THE DILEMMA OF MUSIC DISTRIBUTION IN NIGERIA.

The state of music distribution in Nigeria especially as it concerns core stakeholders like artistes, record labels and music entrepreneurs, is like being surrounded by seawater in abundance, yet with nothing to drink.
Everywhere you go in all the major cities of Nigeria, you find music CDs on sale; on the streets, in the shops, on the roads you’ll see hawkers in traffic jams branding a colorful array and assortment of Nigerian artiste’s products. This suggests to an uninformed observer that the artistes whose works are displayed are getting a profitable return from the sales of their products, but this impression however is a million miles away from the truth. On the contrary, majority of Nigerian artistes and record labels still goes home empty and broke; the artistes in particular are like a sweet orange sucked and squeezed to the last drop and then thrown away by the cunning ‘Alaba marketers’ and the undiscerning music consuming public. As it stands today, music distribution remains a major dilemma for the industry as a whole.

At the root of all successful consumer goods and products manufacturing companies like CocaCola, Unilever, Cadbury, P.Z, and Dangote etc is a credible, efficient and accountable distribution system and structure that guarantee the return and delivery of expected profit – the heart and soul of business.
But the reality is however on the contrary for the Nigerian music industry, an irony for an industry that manufactures music- the most popular consumer product in the modern world. The industry exists today without a credible, efficient and accountable music distribution system and structure.
A cursory look at the ‘Alaba market’, the central hub of music distribution and marketing activities situated in Lagos state, the entertainment capital of Nigeria reveals what Thomas Hobbes the philosopher aptly described in his Hobbessian state of nature theory as “nasty, brutish and short”. This theory unveils the reasons for the short-lived careers of many artistes, musicians and record labels in Nigeria today.

Any tom , dick and harry can practically set up shop in Alaba market today and start music distribution business because there is no active or enforced government regulations; research also revealed that there is no need to register with an appropriate government agency like the Nigeria Copyright Commission in order to set up a music distribution business. The majority of music industry practitioners on the other hand are all ignorantly living in denial, pretending that all is well like the proverbial ostrich that covers its head in the sand while exposing its whole body to harm.
Every individual artiste/musician, record label, and music entrepreneur are all busy investing expensively in music recording, music video production and on-air promotion only to reap crumbs in profit at the end of the day because of an inadequate, inefficient and unaccountable music distribution system left at the industry’s expense to the mercies of bootleggers, nonentities and pirates.

Due to the lack of an adequate distribution model, there are no scientific means or designs to accurately measure sales statistics, figures and data for CD sales; there is also no means of measuring empirically the growth rate of the Nigerian music industry as a whole. Unlike in the United States for instance where they have Soundscan (among other means) a computer database that monitors to the nearest accurate percentage of all CD sales by registering the barcode details on the back of a CD pack thereby ensuring the delivery of accurate statistics for measuring the market’s growth rate and investment opportunities etc.
It is arguable that we have not attained that level of technological growth in Nigeria, but what is uncontestable is the fact also that an ordinary ‘pure water’ producing company have a near accurate record per product unit and profit percentage on each; more importantly, they have functional associations that are regulated by government agencies like NAFDAC unlike the music industry.
This is all simple processes devoid of rocket science.

The absence of accountability and means of accurately monitoring CD sales statistics and figures has engendered a culture of zero trust between artistes/musician, record labels and the music “marketers”; this state has inadvertently led to a detrimental trend of outright sales of the artiste’s master CD and other exclusive marketing rights at a paltry amount usually determined by the cunning “marketers” as against the favorable global standard practice of the royalty method. The royalty approach ensures that the artiste/label gets an agreed percentage called “royalty” from every unit of CD sold, a fair deal for all parties involved. The alaba marketers’ cunning and defrauding way of buying the master CD leaves the artiste as the biggest loser in the deal.
Take the case of Musiliu Isola, son of the late Apala music legend Aruna Isola, who a couple of years back remixed one of his father’s hit track and ignorantly sold the master CD to an alaba music ‘marketer’ for a paltry sum of five hundred thousand naira only for the album to become a hit that sold millions of copies. He came out crying later but it was too late, he already signed a “slave's” contract.

In order to address the dilemma of music distribution in Nigeria, there is an urgent need for all leading music industry stakeholders from the highest to the lowest, artistes, label owners, producers, music video directors, artiste managers, music distributors etc to unanimously come together and devise a way of building an efficient and credible music distribution system that will be accountable to the industry. It is a fundamental responsibility and right of all music industry practitioners to see to the creation of a standard music distribution model by all means necessary that will ensure the delivery of adequate return- on-investment for all parties involved.
This is a clarion call for all industry stakeholders to wake-up and be the architect of their own destinies. It is their responsibility to lobby and sponsor bills that will enforce and protect the industry’s rights at the house of reps and senate level; to pressurize government to actively enforce intellectual property laws that Nigeria is a signatory to; and to be actively involved in the process of music distribution.
It is little wonder that the four biggest recording companies in the world (WEA, Universal, SonyBMG and CEMA/UNI) are all essentially into music distribution and publishing because they understood perfectly that music distribution is the heart of the music business that cannot be left to the mercy and control of bootleggers, nonentities and pirates.

The role of government in the creation of a credible and functional music distribution structure cannot be overemphasized, but the Nigerian government has been too blind and ignorant to see a future prospect that is brighter than the oil fields of all the Niger-Delta states combined in the music and entertainment industry. This account for the lack of interest and of political and judicial will to enforce copyright and intellectual property laws in the country by successive regimes.
The music/entertainment industry in America for instance competes favorably with their oil and gas, IT, aviation and automobile industries etc as a major source of revenue generation for the country besides its use as an instrument of propaganda to spread the American democracy and lifestyle all over the world.
Music has been adjudged globally as the number one driver of the digital commerce. Music and entertainment values now influence the direction of technological inventions and creations in the global telecommunications, computer and IT worlds. Products like MP3 enabled mobile phones, ipod, music/entertainment friendly computers, In-flight entertainment designs for the aviation industry and advance automobile sound system design to mention a few, lends credence to the fact that music as the most popular consumer product is actively driving growth and opportunities in the technological and digital commerce.

So, the question is, why would any sane and serious minded government ignore this whole world of opportunities? Ignorance. Sheer ignorance.
The Nigeria Copyright Commission has to do more than just conducting occasional raids here and there and wasting money on producing loud but ineffective campaigns. As the government’s agency and organ for enforcing copyright and intellectual property laws in the country; it must seek to build a sustainable and accountable music distribution system in the country that will ensure the success of all stakeholders. The NCC’s presence must be felt in alaba market, in all the CD replicating plants across the country and on the media both radio and TV that sustains there audiences on the sweat and strength of the music industry without paying them royalties.

In all these, the Nigerian artistes/musicians, record labels and music entrepreneurs who invest their time, money and resources in the music industry will remain the greatest losers unless they all unanimously come together to champion the cause of building a credible, efficient and accountable music distribution structure in the country.

STAR QUEST, THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND MUSICIANSHIP CULTURE.

STAR QUEST, THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND MUSICIANSHIP CULTURE.

Star Quest and musicianship
The 2009 edition of Star Quest music reality TV show ended on a high note with “The Pulse” band emerging as the winner. It was a night with much pomp and glitz complete with the presence of star celebrities and dignitaries. Star Quest in its five years of existence have gotten better with each year, there has been a consistent improvement in the quality of organization, contestants, performances and crew.

With the recent proliferation and craze for talent hunts and reality TV shows in the country, it’s become a common site to see thousands of Nigerian youth thronging to the audition venues of the numerous talent hunts with the hope and aspiration of being discovered and of becoming the next music star.
Most times, these audition centers can be likened to a “theater of the absurd” with representations of the good, the bad and the ugly- those who have no business venturing into music. All of these, while sharing a common dream and aspiration of becoming successful artiste/musician often fall victims of scams and conmen.

The Star Quest music reality TV show however stands out among the numerous major music-based reality TV shows in the country because of its focus on discovering talented musicians, and not just singers, and in creating bands. It showcases and fosters the development of musicianship skills among Nigerian youths, and has the potential to stimulate the growth of a new culture of musicianship.

For the contestants, Star Quest provides a platform of opportunity to learn the dynamics of bonding musically in a band; it promotes the spirit of musicianship, the development of inter-personal skills in a band, it builds the attitude of teamwork (a fundamental requirement in a band), and the formation of creative alliances in a band.

Musicianship and the music industry
The practice of music as a profession, career or hobby; and the art of successful music creation and music performance universally demand the knowledge and understanding of the basics of the rudiments and theory of music either with a formal or informal approach. According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a musician is “someone who plays a musical instrument, especially very well or as a job”.
It defined musicianship as “skill in playing music”.

The foundation of every thriving music industry all over the world is built on the existence of a rich, vibrant and progressive musicianship culture.
All serious musicians/artistes both educated and uneducated always possess a basic, fundamental knowledge of the art and science of music; and of the conventional practices and performance traditions associated with their musical art.

The success of the Nigerian popular music scenes in the fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties was founded on a strong culture of musicianship. Musical forms such as highlife, juju, African pop, afrobeat and fuji etc, produced some of Nigeria’s and world-renowned musical stars such as Fela Anikulapo Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Oliver the Coque, Ebenezer Obey, Onyeka Onwenu, Majek Fashek, Bongos Ikwe, Bobby Benson, Ayinde Barrister, Victor Olaiya, Zeal Onyia, to mention a few.

A dying musicianship culture
It is rather unfortunate that the same cannot be said of the present crop of Nigeria popular musicians/artistes especially those of the hip-hop genre; who, no thanks to modern advancement in science, affordable and cheap recording technology and magic wonder-working music production software such as “autotune”, “pitch-correction”, “vocoder” etc coupled with the help of “cut and paste” manipulations on the computer can come out sounding artificially good to say the least.

Successful musicians and artistes from all genres of music make a fortune from the live performance of their music during tours, in concerts, in the clubs and at occasions and events etc. Music consumers and concert goer’s world-over are always delighted to pay a premium to watch their favorite musicians/artistes perform live on stage, knowing that it would deliver an authentic value added experience that CDs and cassettes cannot give to them. So it amounts to a moral and artistic rape of the music fan that pays a premium only to be given a ‘miming or lip-synching performance’ over a soundtrack; an experience that the fan creates at will within the comfortable ambience of his living room with the aid of modern and sophisticated home theater sound system.

This practice of miming and lip-synching is so prevalent among our hip-hop acts today, an act that lacks real musical expression, true aesthetic value, and completely devoid of the ultimate magical creation of a wow and memorable experience for the music fan which is the essence of attending a live concert performance.
In as much as modern recording technology has made music production easy, accessible and affordable; it is not in any way a substitute for musicianship skills, however, it only serves to compliment musicianship.

Economic importance of a vibrant musicianship culture
According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), statistics reveal that one out of every five Americans plays a musical instrument; these musicians spend more than $5.6 billion a year on musical instruments and accessories.
A thriving music industry with a vibrant culture of musicianship can help to stimulate economic growth thereby contributing to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Any economy with a strong musicianship culture will generate a growth cycle that can boost the creation of employment for the musically skilled and practitioners in the entertainment industry.
This growth cycle for instance creates revenue generation and employment opportunities for the musical equipment dealers who are patronized by musicians/artistes who need the services of an artiste/band manager, publicists, music promoters, booking agents, personal managers, make-up artists, concert producers/directors, sound engineers/technicians, tour managers, security personnel, Emcees etc.

The economic importance of a vibrant musicianship culture can further be established by taking a look at the global chart of the top ten grossing tours of 2008.

ARTISTES REVENUE
• Bon Jovi $210.6M
• Bruce Springsteen $204.5M
• Madonna $162M
• The Police $150M
• Celine Dion $91M
• Kenney Chesney $86M
• Neil Diamond $81.2M
• Spice Girls $70M
• Eagles $56.6M
• Rascal Flatts $55.8M

The overall touring industry grossed just under $4B worldwide in 2008 highlighting just how critical the musicianship culture remains to acts with large fan-bases. It is very important to note that all the artistes and musicians profiled on the chart perform live music; they have over the years cultivated unique and original sound designed to thrill and to create memorable experiences for their teeming and loyal fan-bases.
These are acts who do not take their music business and their audience-their reason for being, for granted by attempting to do miming and lip-synching performances.

It is noteworthy and interesting to know that this list contains some artistes, musicians and bands that have existed for more than three decades and are still waxing strong with a strong, committed and loyal fan base. Their collective success is built and founded on a strong culture of musicianship, filled with real musical expression that deliver an uncompromised added value and memorable experiences for their fan base.

It therefore becomes a matter of necessity for Nigerian artistes/musicians if their goal is to become relevant in the international music markets, to imbibe and cultivate a true culture of musicianship. No artiste, musician or band becomes internationally relevant or makes multi-million dollars revenue from their music career by doing a ‘miming or lip-synching’ performance tour. The onus is on the artistes/musicians especially those of the hip-hop genre who dominates the airwaves currently to take their game to the next level or risk been swept away into musical oblivion.

The Nigeria music industry needs true acts who can recreate on a bigger scale the musical ingenuity and international relevance of musicians like Fela Anikulapo Kuti, King Sunny Ade among others. It is hoped that the Star Quest can kick start a new musicianship culture revolution for the next generation of Nigerian musicians/artistes.

THE MUSICIAN'S BUSINESS

One of the major trends that both characterized and dominated the global music industry at the turn of the millennium was the change from the “music business”, to the “musician’s business”. Musicians, like at the beginning of the commercialization of music are increasingly now in control of the business of music, the creative process and their musical destiny. The global proliferation of independent record companies (Indies) owned and run by musicians/artistes/music entrepreneurs attest to the reality of this development.
This means that musicians/artistes are now mastering the dynamics of the entire business process of music industry operations- record label management, music publishing, distribution, merchandising, promotion etc; an exclusive preserve once of sleazy suit and tie wearing lawyers and accountants etc. It means musicians/artistes are now the sole architect of their own destiny.
This however has placed an enormous responsibility on musicians/artistes to really understand the business they are in. It’s no longer an option for any serious minded musician/artiste desirous of a successful music career to learn how to professionalize, but ultimately a question of necessity or risk career failure (read, hunger). But if you are going to survive as a musician/artiste in this business, you will need to establish and maintain a competitive position, a well focused niche, and you must ultimately learn how to differentiate yourself from the crowd out there.
Professionalization for most musician/artiste is not a palatable topic because of their natural laid-back and casual inclination toward business matters. Professionalization means going an extra mile in terms of how business is conducted, cultivating higher standards of presentation and communication. It means dressing appropriately, arriving promptly for shows, developing communication skills, having nice letterhead, returning calls with courtesy, learning people skills, having a personal manager etc.
The reality for many musicians/artistes is that it takes a whole lot more than talent alone to succeed in the music and entertainment industry. Success in the music and entertainment industry now requires a fundamental knowledge and understanding of basic business administration/management skills, learning the core concepts of the music business (music production, marketing & promotion, distribution, publishing, record contracts etc) and the demands of the entertainment marketplace.
It therefore becomes highly imperative for musicians/artistes to understand the industry, its strengths and weaknesses, and its overall direction; it is only within the context of this understanding that you can effectively position yourself ahead of the competition and make plans for the achievement of your goals. The need, therefore for musicians/artistes to adopt a well defined and structured approach to the business handling of their music career can never be overstated. It is all about the musician’s business.

THE NEW MUSIC ECONOMY (PT 1).

THE NEW MUSIC ECONOMY (PT 1).

The traditional music industry like we used to know it has control-alt-delete, and evolved into a dynamic mutant or its next incarnation called the “new music economy” and with it has come dramatic changes. Change as they say, is the only thing that is constant and guaranteed in the realms of mortal existence.

I was on the internet the other day checking my Facebook account when I saw a strip on the discussion wall of one Kayode Ogundamisi captioned, “Glo mobile’s misplaced priority: 500 million naira given to Naija’s artiste”. There was an ensuing hot debate from concerned and ‘patriotic’ Nigerians on the legality and morality of such spending. The arguments ranged from Glo’s ego tripping, to gross insensitivity to the plight of unemployed graduates, a shallow sense of corporate social responsibility and of course, money laundering and the list goes on. Honest opinions in all and well said, but permit me to use this phrase made popular by that late military despot, “fellow Nigerians” you are welcomed to the realities of the new brand-led music economy.

As the traditional music industry model breathes its last and gradually gives way to the emergence of the new music economy, the dynamics behind the business of selling music continue to shift to-and-fro like a troubled ship in a storm; CD sales continue their helpless downward spiral, yet, there is an all-time high and unprecedented demand for music consumption globally. Music is in the center of a massive revival in the place where it matters the most – with music consumers/users. At the very core of the new music economy is the ultimate battle-royale for the heart and pocket of the music consumer/user, who’s an ardent music fan and a potential consumer for the brands.

Brands are seeking to know how music works in the marketplace, and how value is added through music and entertainment affinities. Brands are aligning with music in various forms such as endorsements, artiste/brand partnerships, sponsorships and so on. It’s a smart strategic move on the part of a brand for instance, to take a fraction of their whopping advertising and marketing budget to sign-on artistes in order to access and get their brands exposed to millions of fans who are also potential consumers in a manner that’s cool to the music consumer/user.

This strategic trend explains why “non-music” companies are staffing up in the music and entertainment areas. For instance, global FMCG’s giant Procters & Gamble set up a record label with a whopping marketing budget headed by the renowned award-winning producer, Jermaine Dupri. Similarly, last year, Bacardi (drinks brand) partnered with dance music duo, Groove Armada on a mouth-watering deal; also, confectionery giant, Wrigleys signed-on R&B stars, Ne-yo and Chris Brown alongside Country singer Julianne Hough. AT&T (telecommunication giant) has a music division, so does Microsoft, Victoria Secrets, Best Buy, Apple, Nokia, Pepsi, Canon to mention a few.

Since the inception of the digital revolution and the subsequent convergence on the digital platform, music has come to stand out as the number one driver of growth in the digital commerce. In the digital commerce, quality digital content is a key driver that makes consumers embrace new services, and musical contents is in fact driving the digital revolution. Billions of dollars are invested globally in pipes and satellites by telecommunication and ISP companies but without content, they have empty pipes and boxes. Music over mobile phones is one exciting content offering with predictions that music will soon account for 50% of mobile telecoms premium revenues.

In the developed countries, digital downloads of music have already far outstripped physical CD sales. Mobile phone manufacturers now compete on the basis of the entertainment applications/functions such as MP3 players offered on their devices. In the new music economy, music is providing content widely on the internet, via mobile devices thereby creating new business models and driving the development of the whole digital economy.

Under the traditional music industry model, the traditional music market had limited and confined revenue streams controlled by accountants and lawyers. The primary focus was on the sales of CD, concert tickets and publishing etc; but in the new music economy, the new music market has multiple and dynamic revenue streams only limited by the imagination which includes brand endorsements, sponsorships, brand/artiste partnerships, digital downloads, TV/Film synchronization, commercials etc. In the new music economy, the artiste is a brand and an entrepreneur, the brands are the new label and the consumer remains the king. So, lights, camera and action! Brands are the new label; brands have hijacked the rein of control away from the traditional music industry custodian.

So, in short, we are just beginning to scratch the surface of the tip of the iceberg in Nigeria as far as the realities of the new music economy are concerned in the light of global trends. We should be poised for more tectonic shifting and mouth opening endorsement deals, artiste/brand partnerships and sponsorship deals that will look more like fairy tales in the nearest future. After all, the biggest entertainment company on the West African coast is not a record label, it is a beer manufacturing company called Nigerian Breweries! Surprised? Don’t be, because brands are the new label in the new music economy. These realities therefore call for a total paradigm shift, a fresh perspective and a proactive approach on the parts of music industry practitioners, record labels and artistes in order to exploit and maximize the opportunities presented in the new music economy. It’s highly imperative therefore for brands, labels and artistes to get it right, to truly understand the dynamics and mechanics of operating in the new music economy. Riding on the unique music marketing platform provided in the new music economy does not guarantee automatic success for all parties; however, success comes with a demand for a thorough knowledge, understanding and accurate application of the rules of engagement between music and brands. There are rules and principles guiding every successful artiste/brand alignment for instance, not every brand can match up with just any kind of artiste, the brand chemistry, bonding and eventual marriage must be delicately nurtured in a way that guarantee desired results for all.

In the sequel and the final parts of this piece, I will be focusing on the implications of the new music economy for artistes and brands. Artistes will learn how to reposition their music career in order to maximize the gains of the new music economy; and brands will gain an insight into the dynamics of effective music and brands alliance.