D-Black is a Ghanaian rapper and entrepreneur
Ghanaian rapper and entrepreneur Desmond Blackmore, popularly known as D-Black has shed light on why some signed artistes fail to make money from shows and streaming despite being active in the music industry.
Speaking in an interview on Hitz FM on February 3, 2026, D-Black explained that record labels typically invest heavily in artistes, covering expenses such as rent, music videos, and promotions.
According to him, this situation is largely due to a common record label practice known as recoupment, where labels recover their investments before artistes begin to earn profits.
“In the music business, when you sign an artiste typically, there’s something called recoupment. When you plan the budget you’re going to spend on the artiste, let’s say his rent, music video and music promotion, you would want to make more money from the one you set aside to spend on the artiste,” he said.
He stated that most contracts include clauses that allow labels to first recover the money spent on the artiste before sharing revenue.
“There’s a clause that most record labels put in there that says we have to recoup our investment and make a profit of whatever you guys decide on. When you start making money as an artiste, that money you first spent on him needs to be gotten back.
“If you play shows and you get more money than the one they spent, the label has to take out the money they spent to recoup,” he explained.
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D-Black disclosed that this can sometimes leave artistes earning little or nothing, especially when the label continues to invest more money into their careers.
“Imagine you don’t manage to get the money that was spent on you, the next stage too, they have to spend another money, which would make the artiste owe the label. You can’t tell the artiste that they’re not going to get a dime from every show money or streaming platforms,” he shared.
He said in some cases, artistes may perform several shows without receiving any direct payment because they are still indebted to the label.
“Imagine an artiste performing ten to fifteen shows and he doesn’t get any money because he owes the label, that’s what happens a lot in these situations,” he noted.
He further posed a question about the business reality labels face when contracts end without full recovery of their investments.
“So now, if the contract is up and the artiste wants to leave the label but the label has not recouped the investment fully, what would you do if you were the label owner?” he quizzed.
FG/EB
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