Why does the Nigerian music industry need to explore beyond Lagos?
Lagos is considered the hub of African music, where artistry goes mainstream in the Nigerian music industry, in fact not only art but almost everything along the lines of Nigeria
Also regarded as the highest level of everything, the media, money, the biggest concerts happen in Lagos, so are the opportunities for growth.
Over the past five years, music has been the latest trend in Nigeria, regardless of the genes, hip hop, rap, afrobeat, gospel, cultural and traditional music.
Music is one of the most entertaining forms of art, it cuts across all forms of human feelings, the; emotional, social as well as physiological well-being of humans.
In fact, some people believe music is a form of therapy used to uplift the spirit and heal wounded hearts.
We now have young Nigerians that want to take the position of old Nigerian musicians, even though some have successfully taken the position and changed everything about music in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
In a summary, it is the headquarters of Nigeria’s entertainment, Nigeria’s version of US Hollywood.
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While New York City/Long Island is regarded as the regional scene that has received international attention in the US, many cities abroad also have vibrant local Hip Hop cultures as well.
Some Nigerian artists dwelling in certain geographical proximity are being marginalized and Unaccordingly rated in the Nigerian music industry, but then I’d let it slide to avoid misconception in the context.
This is drawing us to the point of the topic in the conversation, it’s high time the industry decentralized to include other regions in the standard music conversation.
Moreover, it is very interesting and thought-provoking to have the musical luminaries across Nigeria, Eastern (Phyno, Flavour, Zoro, Tekno, Patoranking, Psquare), South-south (Timaya, Burna Boy, Omah Lay, Duncan mighty, Mr 2Kay), the middle belt (Terry G, 2Baba, Joe EL, Bella Alubo) and the north-central (Ice Prince, Jesse Jagz, M.I Abaga), but still, the region has no pivot in the industry yet these regions steadily churned out artistry creatives.
However, expanding the spotlight to those regions will enable more growth and development in the Nigerian music industry.
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All the Nigerian regions have produced some major players in the industry yet they are left out in conversation, I will highlight some factors that can aid decentralization of the Nigerian music industry below;
The need for Nigerian music industry to look beyond Lagos in Nigeria
Expansion of music festivals to other regions
Music festivals are a relatively recent addition to the independent arts festival scene in Nigeria and account for 15% of all festivals in the country.
Based on the international popularity Nigerian musicians have, the music festivals are able to adopt a commercial model offering a variety of revenue streams which include entry tickets, concessions, merchandise, advertising, VVIP tables and hospitality areas.
Music-led festivals are able to attract significant government and corporate support because of their ability to draw audiences in the thousands and generate high levels of local, regional and international media exposure.
Extension of Record Label
The fastest and easiest method to blow as an upcoming artist in Nigeria is to sign a record label deal with popular and successful music records.
There is a need for a renowned record label to extend to other regions, in other words having YBNL, Mavins, DMW, Kennis music, etc in other regions will serve a long way in decentralizing the Nigerian music industry.
The Media
The media plays important role in centralization, there isn’t much debate about it, they focus only on the mainstream, extending or engulfing other regions will channel the spotlight to other regions as well, from radios, TV channels, magazines, and other media outlets.
Show Promoters/Organisers
show promoters can also play important roles in billing and allocating big stage concerts regularly to other regions, it will bring the spotlight and other investors around the region.
Apart from Phyno and flavour, no other artists play a major concert outside Lagos, or any show promoters hosting one.