No one is more qualified to speak on the cost of breaking an artist in Nigeria than Mavin Records boss, Don Jazzy, who has propelled artists to stardom across three different eras.
In a recent interview on The Echo Podcast, the label mogul revealed that it costs approximately $ 150,000 to $ 300,000 to service a new artist from the point of their debut single to the release of their first project.
According to the Don, up to ₦500 million can be expended on taking an artist from relative obscurity to the point of releasing their debut project. His statement draws attention to the high cost of music marketing in Nigeria, which is at an all-time high.
Why is it so expensive to market an artist in Nigeria?
The growth of Nigerian music, thanks to the advent of social media and streaming platforms, has created a rewarding yet competitive market where artists have to outspend each other in a bid to attract consumer attention.
READ ALSO: The state of music marketing in Nigeria: So expensive, yet little return
Unlike in the past, where there was no social media and artists primarily marketed themselves through radio, TV, and street activations, today, social media has changed the marketing model.
The rise of social media and its pivotal role in marketing music means that labels and artists now have to expend resources in servicing Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and Snapchat, both through targeted ads and influencer marketing. This is not cheap.
Music and Marketing Executive Honour Aghedo, while appearing on a Facts Only special episode, shared that the cost of social media marketing is now eating deeply into the marketing budget of labels and artists who have no choice but to play the games of numbers.
Afrobeats To The World: More Money, More Problems
The massive exportation of Nigerian music has invariably brought more funding into the ecosystem. However, artists, producers, and label executives aren’t the only ones desiring a bigger payday.
Influencers and Media Platforms also want a cut of this funding flowing into Afrobeats. Influencers across social media platforms are charging record fees, while media platforms and blogs have made upward adjustments to their rate cards to maximise their profit in reflection of a bigger marketing war chest for artists and labels.
“Even Influencers now want to be paid ‘Afrobeats To The World’ because there’s more money in the ecosystem,” Marketing Executive David Adeyemi pointed out while appearing on Pulse Facts Only episode on The State of Music Marketing in Nigeria.
As it stands, the high cost of music marketing is one that generally favours the bigger mainstream artists with the deep pockets to service all platforms at scale.
All is not lost for emerging and independent artists who can deploy more cost-effective marketing models while also exploiting TikTok’s level playing field, which has so far played a pivotal role in offering emerging artists a global platform.
