Nigerian music has gone global with artistes selling out major centres and theatres in London and the US.
Although a combination of piracy, social media and the dwindling spending capacity of Nigerians have continued to diminish the ability of the music artistes to live off their albums, the Nigerian love for elaborate ceremonies and music shows/concerts within and without Nigeria make these artistes tick.
Last week we ran the first part of our story What Wizkid, Davido, K1, and Other Music Stars Earn for Shows. Today, we bring you the final part in the series exploring what artistes like Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, 2Baba, Olamide and others earn per show.
2Baba Idibia: 43-year-old multiple award-winning singer, Innocent Idibia, also famously referred to as Tuface, is an iconic singer whose music has been widely accepted across the globe. The ‘African Queen’ singer became a worldwide sensation after the release of his Face to Face debut album in 2004. He followed up with Grass to Grace as the sophomore and since then has been on a phenomenal rise. Tuface has no category of award yet to win in Africa, understandably so, he charges between N4m-N8m to perform at gigs in Nigeria. For concerts, he charges between N7m-N12m and between 80,000USD- 120,000USD to perform abroad.
Phyno: Chibuzor Nelson Azubuike better known by his stage name Phyno, is a rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Phyno is like rain that never drizzled. He took the industry by storm at a time there was never quality Igbo rap in the mix. He became to the Igbos what Olamide was to the Yoruba fans of indigenous rap. He staged one of the most attended concerts in 2016 in the East after attaining fame from his debut studio album, No Guts No Glory, which was released in 2014. Some of his famous singles include, Ghost Mode, Man of the Year, Parcel, Fada Fada and O Set“. He charges between N4m-N7m to perform at parties and events while his fees for concerts range between N5m to N8m.
Olamide: Rapper and hip-hop singer, Olamide Adedeji a.k.a. Baddo or Baddo Sneh, prides himself as the voice of the street. His 2010 debut single, Eni Duro, was his claim to fame while still signed to Coded Tunes. He went on to found YBNL records where he released his sophomore and has been signing on artistes. With his friend and colleague, Phyno, he staged the famous concert dubbed 2Kings in 2015.
Olamide’s fee is put between N4m-N8m depending on where the show is taking place. He charges a little less than 100,000USD for shows across the border. He’s also a successful record label owner whose office has produced Adekunle Gold, Lil Kesh, Young John and Pheelz.
Yemi Alade: 30-year-old stage rocker, Yemi Eberechi Alade is one artiste with intimidating stage presence whose music has impacted both Anglophone and Francophone countries of Africa. She became famous after winning Peak Talent Show in 2009 and ever since, the Johnny singer has remained the toast of R&B and Afro-pop lovers. Yemi Alade is widely travelled and has won many awards from home and abroad. Like Flavour Nabania, Yemi Alade gets more engagement outside Nigeria and charges as high as 150,000USD. She charges between N3m-N6m to perform at shows in Nigeria.
Tekno Miles: 26-year-old Augustine Miles Kelechi popularly known by his stage name, Tekno, is a singer-songwriter, producer, performer and dancer. The Pana singer, Tekno was first signed under K-Money Entertainment. His first single titled Holiday was released under the imprint with featured vocals from Davido and gained massive airplay.
In 2012 while in Abuja, Tekno Miles was spotted by renowned Nigerian comedian Julius Agwu at an event after Tekno Miles received a standing ovation following the performance of a song titled Onye Ne Kwu, his remix of Ice Prince’s “Oleku”. It was at the same event he met Iyanya and Ubi Franklin, the manager of Made Men Music Group with whom he became friends. Ubi and Iyanya eventually encouraged Tekno Miles to move to Lagos to further his music career. Though he’s currently observing a break after a medical condition that adversely affected his vocal cord, Tekno, charges between N3m-N5m to perform at shows staged in Nigeria. The vastly talented guy also charges between 100,000USD to 150,000USD to perform abroad. He overran Iyanya who was the king at Made Men Music group to become the chief cornerstone
Kizz Daniel: With the song titled Woju, Oluwatobiloba Daniel Anidugbe, formerly known as Kiss Daniel, now “Kizz Daniel” spoke and Nigeria listened. Kizz Daniel is a recording artist, performer and entertainer who became popular after his chart-topping single Woju and Laye hir airwaves.
Formally signed to G-Worldwide Entertainment in 2013, he left the company in November 2017 to create his own record label, Fly Boy Inc. in a very rancorous circumstance. His velvet voice, and physical charm are his endearing features. Kizz Daniel loves to perform live music to prove his mastery of the art. He charges between N3m- N7m to play at local gigs and charges between 70,000USD and 100,000USD to perform abroad.
Teni The Entertainer: Teniola Apata also known as Teni the Entertainer is one of the most spontaneous and “real” artistes this generation has discovered. Signed to Magic Fingers’ Records, since her discovery in 2016, Teni has shocked cynics by topping the charts with songs like Fargin, Case, Uyo Meyo and Askamaya. A passionately restless act in her early 20s, Teni is currently on a UK tour which she hopes to conclude in a few days. During the last yuletide, she was so busy that sometimes she had more than five shows a day. There was no concert worth its salt that did not have Teni on its roll call of artists. Teni currently charges between N4m-N6m to perform, her fee on international engagements is yet modestly put at between 50,000USD and 80,000USD.
Burna Boy: Damini Ogulu, 27, known professionally as Burna Boy, is an Afro-fusion singer and songwriter who some love to call the ‘Good Bad Boy’. He rose to prominence in 2012 after releasing the lead single Like to Party from his debut studio album, L.I.F.E.
On October 7, 2018, Burna Boy performed before a sold-out crowd at London’s O2 Academy Brixton. A day prior to the show, he held a pop-up event at Red by Little Farm and sold limited boxes of his Space Puffs cereal, as well as custom notepads, lighters and graphic tee-shirts. On October 9, the same year, Burna Boy was announced as one of Spotify’s New Afro Hub Takeover Artistes. The announcement coincided with him being named YouTube’s Artist on the Rise for 3 months.
On January 3, 2019, he was announced alongside Mr. Eazi, as one of the artistes performing at the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. He won four awards at the Soundcity MVP Awards Festival, including African Artiste of the Year, Listener’s Choice and Best Male MVP. Two months ago, Burna Boy released a collaborative 4-track EP with Los Angeles-based electronic duo DJDS, titled Steel & Copper. He’s currently a Star Lager Beer ambassador. He charges between N3m-N5m to perform in Nigeria where his fan base is on steady rise. His international fee is put between 100,000USD-200000USD.
