The Entertainment Industry in Nigeria; A Comprehensive Insight

By Derrick E. Bangura

The Entertainment Industry has improved the lives of many individuals. The Media and Entertainment industry is full of people with potentials; however, the major setback is the unavailability of a highly standardized ecosystem of complementary and mutually beneficial systems. By this I allude to the inability to perform and carry out the most basic functions and roles within a set environment or project.

From scriptwriters and directors, to talent managers and artiste agents; from graphic designers to studio managers, animators and content developers, as we evolve the industry and resource for the best talent who understand their work processes, it will be important that everyone comes to the table with skills that have been well horned.

The opportunities in the Music industry in Nigeria are enormous. Look at how the music industry operates elsewhere in the world and the gap between where we are and where they are, and the gap is the opportunity. Developing the music industry in Nigeria goes far beyond the prominence on every Musical Channel, we are talking about huge increase in the quality of Music Videos and sense in the lyrics of the songs. It goes beyond the hype and should focus on the need to build structures that are sustainable in the long term.

Music as an industry locally or globally is a major contributor to youth employment and empowerment, a study conducted by Statista in Nigeria also revealed that the music industry’s revenue grew from 26 million US dollars in 2014 to 34 million dollars in 2018. This figure according to research and projections by Statista, is expected to grow to 45 million dollars or more in 2023. There is a potential for further growth in the Nigerian music industry than earlier projected by the Statista.

Finance is a key factor that has left the industry seeking given the fact that the entertainment industry in Nigeria is privately owned with minimal support from the government. There are certainly Key Actors and Stakeholders who basically promote the entertainment industry by every means and mostly seek grants and collaborations with other business of entertainment. There have been informal reports of the famous internet fraudsters (yahoo boys) financing the industry. It is a most tragic development and underpins the need for the government to take ownership and make the industry legitimate to the core of it.

Many aspiring artists don’t know nor understand the contents of the contracts they signed with record labels, thereby creating a need to educate and engage the services of professionals in this regard. This is an identified gap that needs to be urgently bridged if the Entertainment industry is to compete with the global counterparts, and this can be achieved by employing the services of such professionals in the industry/value chain.

To drive growth in the music industry, all stakeholders in the industry need to take note of the following: synergy and collaboration, proper education and guidance of artists and other relevant players in the industry, regular interactions with the Government and other policymakers as well as proper corporate governance and business structure.

Musicians and actors as well as other creative talents must understand the key difference between being in the music industry and being in the music business. Creative quality and talent may drive the entertainment industry but only business philosophy and the proper knowledge of the legal parameters for operating a functional business can drive the entertainment business. After 20 or 40 years doing entertainment, it is the investments and businesses you have created that will sustain you, not your talent.