Pandering to circumstances, Nigerian artistes are no more keen on profits from album sale, writes JAYNE AUGOYE
Two days after Marvin Records boss, Don
Jazzy and his signee, D’Prince, were announced as the latest MTN
ambassadors, the music makers are still basking in the euphoria of the
feat. For Don Jazzy, perhaps the failure of the albums of his artistes
to make financial returns can be overlooked as long as the endorsement
deals keep flowing.
On their social media accounts, Twitter,
Facebook, Instagram and Keek, both artistes have been on a celebration
frenzy, thanking their stars.
The general lull in album sales, fuelled
by activities of pirates and the growing popularity of the Internet and
social media, has led many artistes to jostle for endorsement deals,
especially in a bid to keep up with their ‘jet set’ lifestyle.
Nothing gladdens the heart of any
artiste as much as patronage, either through sales or a simple
acknowledgement. Sadly, this is not the case for many Nigerian artistes.
One of the worse hit in this regard is foremost Nigerian rap artiste,
ModeNine – real names, Babatunde Olusegun. The singer recently lamented
that an album he recently released more or less passed by unnoticed.
“I put out a whole album and nobody cared. A whole 20-track album titled, Alphabetical Order.
Nobody gave a hoot. Nobody cares. You see how the industry is. How do
you expect me to feel?” The controversial wordsmith is quoted as saying.
ModeNine, a one-time presenter on Rhythm
84.7fm Abuja, blamed his fate partly on the Nigerian audience’s
lukewarm attitude to his style of music and a decline in album sales.
Before one is tempted to say that the dark-skinned artiste, who studied
Building Technology at the Federal Polytechnic Bida, Niger State, was
simply crying wolf, it is important to ponder the fact that his scenario
represents the harsh reality of the entertainment industry.
Unlike what obtained in the past and in
other climes, a lot of musicians no longer depend on proceeds from album
sales to survive.
That is why, apart from the likes of Don
Jazzy and D’Prince, who are lucky enough to get endorsements, others
with business acumen are falling back on various ventures, like fashion
lines.
From dealing in clothing, shoes,
lingerie, down to men underwear lines, there are no limits in the
Nigerian artistes’ quest for survival. For these smart ones, pirates can
go to hell for all they care.
As the pirates continue to bite their
fingers, the proliferation of smart phones and a situation where many
Nigerians now ‘live’ means that the average music buff can download his
or her favourite songs or videos, as soon as they drop. Worse still,
most of these downloads are free.
The option for many musicians at present
is to trade with digital music companies like Spinlet, iRoking and
YSGHub, which have, however, yet to firmly find their feet in the
Nigerian market.
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