In 2021, the year Temi Adeniji took on the combined roles of Managing Director and Senior VP of Strategy sub-Saharan Africa at Warner Music Africa, a monumental shift was stirring in the music industry. 

The ripple of the social media app TikTok was swiftly hauling African music into previously uncharted waters across the globe. And Warner Music's African repertoire found favour in the storm.

It had begun the year prior with “Jerusalema”, the record by South African producer Master KG starring Nomcebo, keeping the world dancing and joyous amidst the uncertainty of the global pandemic. However, “Love Nwantiti” by Nigerian singer, Ckay, cemented the shift by charting and breaking records across several countries like India, France, Saudi Arabia, and more. “It was like jumping in the deep end,” Adeniji recalls. "I kept thinking to myself 'I've never done this' so I had to put on my big girl panties," she says.

Before developing the careers of the continent's brightest music stars, Adeniji had distinguished herself in legal practice following her degrees from Princeton and Columbia Law School. Nonetheless, her interests soon took her on a different path. "I wanted to move to the business side by either operating or running a business," Adeniji notes.

Her journey in the music business began with the role of director of operations and strategy at Warner Music after examining opportunities across various industries. "I saw the opportunity on the Princeton lister. My then-boss was looking for someone with an MBA which I didn't have. I was upfront and let him know that I'll figure it out because I'm really smart."

This self-belief, adaptability, and passion have been the compass steering the music executive's career and propelling her high in the ranks. In conversation with AMAKA, Adeniji shares her strategy for Africa, her thoughts on risk-taking as a pathway to success, and the need for self-preservation.

Did you think that African music would one day get to the position it now holds globally?

Definitely. What we are seeing is a right sizing of the way things should have always been because a lot of music is derived from the continent. I think we’re just finally getting to a point where we are taking credit for our sounds. Thanks to technology, people all around the world now have access. More importantly, they can attribute that sound to the continent. 

There is also a shift in what pop music means. Pop means popular and what's popular now is music from Africa. I don't think this is a fluke or a fad, but I do believe that there's an incredible amount of work that needs to be done on the ground from an infrastructural perspective to build on the moment. We need structures that ensure creators, songwriters, producers, and everyone behind the music gets paid appropriately for their work. 

What efforts are you making towards creating those systems?

I sit on the board at the Recording Industry of South Africa (RISA). I also sit on the IFPI sub-Saharan Africa board. It's the global body that represents the interest of the recording industry. We focus on putting in place some of these crucial structures. For example, for the first time in South Africa, we implemented an actual music chart system. I think it’s important for artists to have a legitimate source that allows them to get a sense of where their music stands. It sounds so simple, but there was no source of truth prior. We also spend a lot of time figuring out which policies we need to establish to get some of these things going. 

Warner recently acquired Africori. What is the expected outcome of that integration?

They’re a distribution company that has a huge footprint. They represent many artists because they're doing very low-touch work, just helping the artists get their music out there. Our strategy on the continent was always to support people working on the ground and acquiring their businesses after helping them grow and make money. This is how we're building our business here on the continent. 

There have been quite a lot of conversations about the lack of risk involved in the music industry nowadays with primary reliance on AI technology and data derived from the likes of TikTok for talent acquisition and marketing. What are your thoughts on this?

Labels are essentially like venture capital. We’re always investing in talent and taking risks, whether signing from TikTok or not. I always tell my team that if we have a 20% hit rate, we're doing a great job. If you look at the number of artists from TikTok who blow up from the app and become proper brands, It will not amount to a huge number. We're looking at the data and stuff coming off TikTok because you'd have to be living in a vacuum, not to. However, there's still a lot of development that has to take place for it to be sustainable. It's quite a difficult place to be because the safest zone for a label is to have a vast catalogue that can sustain you as you develop the acts. During the development stage, you constantly spend money while not making anything until there's a big break.

What are the differences between Warner Africa’s initial strategy at its launch in 2013 and the strategy under your watch?

When I came in, Warner was an outsider in many ways in the local industry. The company focused only on marketing our international repertoires like Cardi B and Bruno Mars, to the continent and monetising that. My vision is very clear. What I've been trying to do in the past year and some change is to change the narrative around what this brand means. I’m trying to ensure that we serve African interests through the music community here. I try to communicate to my team that we need to make sure that music sits at the centre of culture. When we carried out our rebrand here in South Africa, one of the things I did was work with a local artist called Masonwabe Ntloko. I had him do some custom manifestations of what I was trying to say. And so we have a couple of different murals in the office that he's done. But the core phrase is that we are music culture.

What are some of the primary challenges you have faced in your role?

I’m a woman so it makes everything ten times harder [laughs], not just on the continent, but generally speaking as a black woman. We're often so hard on ourselves because we feel like, 'Wow, we've been given this unbelievable opportunity and we can't mess it up.' All these impossible targets are given to you. As you accomplish these targets, it's not like people will let up. It's almost like it gets worse, you know. My counterparts are often not held to those same standards. 

Giving myself grace amidst very high expectations has been challenging. I was quite burnt out at the end of last year and so I made a mental shift at the beginning of this year to prioritise myself, otherwise, I can't do this job. 

How do you care for yourself amidst all of this?

I work out a lot, do pilates, play tennis, and I just started pole fitness. I'm always active and that is how I remain centred. I enter a meditative state whenever I work out because it's the only time I focus on a single activity. 

In your career so far, what would you describe as your greatest success?

I mean, besides CKay, obviously, I think the greatest success for me has just been the ability to build a team that loves what they do and feels like they can be themselves fully. Every day, I just trying to get better at creating a respectful environment where people get to show up as they are and do phenomenal work showcasing outstanding African talent. What I'm creating with my team is something I wish I had earlier in my career, and it entails a great amount of empathy, openness, and vulnerability. 

That’s important as such an environment encourages people to do their best. What are we to expect from the Warner Music Africa team in 2023? 

Last year was about building up. This year is about building up and hoping for another breakthrough moment or artist. That’s it.