Music distribution is a crowded field with countless players promising reach and visibility. However, what truly empowers today’s creatives is independence. This is where Soundmac, launched in 2020, sets itself apart.

More than a distribution company, Soundmac is building a system that gives artistes the tools, access, and flexibility to run their own careers. Soundmac is intentionally designed as a DIY platform where every process is streamlined. Soundmac’s moves include global song placement, royalty collection to provide advances for artistes and labels facing financial hurdles with Advance Royalties programs and so much more. 

Artistes working with Soundmac gain direct access to platforms like Deezer, Jaxsta, Josplay, LyricFind, Napster, and Pitchally. These partnerships ensure transparency and visibility. Added to this are powerful tools such as a Billboard chart registration feature, playlist pitching system, automated audio converter, and the recently launched Echo Republic, a label and management service aimed at offering deeper support to artistes ready to scale.

At the heart of these innovations is a commitment to giving creatives exposure and also the financial breathing room to focus on their craft. Soundmac’s Advance Royalties program, for instance, provides upfront funds to ease financial hurdles while artistes wait for long-term returns.

To gain deeper insight into Soundmac’s vision, we spoke with its founder about the company’s journey, services, and future plans.

In Conversation with Soundmac’s Founder, Gideon Akhigbe

TTC: What inspired the creation of Soundmac? What gap were you aiming to fill for artistes?

Gideon Akhigbe: Soundmac really started during the COVID lockdown in 2020. I had just come back from school, University of Abuja and I didn’t want to sit idle, so I taught myself web development. At the same time, my friends were making these incredible songs, but the only way they could share them was through Audiomack, Xender and Bluetooth. I loved the music so much and I wanted it out there for the world to hear.

So, I started researching and I discovered distribution. I signed up to a few platforms, but that’s where the challenges came in. They wanted WAV files, and all we had were MP3s. Even converting those files costs us money. Then came the bigger frustration, Naira cards stopped working on international platforms. There was no independent distributor in Nigeria or Africa that accepted naira, also. Out of that frustration, I said to myself: let’s build something of our own.

It wasn’t easy. I spoke with a few industry people across Africa, but most didn’t really understand how the backend of a digital music distribution platform works. I even reached out to Spotify’s team, which was before they launched in Nigeria and they believed in the vision enough to share information with me. Developers were another challenge. In Nigeria, no one really knew how DDEX worked or how DSPs processed content, so I had to bring in our first developer from South Africa while still working with some local devs.

It took almost three years of trial, error, mistakes, and restarts. Finally, in 2023, we launched Soundmac. For me, the goal was never just to create “another distributor.” It was to solve the real issues African artistes were facing and make sure they had the same chance to reach the world as anyone else.

TTC: Beyond distribution, you offer a wide range of tools and services. Can you share more about them? Are they accessible to all artistes, or structured through different payment plans?

Gideon Akhigbe: One thing I realised very early is that uploading a song alone doesn’t change an artiste’s life. What really matters is what happens around the music, visibility, knowledge, and access. That’s why at Soundmac, we built more than just distribution.

We have a chart registration, for artistes to officially get their music tracked. We have our playlist pitching tool, which gives artistes a chance to submit directly for playlist consideration. There’s the Soundmac Artist Resource, which is our educational blog packed with industrial insights, so artistes actually understand the business they’re in. We even built an auto audio file converter because I remember the days when not knowing the difference between MP3 and WAV almost stopped us. No artiste should lose momentum over something that simple. And of course, our promotion tool, which connects artistes to opportunities across digital, radio, and more.

Now here’s the key part, the basic things an average African artiste needs to scale are free and open to everyone on Soundmac, no matter your plan. The playlist pitching tool, the auto file converter, the Artist Resource, the insights are not locked behind a paywall. We made that decision because we know these are the foundations.

Other features, like some advanced promotion services or label-level tools, are structured by plan. Not because we want to keep them away, but because they’re secondary. The essentials for growth are available to everyone. That’s the philosophy behind Soundmac: no artiste gets left out of the basics they need to grow.

TTC: Soundmac has secured direct partnerships with platforms like Deezer. How did those collaborations come about, and what do they add to your value as a company?

Gideon Akhigbe: Partnerships like ours with Deezer and other DSPs came from trust. We had to earn that trust by proving we could deliver quality consistently and by showing that we put our artistes first. Once DSPs see that you’re serious about artistes and you can handle the backend properly, they start opening those doors.

For our artistes, it’s not just about getting their music online. These direct deals mean their songs get delivered faster, they stand a stronger chance of getting playlisted, and they aren’t just sitting lost in a catalogue. We work with DSPs to make sure the music we represent gets the right visibility.

On the industry side, these kinds of partnerships have lifted our reputation. Other distributors around the world have noticed, and some are now using our API to move their music because of the standard we’ve built. That shows me that Soundmac has gone beyond just distribution, we’ve built something that other players trust, and that gives our artistes an even stronger platform.

TTC: You’re currently headquartered in Nigeria. Is your reach primarily local or are you positioning Soundmac for a continental and global market?
Gideon Akhigbe: We started in Nigeria because that’s home, and Africa has always been our heartbeat. But from day one, the goal wasn’t just to be a local solution, it was to build something that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the best distributors anywhere in the world.

Today, that vision is already taking shape. We now have at least one user from every country across all continents signed up to Soundmac. And just recently, we onboarded a music label based in the UK that also operates in Portugal. That kind of growth shows we’re not just talking global,  we’re living it.

So while our foundation is rooted in Africa, Soundmac is positioned as both a continental and global player. We’re building the bridge between African talent and the world, and at the same time creating a platform the world itself can depend on.

TTC: The Advance Royalties program is designed to help artistes and labels facing financial hurdles. How does this arrangement benefit both the creatives and Soundmac in the long term?

Gideon Akhigbe: The Advance Royalties program came from our experience in the music industry and listening to artistes. One of the biggest challenges for independent artistes and small labels is cash flow. They might have great music and momentum, but without funds, they can’t push promotion, shoot videos, or even handle everyday expenses. We designed the program to bridge that gap.

Here’s how it works: after an artiste has been with us for six months and we can see a clear earning pattern from their catalogue, we step in to give them an advance against their future royalties. That means they’re not waiting endlessly to access the value their music is already generating. They can take that advance, invest it back into their craft, and keep their career moving forward at the right pace.

For Soundmac, it’s also about the long-term relationship. When artistes grow, we grow. By supporting them financially at critical stages, we’re not only strengthening their trust in us, but we’re also building healthier catalogues that continue to generate royalties year after year. It’s not charity,  it’s a partnership.

In the bigger picture, this program allows us to level the playing field. Too often, only artistes with label backing have access to funding. With Soundmac Advance Royalties, even an independent artiste in Lagos, Accra, or Nairobi can access the kind of financial support that was once reserved for signed acts. And in the long term, that means more sustainable careers for our creatives, and a stronger ecosystem for us as a company.

TTC: With Echo Republic, you’ve expanded into label and management services. What will these operations look like and how can interested artistes take advantage of them?

Gideon Akhigbe: Echo Republic is our next step in supporting artistes beyond distribution and publishing. We saw that a lot of artistes using Soundmac were putting out great music but needed guidance on branding, career planning, and connecting with the right opportunities. Echo Republic was created to give those artistes a home for that next stage.

It’s both a label services arm and a management outfit. On the label side, we help with things like marketing strategy, rollout planning, and securing collaborations. On the management side, we provide hands-on support everything from negotiating deals to helping shape long-term career moves. Because we’re linked to Soundmac Music Group, artistes in Echo Republic also benefit from our direct DSP relationships, publishing arm, and distribution tech.

For interested artistes, it really starts inside the Soundmac ecosystem. We watch for people who are consistent, building momentum, and ready for that bigger push. When we see an artiste who fits, we open the conversation about Echo Republic. It isn’t a quick sign and drop model, it’s about finding talent we can grow with and giving them the kind of structured support that keeps careers sustainable.