Street-pop artiste Slimcase has raised concerns about the challenges facing up-and-coming artistes in Nigeria.
The singer spoke about the rising cost of music promotion during a recent interview with Echo Room.
According to Slimcase, it now costs as much as N265 million to properly promote a song in Nigeria.
He also blamed the growth of influencer culture for the rising cost of music promotion.
Slimcase said dancers and content creators who once sought opportunities to work with artistes now demand significant fees to feature songs in their content.
The ‘Shaku Shaku’ crooner argued that the high cost of promotion has made it difficult for many talented artistes to gain mainstream recognition.
“Back in the days, dancers flooded artists’ DMs. Now you have to pay them big, even content creators. $200,000 is not enough to blow a song now. And that is why you hear the same artist and sound for over 20 years, while many upcoming artists remain unheard,” he said.
Slimcase called on music executives and other industry stakeholders to consider the challenges facing emerging artistes.
He urged them to find ways to address the high cost of music promotion and create more opportunities for new talent.
The artiste also appealed to Nigerians to support upcoming musicians rather than relying solely on influencers and the media to determine what they listen to.
He said greater support for emerging artistes would help give talented musicians a better chance to succeed in the industry.
