The music business in Nigeria is growing and the world is paying
attention. The set of international deals being signed by Nigerian
artistes is testament to this fact. The Sony deals, the Roc Nation deal
and the likes. These deals are not the endorsement deals that are often
seen around, these deals work differently. Most of these deals are
recording deals; they usually include management and distribution
clauses.
What this implies is that the international companies are not only
looking for Nigerian music stars to promote their brand, or celebrities
to serve as the face of a brand in Nigeria. The international companies
are beginning to see the business opportunity in exporting Nigerian
music to other parts of Africa, some part of Europe and America where
there is demand. For Sony, Roc Nation and many of the international
collaborators, it is strictly business. They simply want a share of the
pie.
It is not difficult to see that the demand for Nigerian music is on
the sharp increase. In fact, Nigerian music might as well have overtaken
crude oil as the most exported Nigerian product, except that
artistes and record labels manage the music business in the country and
not the government. So it isn’t exactly a national business. But if you
doubt the level of demand for Nigerian music from outside of the
country, then consider the success of Nigerian music on international
charts, the series of tours organized for Nigerian artistes outside the
country and the increasing number of international collaborations, I
believe these would help you understand that Nigerian music is hot in
demand.
The love for Nigerian music is growing beyond the size of millions of
music lovers in the country. Our music is now popular in the other
parts of Africa. It is also interesting to know that Nigerian music is
infiltrating European and American communities, especially those with a
concentration of Africans. Not quite long ago, we saw soccer stars in
faraway Manchester grooving to Wizkid’s music,
Hush Up The Silence.
On that same song, prominent international rapper, Drake was a happy
collaborator. The famous Empire star, Taraji P. Henson showed just how
far Nigerian music has traveled when she openly raved about Davido and
Wizkid’s music. In the same context, Trey Songz wanted the world to know
how much he enjoys Tekno’s
Pana song.
Moreso, Nigerian artistes are finding it easier to collaborate with foreign music stars. Take for instance, the remix to
Do Like That by Korede Bello featuring Kelly Rowland, Davido’s
Fans Mi featuring Meek Mill, Sean Tizzle’s
Hit & Run
song on which Tory Lanez was featured. These are only some of the
instances of foreign stars relating with Nigerian music. Rather than
considering it the new craze of Nigerian artistes, it seems more that
the foreign artistes are beginning to see the benefits of working with
Nigerian stars.
The success of Nigerian music on the international scene has caused a
lot of people to believe that international accolades would soon ensue,
perhaps Grammy awards. In some quarters, it is believed that Wizkid
should have been a recipient of the prestigious award, considering the
commercial success of the
One Dance song, on which he
was featured by Drake. Although he did not end up winning a Grammy, he
was duly recognized by The American Society of Composers, Authors and
Publishers,
ASCAP, for his contribution as a song writer to the masterpiece, One Dance.
Although we still do not have Grammy recipients amongst our crop of
artistes, we are closer now than ever before. It is only a matter of
time before an artiste from Nigeria conquers the world. Nigerian
artistes are already taking the competition to the international stage,
where they compete with artistes from other African countries for
awards. In the coming years, with the rate at which our music being
exported to the other parts of the world, Nigerian artistes would not
just be tussling on the African front, they would be in the mix for
awards and recognition on the global scene.
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