Nigeria is in RECESSION and the economy is not as vibrant as it used to be.
This has affected even the entertainment industry and as Nigeria celebrates its 56th independence anniversary today, Thenetng spoke to entertainers on the impact of the current recession on the entertainment industry.
READ: How recession is affecting the Nigerian entertainment industry
Veteran musician, Olu Maintain says, ‘I feel the recession has affected the industry from this perspective, now for every dime you want, you have to earn it and the margin for error is very slim you have to be very strategic and precise in execution because there’s little or zero tolerance for mediocrity.’
Rapper, Ice Prince simply says, ‘A practical example is that N3,200,000 I changed to $20,000 last year and transferred for a video shoot. At the moment, I will be needing about N8,500,000 for the same $20,000‘.
Pop act, Toby Grey had this to say, ‘Recession in Nigeria is no news. It has indeed affected the economy in so many ways. People nowadays find it hard to go about simple daily activities without experiencing some form of setbacks all in the name of recession. It has made people really frustrated and aggressive. The music industry is no exception. The work environment has grown a bit stiff for everyone; corporate bodies, investors, label owners, show organizers, independent artists, the list is endless. You don’t see unnecessary show of affluence anymore, because now more than ever, ‘every naira counts’. Although everything is twice the cost, it hasn’t stopped or affected the creativity of Nigerian entertainers. That’s a lot to be applauded. We still produce great music and videos. This to me screams ‘there’s light at the end of the tunnel’. All we can do is stay positive. Long live Nigeria.’
Nollywood film-maker, Elvis Chuks says, ‘Honestly it’s not just the entertainment industry, but other sectors of the nation’s Economy but as usual, there will always be light at the end of the tunnel, I believe it’s a Phase and it will surely pass. Let’s just be hopeful and do the best we can. Posterity and Divinity will Handle the Rest. I’m Sure.’
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DJ Spinall also shared his thoughts, ‘As a DJ, every equipment (software and hardware) we work with is imported. We constantly have to update our music catalogue almost on a daily basis by buying music and apps online in US dollars. This has caused a sharp and sudden rise in our expenses and budget without an aggregate increase in show payment due to reduction in purchasing power.’
Entertainment PR expert, Jason Amusa says, ‘The cliche thing would be to jump on the band wagon and say the recession has affected bookings and all, but personally I feel that a business that’s properly structured will always be able to accommodate any form of eventuality. That’s why I always preach that every business should be properly structured so as to be able to re-adjust to any situation.
Renowned broadcaster, Emma Ugolee; ‘One of the leading sources of heavy remuneration for the Nigerian entertainer (Movies , Music , Comedy and Fashion) is the use of its notable A and B list faces as brand ambassadors. This has been greatly cut down as they are dropping a lot of them as well as slashing fees for the retained while not even considering new entries.
Secondly, politics was the most lucrative affiliation for the entertainer. Making millionaires overnight from the deep pockets of government dignitaries Senators, Governors and even the presidency. All that is history. Finally, shows are getting harder to fill up. VIP sitting is taking a nose dive from 1m per table to less that 50k.’
Popular A & R man, Bankulli had this to say, ‘Definitely recession affects the whole strata of the economy, but as much as I don’t want to blame the government but then who are we to blame, if the policies are right we won’t be here. The sad thing is that it took a foreign media to let us know we are in recession before our government admitted to it. The government seems to look confused, company budgets for events have been affect, foreign exchange is a big deal and if affects everything including entertainment There’s also a paradigm shift from performance, most of our artiste run abroad to be able to perform and at the end of the day it still boils down to government policies, they really need to do more.
Entertainment entrepreneur, Tobi Sanni-Daniel also shared his thoughts on the recession, saying, ‘The simple laws of demand and supply has become very conspicuous amongst us and the rapid decline in disposable income is leaving very little room for corporate bodies, government agencies and HNIs to fund their usual lifestyle. Airline fares, school fees abroad, medical fees abroad et al is becoming a nightmare to afford. Naturally, entertainment is one of the casualties like almost every other industry’.
Artiste manager, Sotuminu Olasile is of the opinion that recession is a mere word because night clubs in Lagos still sell out, ‘I really don’t see recession affecting the entertainment industry. Shows are been held, artists perform regularly and they get paid, some even charge higher fees. Quilox and Escape night clubs are booming, so i think recession is just a word in our heads‘
And rising pop act, Ink Edwards said this, ‘In my opinion stakeholders are a bit more cautious and corporate opportunities aren’t as much as they used to be due to budget cuts’.
Rapper, Gifted Baba, ‘well, in my own opinion the recession is affecting the entertainment industry greatly. Especially for the up and coming artistes. Almost all the blogs have increased their charges to post up contents by the artistes. The Cost of living is high, you have to pay through your neck to get proper music done as Studio Sessions charges has increased greatly. It’s Hard to Promote your work/music without money and the money ain’t even flowing. This is Major setback‘.
Pop star, Da Prinze Usifoh, ‘Its sure affecting the entertainment world because people who haven’t eaten well or that can’t afford to live normal lives wouldn’t want to attend free events talkless of paying for tickets’.
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