NIGERIA: Nigerian artists harness power of internet to market and grow their music.

Record ID: 236213

  • Title: NIGERIA: Nigerian artists harness power of internet to market and grow their music.
  • Date: 17th October 2013
  • Summary: SCREEN-SHOT OF SPINLET'S WEBSITE
  • Embargoed: 1st November 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Nigeria
  • Country: Nigeria
  • Topics: Business,General,Technology
  • Reuters ID: LVACLDEISGHXPHKPUITL0RSIMXI6
  • Story Text: At a studio in downtown Lagos, music producer, Ifieya Kponu is laying down a new track for upcoming singer Oluwatimi Adeloba. Kponu has been in the music industry for ten years and has produced over 100 songs.
    For Kponu, studio sessions are an opportunity to explore his creativity and produce music that not only Nigerians will love but that have global appeal.
    Nigeria's urban music scene is one of the most vibrant on the continent, producing some of the most bankable artists according to a recent poll by African music television outlet, Channel O and Forbes Magazine.
    Out of a list of 10 artists, seven of the wealthiest super stars were from Nigeria.
    "We have a rich musical culture, Nigerian music is rhythmic, soulful, you listen to it and it connects with you, you might not even understand what the person is saying. For instance, a South African or a Kenyan might hear a song and its in Yoruba or its even in maybe pidgin English, they might not be able to connect directly with the lyrics of the song but there's something beyond the lyrics of the song that can translate to you when you listen so I think that a big part of why Nigerian music has grown and is so popular now," said Kponu.
    Twenty-year-old Adebola says the emergence of new technology and software means creating music is now more affordable for artists trying to break into the industry.
    "Unlike before, the artistes before us when they will say ah no money for studio session, no this it's not like that anymore because there's technology, you can record yourself, just make sure you send to someone to make it listenable, someone to make it ready for the market but now the challenges are personally I face is I think politics because everybody wants to plug their person because you understand, he's my friend, listen to him, good or not good listen to him, he's my friend instead of like the music is really nice, I think you should listen to it, everybody knows somebody and they want their own person to be the one doing it," added Adebola.
    Many A-list musicians in Nigeria are paid no less than 3 million naira (18,987 US dollars) to perform at a show while some rake in as high as 10 million naira (63,291 US dollars).
    Nigerian music is sold in thousands of stores across the country but now can also be found online.
    Global music distribution companies like Spinlet are trying to tap into emerging markets like Africa by creating platforms that make it easier for internet users to find local music.
    Spinlet Nigeria has an estimated 650,000 subscribers registered on their platform; 80 percent of who are Nigerians themselves.
    A single costs about 80 naira (50 US cents) with the profits going to Spinlet, the artist and telecommunication companies.
    Francis Ebuehi, Spinlet Nigeria's Chief Operating Officer says their two year presence in Nigeria with offices set up only six months ago has seen over one million Nigerians stream on to their site.
    But he says tighter regulations need to be put in place to combat piracy.
    "What we found out is that we actually, there has been so many inconsistencies in how we distribute music in Nigeria and also indeed globally so what we have done is we have created a platform where we talk to artistes and say okay artistes please come and make available your music tracks on our platform and this music tracks will be available via our platform to anybody anywhere in the world," said Ebuehi.
    Pascal Robert works in a more conventional music store in downtown Lagos.
    Despite the increase in online music sales, he says, he is not worried. Business is still good.
    He makes about 76 to 95 US dollars daily in sales.
    "I don't see so it affects us because you have a system in your house, you have a phone in your hand, anytime you're walking around, you can use your phone, hear music, enjoy yourself anywhere but in your house, you can play in your sound system, play your music anyhow, play anytime so I don't think that downloading music from the sites affects our selling; It doesn't mean, people always buy CD, some people like playing in the house, some people like playing with their phones, it doesn't mean that we don't sell a lot, everybody has his own choice," he said.
    Some industry analysts say digital music is the future of distribution owing its success in other countries while others argue it will only increase piracy as it will make it easier for consumers to share music using their phones and computers.
    Nevertheless, it does mean it is now easier, cheaper and faster for Nigerian artists to reach audiences across the world.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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