Nomcebo Zikode Reportedly Loses Another Court Battle With Record Label

Nomcebo Zikode Reportedly Loses Another Court Battle With Record Label

  • Nomcebo Zikode reportedly took her record label back to court over contractual disagreements, and it ended in tears
  • The singer's ongoing legal battles over royalties with the label have ended in yet another loss, just two months after the last court defeat."
  • Previously, the award-winning singer was left disappointed and knee-deep in debt, and netizens urged her to let it go
Nomcebo Zikode lost another court battle
Nomcebo Zikode's legal battle with Open Mic Productions ended in tears. Images: nomcebo_zikode
Source: Instagram

Nomcebo Zikode allegedly attempted a different tactic in her ongoing legal battle with her former record label, but it ultimately backfired.

Nomcebo Zikode reportedly loses another court battle

Just over two months after Nomcebo Zikode took her former bosses to court and lost her case, she reportedly dragged them back, only to face the same outcome.

For years, the Jerusalema singer and her former record label, Open Mic Productions, have been involved in a legal battle over royalties, a battle she is yet to win.

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Nomcebo alleges that she was never paid a cent for her vocals on Jerusalema, a song she shared with hitmaker Kgaogelo “Master KG” Moagi under the label.

After losing her last case on 9 May 2025 over ownership of the song, Sunday World reports that Zikode opened another case over Bayethe.

The song features Zakes Bantwini and Wouter Kellerman and won them a Grammy Award in 2022.

Open Mic Productions was reportedly the record label involved in the release and distribution of the song.

Nomcebo Zikode took her record label to court again
Nomcebo Zikode reportedly lost another court battle with Open Mic Productions. Image: nomcebo_zikode
Source: Instagram

Nomcebo's legal dispute with Open Mic stems from an alleged unfair distribution of royalties and other aspects of her contract with the label related to her songs, including Bayethe. She recently requested an application for leave to appeal.

Sadly, in the judgment delivered on Thursday, 24 July, the court ruled that her appeal had "no reasonable prospects of success." Zikode was ordered to cover the legal costs of the application.

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After being ordered to pay R1.5 million in legal fees, the singer stands to face an even heftier bill with the latest court ruling.

Lionel Jamela from Open Mic told Sunday World that they were willing to sit down with Nomcebo and iron out their differences:

"Our door remains open; she just needs to calm down so we can find a solution. But if she wants to keep fighting, that’s her choice; we can’t stop her; it’s her right.

Mzansi reacts to Nomcebo Zikode's legal troubles

South Africans said Nomcebo should throw in the towel as her legal bills keep piling up.

Sir_Lloyds said:

"She must move on. It’s not her song and will never be her song!! What a loser!"

MollyTLeshaban was worried:

"The girl will be sending her Capitec card on this app soon if she is not careful."

FelixKambule added:

"Some things are not worth fighting for."

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Melo_Malebo responded:

"Who’s advising her, though? We are gonna be asked for donations very soon."
South Africans accused Nomcebo Zikode of being greedy
Social media users said Nomcebo Zikode was ill-advised by her legal team and should give up. Image: nomcebo_zikode
Source: Instagram

Meanwhile, others bashed her legal team for allegedly misleading her:

BillyPacho12 said:

"In this case, a contract matters. We can release a song today, then after a year or so, it starts to gain attraction. Suddenly, you want the ownership of the song and everything. She was ill-advised; now other artists won't work with her after this greediness and stupidity."

lavidaNOTA wrote:

"She owes them 2 albums as well. I did warn her and her management, but you know how black people want to bring down black businesses. They bite the hand that feeds them!"

MarhubaneN added:

"Lawyers will mislead you. They’ll say 'We can win this,' but deep down, they’re plotting how to milk you dry while proving some obscure legal point with your money."

Pimpster4 posted:

"I blame her legal team."

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In an earlier report, Briefly News shared online reactions to Ntsiki Mazwai's comments amid her legal drama with DJ Euphonik.

The singer and podcaster landed in a hot mess after she made damning allegations against the DJ over his assault scandal.

Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Moroba Moroeng avatar

Moroba Moroeng (Entertainment editor) Moroba Moroeng is an entertainment writer at Briefly News and a University of Johannesburg alumni (Public Relations and Communications, 2018). She was the content manager and, later, editor for HipHop Africa, where she honed her proofreading, leadership, and content management skills. Having begun her career as a content writer for Slikour OnLife, Moroba has over four years of experience as a writer specialising in music journalism and entertainment. She joined Briefly News in 2023 and passed a set of training courses by the Google News Initiative. Email: moroba.moroeng@briefly.co.za