#TheYNaijaInterview: Why I wanted bloggers off my new album – 9ice opens up

by Wilfred Okiche

9ice

He killed it a while back with the hit-track Gongo-Aso but since then the Bariga, Lagos-raised artiste has been struggling to keep the momentum set by his first album.

In this interview with YNaija.com, 9ice speaks about his latest effort, the state of the Nigerian music industry, joining the murky waters of politics and lots more.

Read excerpts of the interview below:

A while back you sent out a notice that bloggers shouldn’t put up your music for free. What exactly did you mean by that?

What I envisioned when I did that is a platform where both the bloggers and the musicians make money. Bloggers create awareness and the fans want that awareness. A single alone costs nothing less than 150,000 Naira to make, at the end of the day someone wants you to give it away for free. What I am saying is this; you make a song, you give it to say Linda Ikeji and she puts it on her platform where people can download for a token. For artistes who feel that they do not care, they just want their stuff out there, that is fine. But some of us need the money because the business cannot sustain itself without it. How about the artistes who do not go for shows? We want a situation where even before you become a star, you can make money from your music. That is all I am saying.

Have you approached the blogs or music websites directly with this proposal?

Yes I have, several times. I tried it with Notjustok.com but it didn’t work out because all the guys from Notjustok.com are not even in Nigeria, they are all in Atlanta, disturbing Lagos. Sometimes, when you have an idea like that and you do not sit down with the persons one on one, they might not get it. Also they are saying that if they do that, they won’t get traffic on their blogs and the adverts will not come in like they used to but I am saying that it is a risk they have to suffer in the short term. CDs do not sell on the streets anymore. Today, before your single is out, it has been downloaded multiply on the internet. Before now we used to have bargaining power when we go to the Alaba boys but now we have lost that.

But isn’t that what bodies like COSON are doing?

There is nothing wrong with COSON but this my proposed model involves the record owner directly instead, so even before COSON fights for me, I have to fight for myself.

Were you surprised by the negative response you got?

I wasn’t surprised because this is Nigeria and people are initially resistant to change. I expected such but I am clearly focused on the way forward.

What is the way forward, are you currently monitoring websites and blogs that put up your music?

My brother, where will I start from? In fact, my album is on the internet now. For free.

There is really no way you can ensure compliance?

What can I do? I have stopped shouting.

How does this make you feel?

I feel bad because sooner or later, people like me will stop doing music and find something else to do. It is not fair because it kills the talent. When was the last time an artiste in Nigeria built a house? The money simply isn’t coming like that anymore. That bragging right we used to have is dead. Now what everyone looks out for is to make 2 hit singles and get an endorsement deal.

And a sustainable industry cannot be built on endorsements alone?

Exactly. Look now, we are all struggling. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. Someone like Jay-Z, for every 1 million copies he sells, he knows how much he is getting. That is why when a Nigerian artiste wants to collaborate with Jay-Z, he will first ask who you are, then tell you to go and bring 300,000 Dollars. But when I am able to show him that Gongo Aso sold 10 million copies, he is immediately interested because none of his records has ever approached that mark. He would want to do a song with me because I have the potential of exposing him to 10 million people. Unfortunately, we do not have sound scan, the only market in Alaba that we depend on is dying. How are we going to survive?

But you just recently put out a double disc album, C.N.N and G.R.A

Because my fans are disturbing me. Besides I have talked about it for so long so I felt it is time to give it out.

Are you saying you released the albums without any mind set of making money from them?

No, in fact this is the cheapest album I have ever recorded.

Some would say it shows in the quality of the music and recording on the album?

It isn’t true because I have a name at stake. Once the quality of what you put out drops, you lose your fans and those fans are the power that you have because once you lose them, you lose everything. As a matter of fact, the quality of my work is increasing because once you achieve a certain height, you don’t want to stop. I have not seen anybody that said that if I put money on my records they will not buy and that says something to me. Truth is, the fans are ready to buy and this proposed model can work, but only if we are united.

How would this unity come about? The needs of the upcoming artiste aren’t exactly the same as those of the superstars like you.

First of all, we need to have a platform. Look at the marketers for example; If one marketer bargains for your album at 5 million Naira, no other marketer will go above 5 million because he will tell the others how far he is willing to go. This kind of unity is a problem for us, that is why we are unable to have sound scan for our album sales, hence no one knows for sure, how many copies we really sell. And this helps because if you know that your last record sold 200,000 copies, you can project how hard you need to work to get to the 1 million copy mark. Is it fair that you buy a CD which you can play hundreds of times for 150 Naira? The packaging of our CDS needs to change and then the pricing should go up. We have even met with government representatives at some point, proposed that CDs be sold for 500 Naira and the relevant agencies that would enforce the policy keep a percentage of it but to no avail. Some of my colleagues have resorted to living off singles just to put their names out there and collect endorsement royalty. But that kills the industry, makes it stagnant and forces them to do the same kind of songs; the same beat, same tempo, same dimension. Shake your bum bum kind of songs because everything for them is riding on that one single.

On one of the songs on C.N.N, titled I insist, you stubbornly make your case for sticking with your kind of music. Do you worry that you have become a genre artiste that only appeals to a certain kind of audience?

I am okay with my career honestly. Let me tell you, pushing 100,000 units now is no mean feat. If truly we are selling records by the millions, someone like D’banj should be able to push at least 50 million copies because we are a country of 200 million people and he appeals to the majority of music lovers. But that is not what is obtainable. We are still talking about 2-8 million copies, showing that we have not even cut across. At the end of the day, all of us are genre artistes, appealing to only a certain fan base. When I am able to maximise and push 100 million copies, it would be fair to say I am a national artiste. Same as in the US, as big as 50 Cent is, some people have never heard of him.

So you are saying at the end of the day, it is more important to have your own stream of dedicated fans than a rush of one-time listeners?

Yes. That legacy status is important. People like King Sunny Ade are still jamming today, collecting endorsements. Do you know how many years they have waited? They have not always had hit singles or albums back to back and many other artistes came after them but they are still here today, reaping the fruits of what they sowed a long time ago.

There is a common thread that runs in the reviews of your latest albums, and it is a certain frustration that you can do so much better than what you offered on the album. Do you think you put out your best work with these 2 albums?

My best is yet to come, that is what I believe. The best is the peak and I still have a long way to go. C.N.N and G.R.A are different from Gongo Aso and that is what I am about. I don’t want any 2 of my records to sound the same, it is like Coke and Fanta and Sprite; different tastes, different experiences.

How long are you willing to do music?

I could do this forever, as long as the industry is viable.

But there is talk of you joining politics

I am a serious person and politics has always been part of me, especially the part of community service. I noticed a disturbing trend of a dearth of bills concerning the entertainment industry coming from the legislature. In fact, there is none. We will need to take the bull by the horn instead of waiting for people to give it to us. That is the way that Nigeria is. Until we see people of our age group in power, we cannot be bold enough to talk truth to power. Your visions cannot align. By 40 you are not a youth anymore so the time to make a difference is now.

In what capacity would you be contesting elections?

Most likely as a member of the House of Representatives.

What are you grateful for?

Peace. From going hungry as a child to being able to afford 3 square meals, I have a lot to be grateful for.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

cool good eh love2 cute confused notgood numb disgusting fail