Def Jam told Africa it was serious. Now the man who said it is on his way out.
Tunji Balogun, the Nigerian-American chairman and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, is leaving Universal Music Group, The Hollywood Reporter and Music Business Worldwide report. He’s expected to go before the end of 2026. He has run Def Jam since January 2022, and before that he spent years at RCA. UMG’s statement doesn’t mention him. It says only that the company is “bringing in new skills and technology” and that it’s grateful to the people leaving.
He isn’t going alone. A €250 million ($270 million) cost-cutting plan has been running since 2024 and runs through 2027. UMG says it saved about €90 million in 2025 and expects another €40 to €50 million this year. This week it took out senior names across the group. Interscope’s Sam Riback and Nicole Wyskoarko are out. So is Republic Records boss Jim Roppo, who Digital Music News says has been named Vice Chairman at Warner Records Group. UK heads Ben Mortimer and Rebecca Allen are going too.
The money behind the cuts is mixed. UMG’s revenue for the first half of 2026 was about $7.2 billion, up 5.3%. But its adjusted EBITDA margin slipped to 20.5% in the second quarter, from 22.7% a year earlier, and its shares are down roughly a third this year. It also paid $775 million for Downtown Music, and about 200 people lost their jobs at UMG Canada last month. The company is growing and still cutting.
Here’s why Nigeria should care. In 2024, Balogun said Def Jam was “pushing into” Afrobeats and dancehall. He also said Def Jam was “the only major label that’s synonymous with pushing Black music forward.” Def Jam Africa launched in 2020 and runs across Nigeria, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Cameroon, with offices in Lagos and Johannesburg. Cassper Nyovest and Nasty C were early signings. Adekunle Gold joined in March 2023, and Odumodublvck was on the roster by 2024.
So who carries that promise now? Nobody has said. UMG hasn’t, Def Jam hasn’t, and none of the reports mention Africa at all. The artists signed on his watch don’t know either, or if they do, they aren’t saying.
The timing doesn’t help. NPR reported in September that the American Afrobeats “takeover” never fully happened, and that Afro-pop songs have largely left the Top 40. When labels cut costs, the projects that haven’t paid off yet are usually the ones that feel it first. That’s a fair worry, but it’s an opinion, not a reported fact.
UMG’s other big Nigerian bet sits outside Def Jam. In February 2024, it agreed to buy a majority stake in Don Jazzy’s Mavin Records, home to Rema and Ayra Starr. No price was disclosed. Mavin was meant to keep its autonomy, and Don Jazzy was to stay on as CEO. Mavin isn’t mentioned in any report about this shake-up. Nigerian artists will want to see it stay that way.
