NOBODY IS SMILING

To say that most naija artistes are rich and living large is stating the obvious,but the fact is that this affluent lifestyle is not limited to the artistes alone.record label owners,CEOs,marketers,producers,video directors,make up artistes, DJs,presenters,dancers etc are all enjoying the fruits of the booming music industry.to cut a long story short,lets just say that the entertainment industry is the new crude oil and everyone is desperately tapping it and living off it.so how do we explain the popular catch phrase/cliche "nobody is smiling" presently used by those in the entertainment world.

If you mingle with people in the entertainment or music biz like i do,you must have heard that line.for the uninitiated when someone says nobody is smiling it means that things are not going well/pepper no rest/ground no level.how can someone in the music biz right now tell me that nobody is smiling?what do they take me for?iam not very good at mathematics but i know how to count money and iam not blind.lets just take a look at the present highest earners in the music biz.

Banky w-etisalat/royalties/guest appearances/shows
Dbanj-hitv/glo/powerfist/royalties(RUNDOWN,CV,THE ENTERTAINER,MUSHIN 2 MOHITS)/shows
Don jazzy-production/royalties(RUNDOWN,CV,THE ENTERTAINER,MUSHIN 2 MOHITS)/mo hits records
Wande coal-royalties(CV,MUSHIN 2 MOHITS)/guest appearances/shows
P square-royalties(ALL ALBUMS)/shows
9ice-royalties(GONGO ASO)/guest appearances/shows
Timaya-royalties(TRUE STORY,GIFT & GRACE)/guest appearances/shows
M.I-royalties(TALK ABOUT IT)/guest appearances/shows
Dj zeez-royalties(O4KASIBE)/shows
Tuface-royalties(UNSTOPPABLE)/guest appearances/shows
Olu maintain-royalties(RELOADED)/shows
DJ tee-videos
Clarence peters-capitol records/videos
Kenny ogungbe-kennis music
Dayo adeneye-kennis music
Obi asika-storm records

All the people mentioned above are multi millonaires(confirmed).Dj tee & clarence peters charge a milli upwards for a video.wande coal got paid 10 million for mushin 2 mohits by dbanj & don jazzy.timaya got paid 19 million for his last album by his marketer,owns a fleet of cars and is cool with empress njamah.so what are you trying to tell me?take for example an upcoming artiste like klever jay or deebee on the strength of one hit charge above a 1oo grand per show(they perform for 30 minutes or 1 hour).lets do the maths,if they get at least 4 shows per month(which is impossible & ridunkulous).they will be earning 400 grand per month which is more than your next door neighbour who works in chevron earns per month.more than the average shell or schlumberger worker earns monthly.bankers and doctors work their asses off from am to pm and get paid less than what these artistes are paid for a 20-30 minutes performance.if these guys are not smiling then they must be laughing.

Even with marketers enjoying the major proceeds from album sales,artistes get to recoup from endorsements & shows.if the music biz was not good,artistes like eldee,sauce kid,mp,shank,banky w e.t.c won't leave yankee/JD and come back home.(don't let nobody fool you,these guys didn't do it for the love of hip hop).without all these artistes there will be no soundcity or nigezie,hip hop world will not be hosting any awards and there will be no MTN yellow carpet or virgin Nigeria sponsorship.(FYI-hiphop world magazine now comes out yearly).

Iam not hating on you guys,i just think you guys should be more grateful & contented with what you have and what you have achieved.what if you were not in the music biz & you were one of the millions of unemployed graduates in naija,what will you do?telling me nobody is smiling is like trying to play on my intelligence and i don't like that.when i ask you how is business or how are you doing?a simple we thank God will do.don't mope at me and tell me nobody is smiling(i won't find it amusing).nobody is smiling ko,nobody is crying ni!!!!!!