While Madrina narrated all that transpired between her and Northside boss, Jude Okoye, which led to their fallout, the latter has debunked most of the things the singer said happened, and even accused her of lying to gain public sympathy.

Well, this is not the first time an artiste and a record label will publicly be dragging each other. We have witnessed this a couple of times in the Nigerian music industry.

A typical scenario reoccurrence

In Nigeria, most of the mainstream artistes actually started from nowhere. So, for an artiste to thrive in the music industry, it requires a high level of funding and influence.

Thus, the record label meets artistes, agrees to invest in him or her, draws up contracts, and presents the artiste. The artiste who is probably the most excited being on earth after being offered a label contract, hurriedly signs without consulting a proper lawyer or rethink of some of the decisions he’s about making. Fast forward to a few years later after having hit songs and becoming a mainstream artiste, he suddenly becomes too big for what he signed up for; the contract is no longer in his or her favour. As a matter of fact, to the artiste, all the money invested on him or her is little compared to the returns the label is making.

When issues start coming into play, sometimes the label calls for renegotiations; sometimes they agree and everyone is happy. But most times, it doesn’t end that way; labels insist they have spent a lot of money on artistes and deserve every penny as returns on investments.

So, trust us when we say Madrina’s case is not the first, And sadly, it recently played out again despite a series of calls for industry structuring from stakeholders. It is in this light that Unmask NG presents below five Nigerian artistes who are the prime of their careers got entangled in contractual battles with their labels:

• Wizkid: In 2009, this young artiste purportedly cemented a seven-year deal with Bank W’s Empire Mates Entertainment (EME). After some years of bliss with the label, Wizkid soon began to feel uncomfortable with the deal he inked. He started complaining about the percentage sharing of profits. The complaint later advanced to social media exchanges, as Wizkid and Banky W’s camp washed their dirty linen in public glare. Although, the artiste, following several interventions, was able to arrive at a settlement with Eme, which saw him release his sophomore album, Ayo, on his Starboy imprint.

• Kizz Daniel: This artiste untimely parted ways with his former record label, G-Worldwide Entertainment to found his own, mainly for the sake of freedom. While Kizz Daniel was preparing for his sophomore album, news started making round that he was to leave Emperor Geezy’s label, a development that led to court injunctions.

• Runtown: After effectively proven to be a master of hit songs as an artiste signed to Eric Many Entertainment, Runtown had a fallout with his then-label at a time of his consolidation album.

• Vector: This rapper who was likened to America’s Jay Z at the start of his career due to his talent, was rumored to be demanding for more professionals on the label to push his brand. Shortly after the release of Vector’s debut album which propelled the rapper to several awards at the Headies and A-list acts in the country, the rapper said the label didn’t have enough professionals, which forced him to personally employ people and pay them. Soon after, YSG Records accused him of planning to ink a record deal with another label. While involving the police, the label went ahead to file injunction against the rapper which dragged for months and subsequently triggered their fallout.

Let’s know who you think shouldn’t be missing from this list…

The post Like Madrina, 4 Artistes Who Have Had Fallouts With Their Record Labels appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.

As of Thursday, April 2, the number of confirmed cases has increased to 184. And in a bid to curtail the virus spread, the Federal Government had shutdown business activities and restricted movements in some states in the country.

Complying to the restrictions has become a mammoth challenge for millions of Nigerians, who solely rely on daily earnings to feed themselves and their families. Consequently, the shutdown hasn’t only stalled their business exploit but has also brought hunger to them.

Just as banks and wealthy Nigerians are donating billions of naira to help the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration fund the country’s medical centers, and at the same time, provide essential materials needed to curtail the spread of coronavirus, celebrities are encouraging people to stay-at-home with social media giveaways, which is believed to be shelving the hunger that already exists among Nigerians as the consequence of the lockdown.

Nigerians are no longer hiding in their feelings to openly request for financial support. As a matter of fact, bank account details are now being broadcasted to celebrities on social media, as many believed they are financially buoyant enough to at least feed them for the period of the lockdown.

Among the celebrities largely putting smiles on people’s faces are -Runtown, and Don Jazzy.

Prior to the lockdown, which halts economic and social activities, Runtown whose real name is Douglas Jack Agu, announced that he will be donating a whooping sum of N10 million to Nigerians on social media.

The money, according to the ‘Mad Over You’ singer, is to help Nigerians stock up on survival essentials.

He tweeted, “HOPE EVERYONE IS STAYING SAFE. TIMES ARE EXTREMELY TOUGH AND I AM CERTAIN THERE ARE PEOPLE WITH NO MONEY TO STOCK UP ON SURVIVAL ESSENTIALS. WILL BE GIVING OUT 10 MILLION NAIRA TO THIS CAUSE. KINDLY DROP YOUR ACCOUNT DETAILS.

“NOTE: OBVIOUSLY 10 MILLION NAIRA WOULD NOT GO ROUND, SO IF YOU HAVE OTHER MEANS TO SUSTAIN YOURSELF, RESPECTFULLY DON’T SEND IN YOUR ACCOUNT.”

Similarly, Don Jazzy in his usual gesture of assisting Nigerians financially, has been very aggressive in providing relief for those who sought it from him.

Although, the legendary producer didn’t announce to donate any particular amount of money, but as seen on his Twitter timeline, many people are affirming his donations, as he credited them with money.

Why this matter

Nigeria happens to be one of the countries in Africa with food-deficiency. The lingering food crisis in the continent’s most populous nation has resulted in distressing levels of stunting in the under-age, which is caused by high rates of poverty.

Arguably, Nigeria, a country that prides herself as the giant of Africa, is one with more than half of her citizenry living below the poverty line.

The post COVID-19: Celebrities And Social Media Giveaways appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.