Latest / Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint / Are Streaming Platforms Ripping Off Artists? The Realities of Music Income
Transcript
- 0:00Hello and welcome to the show. Taking today's recording from my
- 0:04desk at home. So apologies if there any
- 0:07interruptions while we're recording, if this is our first
- 0:10time listening to the show. The goal of this show is free
- 0:12business education. So you're in the right place.
- 0:14And please, when you're done, share, promote, talk about the
- 0:17show so that Nigerians both home and abroad can benefit from all
- 0:21the questions that we tackle over here.
- 0:24Get them to subscribe Spotify, YouTube, Apple or any podcast
- 0:27player of their choice. And if you have any sales or
- 0:30marketing questions, then bring them to me by calling, sending
- 0:33me an SMS or WhatsApp message on 08064662140.
- 0:41Now, today on the show, I want us to look at the question
- 0:44honestly. Tackle the question of whether
- 0:47streaming sites like Spotify are stealing from artists.
- 0:51The reason why we're going to tackle this today is because,
- 0:55you know, lots of us are trying to do all kinds of hustles and,
- 1:00you know, we have creatives among us.
- 1:03Like I used to be in the event space.
- 1:05I used to do photos, my brother used to do video.
- 1:08So, you know, I still hang around some creatives and we
- 1:14still have conversations every now and then.
- 1:16So not everybody is trying to do a business like the fellow I
- 1:20mentioned yesterday who wants to set up a factory for producing
- 1:23engine oil for marine engines, or the other guy who's in the
- 1:27pharmaceutical space, or the young lady from, I can't
- 1:31remember how many days ago that she's in the gifting space.
- 1:36So not everybody's doing something that is concrete.
- 1:38Now. Some of us that are doing stuff
- 1:40that are, you know, creative and like most creatives, we seem to
- 1:45have certain airs, certain opinions, certain gripes, as in
- 1:49we creative shower always in always in our fields.
- 1:53So in conversations that I've been having with recording
- 1:55artists, you know, there's some people that say, look, Spotify
- 1:57is a sham, is a fraud, that stealing from artists.
- 2:01As I was conversing with one guy and I was like, come, white
- 2:03people say all these things. What do you mean?
- 2:06And the guy said, you know, Snoop Dogg as of course, now we
- 2:08all know Baba, now we all know Snoop Dogg.
- 2:10You say as big as Snoop Dogg is, how much does Snoop Dogg get?
- 2:13I said I don't know. And the person said that look,
- 2:17Snoop Dogg, for every 1 billion streams, the guy collects
- 2:21$30,000. I say he's a lie.
- 2:24The guy said go and check it. That's OK, no problem now.
- 2:27So I carried my phone and went on Google.
- 2:29I started, you know, searching proper, you know, just searching
- 2:32up and down and them it actually seems to be the case, except if
- 2:37I didn't find the right information, it actually seems
- 2:39to be the case that even the correct guy, you know, a Baba
- 2:44like Snoop Dogg will only receive $30,000 for everyone
- 2:49beyond streams. And I was wondering, well
- 2:53anyway, you know what I usually do now?
- 2:56So I just quickly did $30,000 and I've converted it to naira
- 2:59just to see how much, and it converts to 48.2 million naira.
- 3:06And I was wondering for 1 billion streams, not a million
- 3:10streams or 1 billion. So well, it looks as if the
- 3:15money is not that big to be honest.
- 3:17Is that good money? I don't know.
- 3:19I'm not in the industry. So I don't know if for 1 billion
- 3:22streams you're only collecting thirty $30,000 US, which is 48 M
- 3:29Niger. I'm not sure if that's big or
- 3:30small because I'm not in the industry, but at least I
- 3:33understand where these people are coming from.
- 3:35Because me, you know, as per I'm a normal person, if I hear 1
- 3:39billion streams, in my mind I'm thinking you're counting money
- 3:43in billions or millions of dollars as a layperson.
- 3:48So I don't know if that's good or not.
- 3:51But one thing I found out for sure is that even Spotify
- 3:54payments, you know, it depends on which country you are
- 3:57streaming from. So it looks like people in
- 4:00America and the UK, they get more money than Nigerian
- 4:03artists, which is something I've heard before.
- 4:05So from my small snooping around on Google, it looks as if that's
- 4:09the case, that American artists and UK artists will make more
- 4:13money than Niger artists. Which was also a shock to me
- 4:16because I assumed that, you know, it doesn't matter that if
- 4:20Snoop Dogg can get 1 billion streams and two face can get 1
- 4:23billion streams, you know, the money will, the money will tally
- 4:26as the money will be equal. I didn't know that there's a
- 4:28difference, but I'm sure there's a reason why.
- 4:34So like I said, whether this is good money or bad money, I don't
- 4:37know. But at least I now understand
- 4:39where some creatives are coming from.
- 4:41You know, when they shout up and down, up Spotify, Spotify is
- 4:44like this, Spotify is like that. But I want to ask some questions
- 4:50though, for those of you who are creatives.
- 4:53Is Spotify income the main thing Is that the cocoa that we should
- 4:57be looking out for? So yes, you say it's coins, OK,
- 5:01The coins that we're going to get from Spotify, whether it's
- 5:05coins or whether it's correct bar, is that the main thing that
- 5:08we should be looking for? In my own opinion, the answer is
- 5:14no. Spotify streaming is not the
- 5:18main thing that we should be looking out for.
- 5:20So even if next year they change it and let's say 2 face does 1
- 5:26billion streams and then on that 1 billion streams they pay him
- 5:29$2 billion, I still think that is not the main thing that we
- 5:34should be looking for. So the streaming money is
- 5:37important, yes, but excuse me, I think sometimes we're focusing
- 5:45too much on the talent of the artists or focusing too much on
- 5:50ownership and we're not paying enough attention to
- 5:54distribution. Let me repeat, when Nigerian
- 5:57artists are shouting up and down, they're paying too much
- 5:59attention to talent and ownership but not distribution.
- 6:04Because usually people when they're shouting up and down
- 6:06like this, you know, they think they're talented.
- 6:09You might be, you might not, but they think so, or they think the
- 6:12most important thing is the talent or the musical ability of
- 6:16the artist, and the most important thing is the
- 6:19ownership. You want to own 100% of every
- 6:21single thing that you do own your own intellectual property.
- 6:24It would be nice if that can happen because people like Dolly
- 6:27Parton. Dolly Parton owns her music
- 6:29100%. Who again?
- 6:32This small girl, what's her name now?
- 6:35OK, now let me not say small girl before people will attack
- 6:38me. She's more like a young woman
- 6:40now. Taylor Swift.
- 6:41Taylor Swift owns her own music 100%, who again, not too many
- 6:45people own the intellectual property.
- 6:47The intellectual property 100%. But those are some people.
- 6:51So it would be nice if you can do that.
- 6:53But honestly, distribution is what makes the creative
- 7:00monetizable. Let me repeat, it's not
- 7:03necessarily how good your talent OR how much you own, but it's
- 7:07distribution. Where are you showing up?
- 7:09Are you showing up everywhere? That is what leads to other
- 7:12opportunities that you can monetize later.
- 7:16So some people say Davido has no talent.
- 7:19I'm not saying that, but some people say he has no talent.
- 7:22Some people say he's very talented.
- 7:25But The thing is, regardless of his level of talent, if Davido
- 7:28did not have distribution, if he was not everywhere, the
- 7:32opportunities to monetize that he has today would not have
- 7:36come. So regardless of his talent OR
- 7:39regardless of how much he owns of his intellectual property,
- 7:43the reason why Davido has big bar today is because of the
- 7:48distribution that he was able to achieve.
- 7:51Let me repeat, it is not just about talent and it's not about
- 7:55how much you own, but it's also about distribution.
- 7:58Where are you? Are people seeing you?
- 8:00Are they hearing you distribution?
- 8:03So if you do music or you do podcasts like me and you're on
- 8:08Spotify, please, please and please know that we are doing it
- 8:14first for the distribution. When we have huge distribution,
- 8:20we are everywhere. Everybody knows us.
- 8:23We can now start exploiting other opportunities that arise.
- 8:27So if one day my podcast gets so big that Spotify starts paying
- 8:31me some coins is good. But the main thing is not the
- 8:35coins that I'm collecting. The main thing is the
- 8:38distribution. So creatives, please, you will
- 8:41be listening. It's a shame that Snoop Dogg
- 8:43will only collect $30,000 after 1 billion streams.
- 8:47But the main thing is the distribution, especially for
- 8:52those of us in Nigeria, for those of us in this part of the
- 8:55world. Now the reason why I say the
- 8:57main thing is the distribution is this.
- 9:00There are other avenues for making money beside streaming,
- 9:03just like Snoop Dogg. If he was based on Spotify, this
- 9:06small $30,000 that he gave him for 1 billion streams, it was
- 9:10based off, it was based off the Spotify, this 30K Snoop Dogg
- 9:14will be soaking Gary because how much is $30,000?
- 9:19And of course, you see the way that Snoop Dogg leaves his life,
- 9:21you know the houses, the cars, you know everything, the bling,
- 9:25how much we $30,000 buy. So if he's just because of those
- 9:28coins, Snoop Dogg will be broke. However, old musicians, whether
- 9:33Snoop Dogg or Two Face, they know that it's not just about
- 9:37the streaming or the publishing, It's also about merchandise.
- 9:41What merchandise are you selling?
- 9:45That is why Snoop Dogg, back in the day, they had their own
- 9:47merchandise, you know, the T-shirts that they used to sell
- 9:52and stuff like that. Merchandise, then endorsements.
- 9:572 Face knows that which is why you can see Two Face.
- 10:00You can see two face on Oramo equipment is Oramo ABI Oriyamo.
- 10:06You know you can see him on all those things.
- 10:09Born a boy endorsing was his company the one that used to do
- 10:15international money transfer. I can't remember their name.
- 10:19Davido. The face of this is alcoholic
- 10:24brand that was sponsoring him before, but now he has his own
- 10:27line, you know, so people know that, look, it's not just the
- 10:30coins that is coming from streaming, but merchandise.
- 10:33How much merchandise are we moving?
- 10:34Endorsements? Which endorsement can we secure?
- 10:37Then concerts. That's precisely the reason why
- 10:41you were here today that Davido is in America, or he's in South
- 10:46Africa, or he's in Dubai, or he's here, or he's there because
- 10:50there's also concert money to be made.
- 10:56See, these are the things that when you're able to achieve,
- 10:59remember what I said, distribution.
- 11:01When you can achieve distribution, it is there.
- 11:04Now all these other things will begin to start opening small,
- 11:07small. You can only sell merchandise.
- 11:10When you have distribution, you're everywhere.
- 11:12People know who you are. You can only get endorsements
- 11:16when you have achieved distribution, you're everywhere.
- 11:18People know who you are. Nobody will invite you to
- 11:22concert if you don't have distribution and people do not
- 11:24know where you are. And then this whole thing of
- 11:27artist websites, because people are talking about local
- 11:30streaming sites and artists should make your own website.
- 11:33Well, OK, all well and good. Yes, we should have a Nigerian
- 11:36kind of Spotify or Nigerian kind of iTunes.
- 11:39All well and good. Somebody should start it, no
- 11:41problem. Or you build your own websites,
- 11:44no problem and stream from there.
- 11:46But The thing is, if there is no distribution, people are not
- 11:50going to go and download your app or look at your website
- 11:53because you don't have distribution.
- 11:55Nobody knows you, nobody sees you, nobody hears you.
- 11:58Why would they go and check your website?
- 12:00So it's from getting distribution first that you can
- 12:03now send people to your website. And if you're smart, you have
- 12:06e-mail lists. As a musician, you have an
- 12:08e-mail list, you have your fan club, and then you'll be able to
- 12:12do direct sales from your website as well.
- 12:13So you can now get bigger money from there.
- 12:16So if it's that Spotify, the coins that is coming from
- 12:19Spotify is not much like let's say Snoop Dogg for instance.
- 12:23But The thing is, because Snoop Dogg's affiliated with other
- 12:25record labels and other streaming sites, it's possible
- 12:28that you can leverage your popularity on Spotify and direct
- 12:33people to other places where they can buy your music and then
- 12:37you get a higher cut. But either way, the distribution
- 12:40is the thing that comes first, not your talent and not your
- 12:44ownership. The ownership is goodo if you
- 12:46own your music 100% like Dolly Parton is good if you own your
- 12:50music 100% like also name again Taylor Swift you know is good
- 12:56over the long time. But in the beginning, if you
- 13:00have distribution and your talent is 0 and you have
- 13:05distribution, but your ownership is maybe 2%, well, it might be
- 13:11rough, but you know, go bad. At least you have distribution.
- 13:15At least you have options for the future.
- 13:18So my advice for creatives is this, whether you're a podcaster
- 13:22or whether you're a musician, focus on distribution first.
- 13:27Because remember for other kinds of businesses, people talk about
- 13:30know, like and trust that. If you achieve know like and
- 13:32trust, then people you'll be able to get sales.
- 13:36Know like and trust just means people should know you.
- 13:37They should like you, they should trust you.
- 13:39The first part of The thing is they should know you.
- 13:42That is why distribution is key. People suppose know who you are
- 13:47before they can be rushing for your merchandise, rushing for
- 13:49your concerts or trying to look for your website or trying to
- 13:52follow on your Instagram. People have to know you first.
- 13:55So knowledge comes first before all the other opportunities.
- 13:59So we should be focusing on distribution and in my own
- 14:02opinion, that is the main reason why we are in relationships with
- 14:08Spotify, Nigerian creatives, African creatives.
- 14:12That is why we're there because Spotify has cracked the African
- 14:16market. If you become a big streaming
- 14:19artist on Spotify, it is something, it is the kind of
- 14:23attention that allows you to now sell merchandise, that allows
- 14:27people to now endorse you. They will say, ah, you don't
- 14:29know this person, oh 50 million streams on spot on Spotify, blah
- 14:34blah blah. Don't now invite you for shows.
- 14:36That is where the thing starts. So please, the marriage that we
- 14:40have with Spotify, Nigerian creatives, African creatives, is
- 14:44not because we love Spotify or because we don't know that we
- 14:48should be doing business amongst ourselves.
- 14:50It's just that, look, now we need the distribution.
- 14:53And for Spotify, that is where the distribution is.
- 14:56Let's use my own podcast. Let's use my own experience
- 15:00globally. If you take iTunes and every
- 15:03every smash it all together, 67% of my listeners are Nigerian,
- 15:0920% is America and then surprisingly the next country is
- 15:14is it a Korea, Korea and I'm wondering Korea, is it a Koreans
- 15:19like Nigerian stuff? I busy that we have Nigerians in
- 15:23diaspora and lots of them are in Korea.
- 15:25So you know, I don't know, but see 7% of my listeners in
- 15:29Nigeria, Nigerian, I guess what, 96% of those Nigerians, guess
- 15:35where they found me? They found me on Spotify.
- 15:40And you guys have been handed every single time I'm saying
- 15:42shout out to this person, shout out to that person.
- 15:44I always say the person found me on Spotify.
- 15:47When was the last time you had me say shout out to?
- 15:49So, so, so, so who found me on iTunes?
- 15:51When was the last time? I don't know how Spotify has
- 15:54done it, but they have penetrated the Nigerian market.
- 15:57They have penetrated the African market and for some reason they
- 16:01have penetrated through the youth.
- 16:03So I don't know how they did it, but The thing is they have done
- 16:06it. So for podcasters, Spotify, it's
- 16:10a big deal, at least for Spot, For podcasters who are trying to
- 16:14reach out to a Nigerian audience like I am, Spotify, it's a big
- 16:17deal because the Nigerian youth, that's where they are.
- 16:20That's where they will find you. The distribution.
- 16:22Remember that is where it is. So yes, Spotify is not giving me
- 16:28any coins. It would be nice if I have some
- 16:29small, small coins coming once in a while, but I haven't hit
- 16:32the threshold. But regardless of whether I hit
- 16:34the threshold and regardless of the coins that I get, I will
- 16:38still be here. I will still be married to
- 16:41Spotify because it is a marriage of convenience.
- 16:44The people that I'm looking for, the distribution that I want to
- 16:47get, that is where it is. It's on Spotify.
- 16:51So my advice to other creatives, your podcaster, your musician,
- 16:56continue with this marriage, even if it's an abusive
- 16:59relationship. I'm just being metaphorical.
- 17:02I'm not saying anybody who stay in in an abusive relationship,
- 17:05but I'm saying this relationship is an abusive relationship.
- 17:09The coins is not much and no problem.
- 17:10Stay here while the opportunities exist and while
- 17:14the distribution exists. Tomorrow, if there's a Nigerian
- 17:18version of iTunes or Spotify or whatever and the thing, you
- 17:21know, kicks off now, yes, by all means, let's all run away and
- 17:23let's move to that one because that's where the attention is.
- 17:26But for now, let us stay here because the love is hot, the
- 17:31opportunities are here, so let's continue.
- 17:33It's about distribution. Please, creatives, remember,
- 17:37it's about distribution, Distribution.
- 17:44I've heard some unfortunate sentiments out there among
- 17:46creatives, and let me just repeat one of them.
- 17:48One guy told me I'd rather sell 10 copies of my music by myself
- 17:53than have 5 million streams on Spotify.
- 17:55Let me repeat, you heard me correctly.
- 17:58I've had a creative tell me I'd rather sell 10 copies by myself
- 18:03through my website, not to have 5 million streams on Spotify.
- 18:07I hear those sentiments and I think, is this guy thinking
- 18:10correctly? What's important?
- 18:12OK, he thinks ownership is important.
- 18:14You sell by yourself, you own everything 100%.
- 18:17OK, yes, you hear it, but then nobody knows your craft.
- 18:22And as creatives, as musicians and podcasters, it's a painful
- 18:25thing that we're putting stuff out and people do not hear the
- 18:28good stuff that we're dropping. I cannot believe that there's an
- 18:32artist who really thinks is important to own 100% and only
- 18:36sell 10 copies rather than be collecting coins and then 5
- 18:40million people hear it. Please do.
- 18:43If you're a musician, your first point of call is to make sure
- 18:46that 5 million people know your music and hear your music.
- 18:49That's the first part of call, even if you don't only think
- 18:52100% because at least the 5 million Nigerians know your
- 18:57voice anyhow. Anyhow, shall we can make some
- 19:00things happen with some creativity, we can rough it.
- 19:06So ownership is not really the main thing.
- 19:08And by the way, I just say, OK, let me bring up my phone.
- 19:12Let me just run small numbers. I did small Google research
- 19:15again. So based on what the guy said, 5
- 19:18million streams, I wanted to find out how much would a
- 19:20Nigerian artist make or 5 million streams.
- 19:23And so you know that whole thing I told you that yes, Americans
- 19:26and people in the UK, they make more than those of us in Niger
- 19:29is a pity. But anyway, that's the way it
- 19:31is. So it looks like on average, on
- 19:36the high note, if you are to do 5 million streams as a Nigerian
- 19:40artist, you will get 25 K dollars $25,000.
- 19:45But on the low estimate, if you are to do 5 million streams as a
- 19:48Nigerian artist, you will get $15,000.
- 19:54And I now do what I do. I got my calculator, I said let
- 19:57me check it. 25K is 40.2 million naira, then the 15K is 24
- 20:04billion naira. I just rounded the figure up.
- 20:06So that means as a Nigerian artist, if you're able to
- 20:09achieve 5 million streams, you should be getting anything
- 20:11between 24M and 40M. And somebody is saying that it
- 20:19is better to sell 10 copies. By yourself and only 100% rather
- 20:24than the things on Spotify and Spotify is giving you coins, but
- 20:29at least the coins when you add everything to go together, all
- 20:31those cobo cobo, you will add up to anything between 24,000,000
- 20:35and 40 million. Maybe I don't agree with that
- 20:38logic. Maybe some of you see me, I'm
- 20:40too money focused. But then again, remember I told
- 20:43you guys it's not about the money.
- 20:44The thing is, if 5 million people have held you on Spotify,
- 20:48man, people are beginning to know your name.
- 20:52You can now leverage that, leverage that brand into other
- 20:56money, money making opportunities.
- 20:59If you sell only 10 copies on your own website, who knows you,
- 21:04your mom, your dad, your brothers and your sisters, maybe
- 21:08your ex-girlfriend, like who knows you?
- 21:12But then 5 million streams on Spotify, even if the money did
- 21:16not reach 24 M, even if the money was only 10 MI, still
- 21:20prefer that deal. At least I have 10 M in hand and
- 21:23I have 5 million Nigerians who have heard my music who did not
- 21:27know me before. And then I was even thinking,
- 21:33what would it take for you to get 5 million streams from your
- 21:37website? And I was thinking, you need to
- 21:40have some kind of viral marketing campaigns going on.
- 21:43You need to have extensive social media presence.
- 21:46You'd have to do all kinds of collaborations and cross
- 21:49promotions. You'd need to have massive
- 21:51public relations and media coverage.
- 21:55And when you're starting out as a newbie, let's be honest, is
- 22:00that something that a new artist can do by themselves?
- 22:07It's not easier than if you try and play the Spotify game.
- 22:11At least if I'm picking up streams, if you 100,000 or
- 22:15something, I can use that to approach somebody.
- 22:18I don't know, maybe Don Jazzy you say Baba, I need your help.
- 22:23I'm a musician, I'm roughing it. I'm not too bad.
- 22:28Baba seen my Spotify. I've been able to get 2000
- 22:31streams. I mean, who knows the kind of
- 22:33conversations that I can open, who knows?
- 22:40But then all these people that talk about owning your website
- 22:43and starting a Nigerian version of iTunes or Spotify or
- 22:47something, all, well, I'm good. But The thing is, let's remember
- 22:50the market is the market. If we want to break people's
- 22:54entrench streaming habits, it will be hard.
- 22:56Like I said, unfortunately, Nigerians are listening to
- 22:59Spotify. The young people are listening
- 23:01to Spotify. That is where they're getting
- 23:03their podcasts. That is where they're getting
- 23:05their music. That's where they're getting
- 23:06their every every. If we say we'll set up something
- 23:12and we'll get those people to leave Spotify and come to us,
- 23:15man is it is a Herculean task. I'm not saying it can't be done,
- 23:20but it's hard. So in my own opinion, please for
- 23:23creatives, let's not oversimplify the issues.
- 23:26It will be nice if you own your things for 100%.
- 23:29It is possible. It is doable.
- 23:31There are people that have done it.
- 23:32Dolly Parton, I know that the reason why she's living a sweet
- 23:35life is because she owns all her stuff 100%.
- 23:38Taylor Swift owns everything 100%, and they've been able to
- 23:44make good on all that. But The thing is, somebody else
- 23:47can own your IP and your life can also be, I'll put it, not as
- 23:54bad. But the most important thing,
- 23:56especially in the beginning when you're trying to blow the most
- 23:59important thing is distribution, not necessarily your talent OR
- 24:02your ownership. And I keep using the video
- 24:05because it's a debate that people keep, you know, that rate
- 24:09is still today the video. He Can't Sing.
- 24:11He cannot sing. His voice is smooth.
- 24:13No, his voice is raspy. He sounds like he smokes.
- 24:15He will. He sounds like he drinks too
- 24:17much gin. You know, I don't know.
- 24:20I don't have a points either up here or there.
- 24:23So it's not about your talent. It'll be nice as an artist to be
- 24:26the most talented kid on the block.
- 24:28And if you can, yes, you should be the virtuoso.
- 24:31You should. But don't deceive yourself.
- 24:34If you are the best musician that ever leaveth but no
- 24:38distribution, nobody knows your name, you are 0.
- 24:43And in my own opinion, for those of us who are trying to start
- 24:48out, who are trying to blue, who are trying to break out what
- 24:50we're looking for now, distraction, any kind of
- 24:53traction, the people know us. The people hear us.
- 24:56Do they know who we are? Do they know what we do?
- 24:58Did they like our flow? Do they feel our vibe?
- 25:01That's what we should be aiming for in the beginning.
- 25:05So no need to complicate this episode anymore.
- 25:09That's all for today. If you've got any sales and
- 25:11marketing questions, then bring them to me.
- 25:13Call SMS or WhatsApp me on 08064662140.
- 25:19Thank you very much for your time and attention.
- 25:20I'll catch you, dear listeners, at the next episode and I hope
- 25:24I've been able to convince one or two creative listening to
- 25:27listening now. Please distribution first,
- 25:29distribution first, distribution first.
- 25:32Go and get streams on Spotify or iTunes or whoever.
- 25:36Instead of focusing on getting only 10 sales on your own
- 25:40website. Please, please, please, please
- 25:42and please. All right, so that's it.
- 25:45I'll catch you guys at the next episode.