Endorsement Deals: A Status Symbol Among Nigerian Musicians
According to Plato, “Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything”
Music is seen as an escape route from the negativities of life. It is also seen as didactic in nature. It is the movement of sound to reach the soul for the education of its virtue. And in this regard, the entertainment industry which musicians play a huge role is seen as a vital component for a society to develop.
Nigeria is not an exception in the music world. Years back, the music industry was so much relegated that hardly would one hear songs from the country being played in clubs, parties, gatherings etc. Most times, the artistes are not invited to grace the occasions except for a few like the old legends in the industry. But today, the wind of change has blown and we now see a fully vibrant music industry.
The music in Nigeria has so much evolved that a DJ cannot but play Nigerian songs, now fully relegating
foreign songs to the background. This is a welcome development as it has positively enhanced the overall acceptability of the artistes by Nigerians, even beyond Nigeria.
Knowing the huge follower base of the musicians which transcend across all spheres of life, corporate organisations seized the golden opportunity to use them as brand ambassadors. This is aimed at pushing their products to greater heights, invariably making more sales. These organisations now scramble to have certain musicians on their payroll. They know that their popularity will reflect on their products. These companies have fully bought their image rights.
Recently, one of the telecoms giants, MTN, signed lucrative endorsements deals with Wizkid, Iyanya, Chidinma, Praiz and Mike Anyasodo(iMike). These deals, of course, worth millions of naira. Davido is not left behind in this as he is signed on MTN also.
Tiwa Savage and Wizkid are Pepsi ambassadors. Pepsi is an international brand that has footballers such as Lionel Messi, Mikel Obi etc as their brand ambassadors. One can only imagine how high the public image of Tiwa Savage and Wizkid would have reached based on Pepsi deals alone.
Etisalat, another telecoms company in Nigeria with Arab roots, also signed Banky W, arguably Nigeria’s king of R&B. He has been a worthy ambassador indeed. Based on his popularity, Samsung also signed him and was reportedly paid over N100m. He was signed alongside Sasha. Banky W has his hands full as he was also signed by the Coca-Cola bottling company. I am sure we can all remember the ‘wave your flag’ song.
The music industry cannot be complete without the king of beats, the Nigerian Timberland, Don Jazzy. He is more of a producer than an singer but that didn’t stop Samsung and Loya milk from signing him. Loya milk obviously must be reaping the benefits of signing Don Jazzy. He has shot up their market sales.
There is a waging war as to who is the biggest Nigerian artiste between Tu face and Dbanj. While different sections of fans prefer one to the other, the duo always smiles to the bank. In 2009, NAFDAC signed Tu Face to lead the campaign against fake and adulterated drugs. He was first signed by Guinness Nigeria as well as Airtel, another Telecoms company. Dbanj, a one-time Glo ambassador, recently signed with Bank of Industry. We can all recall the Power Fist advert he partook in. This was arguably made possible because he was signed by Virgin Colours.
Paul and Peter Okoye, known as P Square, are among the faces of Globacom. They are said to be paid $1m yearly for being Glo brand ambassadors. The ‘short little black boy,’ MI, is also a Glo ambassador. They are not the only ones on the payroll of Glo; there are also actors and actresses.
These music idols, no doubt deserve every penny earned. They have put in their very best to give us songs to listen and dance to. From all indications, for them being signed as brand ambassadors is a status symbol as this gives them the belief they have been accepted and their works are duly being appreciated. They obviously live large as their talents have truly brought them success in all ramifications. More power to their elbows.
