Indie label, publisher, distributor and content company EMPIRE has officially launched in South Africa, with a new office in Johannesburg, several executive hires and a launch party that featured some of the company’s biggest artists from the continent.

The office is the latest push into Africa from EMPIRE, which already operates an extensive business in Nigeria and has a division that oversees operations in MENA (Middle East/North Africa) as well. Overseeing the South African office will be EMPIRE vp of strategy and market development Ezegozie Eze Jr., while additional execs will include territory manager Innocent Nkosi-Shongwe, A&R Xivonaki Manzini and senior manager for commerce and streaming partnerships for Africa Jina Min.

“Establishing our footprint across Southern Africa is fully aligned with our mission to bring music and culture to a global audience,” EMPIRE founder/CEO Ghazi said in a statement. “We’ve already set out early on to strengthen operations in West and North Africa, and now we have the perfect team to spearhead our efforts in the Southern Africa region.”

EMPIRE launched officially in Africa in 2022, based in Lagos, Nigeria, having served as a distributor for several labels and artists in West Africa since 2016. Eze joined the Africa team four years ago from Universal Music Group Nigeria, where he had been general manager; Min also joined EMPIRE in 2022, having worked at UMG and Sony; Innocent is joining from UMG South Africa to oversee EMPIRE’s label operations in the country; while Xivo has worked with artists and brands such as Beyoncé, PJ Morton, Coca-Cola and Netflix.

“With our expansion from West Africa into Southern Africa, EMPIRE is committed to amplifying the region’s rich and diverse soundscapes, developing the next wave of generational talent and driving greater commercial success for independent artists and the industry as a whole,” Eze said in a statement. Added Innocent, “Music, culture and independence are at the core of our operations at EMPIRE. We aim always to ensure artists can trust that we want the best for them and their careers. We are more than a label; we build brands and encourage artists to pursue their creativity authentically.” 

As part of the launch, EMPIRE held a kickoff party in January called ASAMBE! South Ahh, which featured performances from the likes of Emtee, Goldmax, Ndabo Zulu, Nontokozo Mkhize and Sminofu, among others, while EMPIRE artists like Fireboy DML, Black Sherif and L.A.X. were in attendance. The company also launched what it is calling the EMPIRE Exclusives DJ Mixer, which is a platform that allows artists and producers to play unreleased music together, according to a press release.

This is the latest expansion for EMPIRE, which in recent months has also opened offices in Australia and East Asia as well as completing the acquisition of Top Drawer Merch, among other moves.