Growing up, Thabiso Nhlebela was captivated by the business side of music, particularly how record labels profited from signing talented artists whose skills would shine on the international stage.
While his friends danced and mimicked their favorite music artists, Thabiso meticulously studied and researched how prominent entrepreneurs in the South African and American music industry made their millions.
From Obsession to Business Venture
As his fascination with record labels grew into an obsession, Thabiso decided to follow the same entrepreneurial path taken by the producers and music moguls he admired.
“I was mostly inspired by Jimmy Lovine to venture into the music business and co-found Glow Records. Jimmy Lovine co-founded Interscope Records in 1990 alongside Ted Field. Interscope is responsible for taking the careers of Dr Dre, Eminem, Tupac Shakur, 50 Cent and Lady Gaga to great astronomical heights,” explains Thabiso.
“Jimmy Lovine also co-founded a tech company called Beats Electronics alongside Dr Dre that was acquired by Apple Inc for $3 billion in 2014. I also have a passion for tech, just like Jimmy Lovine, I hope to create a successful tech company, that is why I took programming classes at the University of Johannesburg and I still program to this day.
“I am currently managing director of Glow Records (Pty) Ltd and a music industry executive. Glow Records is based in North Riding, Gauteng, in South Africa. We decided to tap into the Amapiano music genre since it was exploding in popularity internationally.
“We currently have a stuff of about eight individuals, and we have up to six signed artists and producers. At Glow Records, we take upcoming artists, mostly from townships and rural areas and pair them up with globally recognized artists,” Thabiso adds.
From Mathematician to Entrepreneur
It is ironic that Thabiso, born in the city of Durban, South Africa, was very passionate about Mathematics and Physics before he became interested in entrepreneurship.
“I grew up in a rural area called Kwa-Hlabisa. As a young person I was fascinated by Physics. My aunt, Joyce Nhlebela, who was a primary school Mathematics teacher, nurtured and helped me develop skills for solving mathematics and physics problems,” says Thabiso.
“I was obsessed with Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity, Electromagnetic Theory and Euclidean Geometry when I was growing up. I enrolled at the University of Johannesburg to study a Bsc in Physical Sciences, with majors in Mathematics and Physics. I also took a computer programming class.
“I did not complete my undergraduate degree because I wanted to venture into business and develop real world practical skills in business and entrepreneurship. At the time of dropping out of University, I co-founded Glow Records (Pty) Ltd with DJ Panther in 2021,” he explains.
Staying Ahead of the Curve
Remaining relevant in the music industry as an entrepreneur means keeping up to date with the popular genres and how they evolve and change with time. For Thabiso, this means listening to a lot of music and gauging the direction the industry is taking with regards to market preferences.
Glow Records is making a name for themselves by showcasing the talent of artists who sing Amapiano – a genre that is very popular among many South African music lovers, particularly the youth.
“The Amapiano genre has evolved immensely, and its musical styles have changed a lot. It went from a style called ‘sgija’ to ‘bacardi’, ‘gqom-piano’ and now ‘private school’ piano. So, the musical trends within Amapiano keep on changing. Plus, there is also a new genre called 3-step, now.
“To stay ahead of the curve, I study these trends all the time. I listen to new Amapiano song releases on Apple Music and Spotify playlists, I study what is going on, on Tik Tok. From popular dance challenges and the songs that are used for those dance challenges.
“I then share that information with my core producers. They study the new sounds defining new trends and they tweak and play around with those ideas to create their own sound based on those popular trends,” Thabiso says.
Highs and Lows
Under Thabiso’s leadership, Glow Records, has achieved many milestones that have cemented their place as a force to reckon with in the industry.
“In mentioning success stories, I have to talk about Dance Grenade by SmukDJ ft DJ Panther. This song became an international hit. It has over 510 million views on Tik Tok, it has over 150 000 streams on Apple Music, over 200 000 streams on Spotify, over 7 million streams in the United States of America, over 2 million streams in the UK, over 50 million streams in South Africa and over 86 million streams in Nigeria.
“This is based on Ditto Music data from 24 April 2024. On Youtube as of this writing, the music video has 365K Views.
“I was able to move Glow Records away from Ditto Music to a new distribution deal with Africori Music Group, which is under Warner Music Group, with headquarters at New York City, New York, United States. Notable best artists at Africori are, Master KG, Makhadzi, Focalistic, Kelvin Momo and Nkosazana Daughter.
“In 2024, I was also able sign a music publishing deal with Sheer Publishing Africa, that is owned by Downtown Music Holdings, a company that also has headquarters in New York City, United States.
“At Glow Records we have worked with artists like Nokwazi (from Kalawa Jazzmee) and an African popular artist by the name of Big Zulu. However, I have faced so many challenges in the music business. From dealing with violent artists to having some of our musical works stolen.”
Embracing The Future
With technology influencing a lot of industries, the music and entertainment sector has not been left out and Thabiso realizes how keeping up with modern trends will help put his business on a better growth trajectory.
“I am both excited and intimidated by Artificial Intelligence. It has the ability to help individuals like me, who handle administration in the music business. Software like ChatGPT and Grok make it easier for me to further study the music business.
“They make it easier for me to prepare metadata in making song submissions to collective management organizations, publishers and music distributors.
“However, AI can now make music as well. This poses a threat to recording artists, performers and songwriters.
“What I have learnt from my journey is the importance of discipline, consistency, hard work and self-reliance. I am a self-taught entrepreneur. I am always learning, studying and reading.
“I attend workshops and conferences to network and grow my social circle with like-minded thinkers. I also want to carry that same energy as I dive deeper into the world of software development as well,” concludes Thabiso.
