Entertainment Africa
Afro-pop muso Tresor has bagged a mega seven-figure record deal and hopes to use it to help fix the problems with SA music.
The Never Let Me Go hitmaker recently sealed a massive distribution deal with Universal Music that will see his music carried to fans across the world over the next few years.
The singer also wants to use the money to launch his own record company.
Speaking to TshisaLIVE, Tresor said the deal would also allow him to right some of the wrongs he saw in the local music industry.
“Our generation has forgotten about the iconic African sounds. We subscribe to American styles of writing and singing but what we really need is to go back to basics. I want to restore the days of Chicco Twala and Hugh Masekela. When the biggest songs in the world were African songs and the entire globe was watching Africa for inspiration,” he said.
Tresor called the deal a “game changer” and said that he was happy to be working with people he once saw as his mentors in the industry.
“It’s a deal that will see me work with Universal for three or four years. It provides both distribution and financial support. The deal is a game changer. My legal team was heavily involved in it and are very happy with the results. I obviously can’t give specific numbers but it is a seven figure amount,” Tresor told TshisaLIVE.
Tresor added that the deal would also allow him to recruit artists from across the continent to his label.
“I want to work with artists from Nigeria to South Africa and Tanzania. I want it to be that in five years’ time our artists are as big as Beyoncé and Rihanna,” he said.
The first release to come from the mega-deal will be Tresor’s upcoming second studio album, The Beautiful Madness, to be released next month.
“From now on all releases from me will come through my own record label,” Tresor added.
