Eze Ezegozie is the Head of Empire Inc. His primary focus is economic impact and ecosystem development in and for Africa’s creative & entertainment industries, constructing the intersection between commerce, culture, and content. His secondary focus is route to market strategy development for entertainment-based international, diaspora entities interested in establishing presence and operations in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Prior to this position, he was the General Manager for Universal Music Group Nigeria & West Africa. He is a seasoned and tested entertainment industry executive with a focus on bridging the gap between Africa and the world. With an ear for sound and an eye for brand potential, Eze is developing the entertainment landscape of Nigeria.
Before his return to Nigeria, Eze Jr. was a DJ and party/tour promoter for high schools in the New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York area. His objective was simple: Introduce African music in the dancehall sets.
Ezegozie made his way to Princeton University, where he studied Molecular Biology before switching to Economics.
A keen interest in the entertainment industry-at-large, sparked by a need to understand the infrastructure, Eze took on internship roles at National Basketball Association and Def Jam simultaneously. As a bridge-building exercise, he first focused his efforts on booking and producing tours for domestic acts such as Jay Sean, Drake, and Fabulous before focusing on African acts with an audience in the United States. Some of these acts included P Square, eLDee, and Wizkid.
In 2009, he launched The Alore Agency to broker effective communications between African artists and labels with international music servicing organizations and to further introduce African music to US radio and influencers. Eze was responsible for driving African audience interaction with top radio stations–Power 99 (Philadelphia), Q102 (Philadelphia) Hot 97 (New Jersey/New York), and V103 (Atlanta) via radio DJs, events promotions, and club activations.
After a highly successful US tour accompanied by the launch of Wizkid’s debut album, Eze moved back to Nigeria in 2013 to intern with powerhouse label, Empire Mates Entertainment (home to Wizkid and Banky W).
His exposure to Nigeria’s music scene, Eze realized there was a disconnect between “Africa’s Giant” and the rest of the continent. Between 2013-2015, he traveled to 17 African countries, developing lean strategy & communications teams in 11 markets. The knowledge gained, allowed Eze to work as a Marketing & Production Executive at Channel O (Africa’s first cable music station) while building business management capacity at Alore Agency for top African acts, Patoranking and Vanessa Mdee.
In late 2015, he created The Republic 54 (a management consortium for African talent & managers). Eze has accumulated 11 years of industry experience, spanning Business-to-Business, Creative & Experiential Marketing Services, Brand Management & Development, Visual Production, Talent & Tour Management, and Infrastructure Development.
With an array of experience and a cultivated network within the Pan-African and international entertainment scenes, for him, the aim is to connect at least 60% of the continent through developing proper touring, distribution, monitoring, and professional development services & structures.
Exemplifying the power of collaboration, he is working hand-in-hand with the African entertainment industry to show African artists how valuable they are both to each other and to the world.
Bravo!!
