When an artiste passes away, the people closest to their career are often left in a grey area, especially the manager, who usually works side-by-side with the talent.
Managers oversee bookings, publicity, negotiations, and almost every major decision that shapes an artiste’s public life.
But what happens when that life ends? Does the manager still have a role? And who controls the brand, legacy, and intellectual property the artiste leaves behind?
This question has resurfaced in the wake of Daddy Lumba’s passing, after his wife, Akosua Serwaa, and his elder sister, Ernestina Fosu, issued a statement directing his manager, Roman Fada, to stop presenting himself as the late singer’s manager.
The manager’s role ends when the artiste passes away
Providing some perspectives, artiste manager Nana Poku Ashis explained to GhanaWeb that the manager’s role ends the moment the artiste dies.
According to him, the job exists solely because the artiste is alive and active. Once the artiste is no more, there is nothing to manage: no appearances, no new performances, no planning, and no professional decisions that require a manager’s oversight.
This becomes even more straightforward when the artiste is independent and not affiliated with a record label, he added.
In such cases, the manager is directly hired by the artiste, often without formal company structures or shared ownership of assets. That relationship naturally dissolves with the artiste’s death because the employer is no longer present.
When an artiste is signed to a record label, the situation may be slightly different because a record label might consider retaining the manager for other roles if their skills remain valuable to the company.
Entertainment critic Nana Frimpong Ziega, speaking on United Showbiz on November 8, 2025, also stressed that legally, a manager’s authority ends at the artiste’s death. Once the artiste is gone, the manager’s mandate dissolves.
“Lumba did not have a manager. Even if there was a manager, by law, the moment Lumba died, he ceased to be a manager. Because now, who are you managing? It is not a record label. As a personal manager, the moment the person is dead, you don’t have any role again,” he said.
Any public statements, business transactions, or branding decisions made by a former manager after the artiste’s death have no legal backing unless the family or estate gives explicit permission, he added.
Who inherits the artiste’s intellectual property?
One of the other concerns that have arisen regarding the issue of what happens after an artiste’s death is the ownership and management of their intellectual property.
This includes their songs, image rights, catalog, royalties, unpublished work, and any earnings tied to their brand.
Once the artiste dies, all intellectual property becomes part of their estate. Whoever is legally appointed to manage that estate, either through a will or by family arrangement, becomes responsible for protecting these assets.
This person or group now has the authority to make decisions about the late artiste’s music releases, licensing deals, rebranding, or use of their likeness.
Watch the promo to GhanaWeb‘s latest documentary, which uncovers the evolution of ‘kayamata,’ an exploitative practice fueled by love charms and manipulation, titled, “The Dark Side of Kayamata,’ below:
AK/AE
