‘Taking full ownership of my music has always been a priority,’ says award-winning Tresor

A number of musicians have died as paupers because they didn’t own their music, having signed it off to a record label.

Award-winning singer-songwriter Tresor has acquired the Masters of his first two albums from Vth Season giving him full control over the award-winning bodies of work.

“Acquiring the masters of my early work allows me to fully control my catalogue, ensuring that my legacy is protected and my creative journey remains mine to navigate,” said the singer in a statement.

Owning one’s masters means an artist can license the recording to third parties, like TV shows, commercials, or even for sampling use by other artists.

If a musician’s master belongs to someone else, like the record label, the music producer, or the sound engineer, then they have the right to license out the recording (and collect all the royalties).

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Amicable

Contrary to how most artists tend to part with their record labels, Tresor, who hails from the Democratic Republic of Congo, had an amicable separation from Vth Season.

“I would like to extend my gratitude to Vth Season’s co-founders Raphael Benza and Ninel Musson who were my trusted partners on VII and The Beautiful Madness. Together we made magic.”  

Both of the albums Tresor acquired won South African Music Awards in the Pop Album of the Year on separate occasions.

Benza, who signed Tresor, spoke kindly of the Sondela singer and said their relationship would continue.

 “We’re proud of a journey we had with Tresor and even more proud to see him be in a position to acquire the masters and continue to build his legacy.”

Vth Season is the same record label that late rap artist Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes was signed under.

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New dynamics

The Vth Season owners will now step into a more advisory and marketing lead role for special projects under Jacquel Entertainment Group.

“We will continue to play a supportive and strategic role in Tresor’s music career as he embarks on this new exciting chapter,” said Benza.

Tresor’s own is label VII Recordings, a division of Jacquel Entertainment Group.

In November 2023, Tresor launched his R100 million Jacquel Ventures Investment Firm.

The firm is aimed at building and investing in luxury goods, real estate, consumer brands, entertainment, and technology-enabled companies.

With the aim to be at the forefront of shaping the future of businesses that impact lives and shift culture in Africa and beyond.

Tresor was orphaned at an early age and left Goma in the Eastern DRC after finishing high school and headed for Durban in 2007 with the purpose of pursuing a professional music career.

He is now an ambassador for the Nelson Mandela Children Fund and also a United Refugee Agency ambassador advocating refugee rights.

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