Nigerian singer Mr. Eazi has fuelled ‘Play Kenyan Music’ discussion after he revealed that foreign artists rake a whopping Sh10 million for shows in Kenya.
Speaking to OkayAfrica, Mr. Eazi listed Kenya and Gambia as favourite destinations for West Africans where they can easily earn big per show.
Harsh treatment for local artistes
Mr. Eazi disclosed that the same artists cannot “jump on stage for a set” in Nigeria and make the same amount.
”East Africa is arguably the most receptive spot for music. In East Africa, they listen to hip-hop, they listen to their local music, they also listen to music from the West of Africa, they listen to pop. So in recent times, asides from when I do festivals or branded shows in the UK or wherever,’
”Nobody is going to pay you $100,000 in Nigeria to do a show or even $60,000 to come and jump on stage for a set. But you can easily get that money by walking into Kenya or walking into the Gambia.
“So those places should be the ones I focus on. Also, when we dropped Keys to the City, which was not a single and we saw the views on YouTube, the bulk was from East Africa,” said Mr. Eazi.
He added that the Nigerian market is different too in terms of what the audience demand from the artists.
Local pressure
“I was performing in Southern Africa, Zimbabwe, the other day and I was on stage for 2 hours. I can’t perform for two hours in Nigeria. And even after two hours, some people were like “You did not perform this, you did not perform that.”
The Banku Music CEO was speaking on emPawa – a new venture he says is aimed at incubating music from artists across Africa.