast, independent Nollywood film producers are facing a major roadblock because they can no longer afford to legally secure Afrobeats music for their movie soundtracks. The director explained that the massive influx of foreign investment and distribution deals signed by top-tier music stars has stripped away the artists’ direct rights over their catalogs. This corporate shift has made track clearance incredibly formal and wildly expensive for local cinema houses.
Even when directors share deep, years-long friendships with top-tier recording artists, those personal relationships no longer hold any weight when trying to secure soundtrack usage. Because global publishing firms now strictly enforce intellectual property rights across international borders, local filmmakers must navigate corporate legal blockades that demand thousands of dollars in licensing fees.
The industrial standoff was verified by The Nation Newspaper, which quoted Twitch’s breakdown of the independent film struggle: “Not until a big studio comes to support your film, you might be able to afford these songs.” Punch Newspapers further verified the legal structural changes via its entertainment section, noting that “the independent scene won’t let us afford this thing because these artists don’t own the songs anymore.”
This structural shift signals the end of casual creative collaborations between the Nigerian music and film sectors, forcing Nollywood to adapt to international IP frameworks. To survive without massive Hollywood-style budgets, local independent filmmakers will have to look toward custom orchestral scoring and upcoming indie musicians to avoid devastating copyright strikes on global streaming platforms.
Source: Daily Post — https://dailypost.ng/2026/05/30/nollywood-producers-cant-freely-use-afrobeats-songs-in-movies-anymore-dami-twitch/ May 30, 2026
Photo Credit: The Whistler NewsPaper
