WHEN ENTERTAINERS Converged on Lagos

Vanessa Obioha reports Nigerian artistes may not be about outward show only, and that some of them should be reckoned with in their brainpower

Alot of in-betweens happened at the recently held Nigeria Entertainment Conference (NEC).

Sparks flew in every direction, voices were raised in anger, concerns expressed in desperate ripples and spat resolved, shocking revelations made, but above all, knowledge was shared. That is what the conference was all about-to share knowledge that will benefit the stakeholders and practitioners, as well as, budding artistes in the entertainment industry.

Expectedly, a teeming crowd converged at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Oceanview Marquee for the conference. As early as 8:00am, guests were already at the venue for accreditation.  Although, the right venue was not appropriately conveyed, guests still found their way to the marquee which was aesthetically transformed to suit the event. On the white walls of the marquee were portraits of the panelists and speakers. The main stage was illuminated by the white backdrop of the conference logo. Two big screens were positioned on both sides of the stage to enable participants view the drama on stage. Lush white seats were provided for those who couldn’t make it to the main hall to view the event, given that it was an informal ambience, a refreshing novelty away from the strict and formal setting of a conference. Perhaps, it was a deliberate set-up by the organisers since the conference revolves around the entertainment industry. The camaraderie was infectious as friends hugged themselves, back slapped and issued shouts of surprise. For the budding artistes and entertainers, it was the perfect environment to hobnob with favourite celebrities and take selfies.

However, the Oceanview Marquee was a wrong choice to host the event as it was not spacious enough to accommodate all. Perhaps, the organisers should have stuck to its previous venue, the Convention Centre which boasts of more space.  Eager participants had to struggle for space with exhibitors who came to showcase their products and services. For those who could not find a seat in the hall, big screens were situated at the back of the hall, displaying all the action on the main stage. But not all were comfortable watching the show on a screen when the action was next door.  A large number of guests preferred to stand at the back of the hall for that eye-witness experience.

The gathering was also a premium opportunity for people to network and at the same time, learn more about products and services that were on exhibition. For instance, many encountered Enplug Africa, a social media technology company that started in Nigeria last October, for the first time. The company displayed a public computing platform which is a unique digital signage software that enables brands to engage their audience through streaming of live feeds from various social media platforms. It pushes content real-time and gives the brand a visible presence in the social media.

Also exhibiting his digital paintings was Abinibi James, the CEO of Abinibi Multimedia. It was not his first time at the conference.
Other exhibitors at the conference were First Bank Nigeria Plc, MTV Base and Chocolate City.

Credence must be given to the organisers for parading robust speakers and panelists for this year’s conference. They encapsulated the theme of the conference “Buying and Selling Entertainment and Everything In-Between”.  Both the speakers and panelists cut across the different sectors of the entertainment industry, from Nollywood, music to fashion and photography; and of course the business moguls were also on ground to throw in some business ideas. However, popular dance queen, Kaffy, was dismayed that the dance industry was left out. She raised her concern during the lead session where panelists George Thorpe, a research and marketing consultant; musician and CEO of PlayData, Eldee; CEO of Ventra Media, Daryn Wober; General Manager, Megaletrics, Deji Awokoya and Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) Tony Okoroji dissected the science of Tracking and Monetizing Airplay.

Besides the popular names known in the industry, the conference revealed another side of some of its speakers from the general perception about them. Who knew Lanre Dabiri, popularly known as ELdee da Don could speak so intelligently or that Davido, the ‘Aye’ crooner could boast of professional eloquence? However, it was ELdee who stole the spotlight with his rousing speech. The former member of the defunct group Trybesmen exuded such confidence and eloquence that he received massive encomium from guests after he rounded off his speech at the lead session “The Future of Music and Fans.”

Eldee addressed the issues militating against the music industry.  Citing himself as an example, he emphasised the importance of vision- to do the right thing and promote its brand.  He also disclosed his new vision in digital technology, a drift from his early career as an artiste. ELdee presently runs the PlayData software that allows musicians in Nigeria to track their music wherever it is played within and abroad. The core of the discussion was directed at royalties due to artistes and also to help budding artistes set a vision for themselves that will gear them towards success. He urged all to embrace the wind of change, to set standards that will help them monitor and manage their content.

The Vision
In the past three years, efforts have been made to address the monstrous issues confronting the entertainment industry. From piracy to artistes royalty. Despite these problems, the industry  has visibly contributed to economic growth and development of the continent
This is what the convener of the conference, Adekunle Ayeni, fondly called Ayeni The Great (ATG),  set out to do. ATG is a journalist cum Public Relations practitioner. He runs his own PR agency BlackHouse Media and is the Publisher of the weekly entertainment newspaper, Nigeria Entertainment Today which anniversary always coincides with the conference. As a journalist, Ayeni covered the entertainment beat with fervour and passion. He worked at Encomium magazine, THISDAY and The Punch Newspapers before branching out to start his own publication.

Through the NEC, Ayeni brings to fore the burning issues in the industry. It is a first of its kind in the industry that is rife with scandals and ego tussle. But more importantly, he is charting a course for the young generation to learn the business of entertainment and avoid the pitfalls that others have fallen into due to ignorance. Each time he left his seat, he was surrounded by youngsters who look up to him as a guardian and mentor. In his usual calm and gentle manner, he embraces them and dropped one success hint or two.

While NEC is seemingly an individual vision, it is the collective effort of the speakers and panelists that gives the conference its cutting edge. Added to this is the various topics dissected at each session. These topics unravel the silent monsters that have been killing the industry. One of which is the Collective Rights monster.

Is the Collective Rights Monster Slayed?
So it seems going by the way Tony Okoroji boasted about COSON at the conference.  According to him, in recent times, there is visible progress in paying the artistes the rights due to them.  He gave an example of how he notified Jimmy Jatt of the royalty in his account, of which the latter was unaware. He also disclosed that all the major hotels and venues have been made to pay for music so as to encourage these artistes. It can be recalled that at last year’s conference, a heated argument ensued between OAP IK Osakioduwa and Okoroji as they argued about COSON’s ability to track music played on air. Apparently, Okoroji has done his homework and was proud to share the success of his long-fought goals.

Lending his voice to the topic on how artistes can monetise and track their content, George Thorpe emphasised the importance of having  a system that will allow transparency so that the artiste can invest more in his creation. He said that the artiste should have an upper hand as the content owner should know how much he makes from his music.

Eldee supported this argument by pointing out that each artiste needs to know how their content is distributed and managed.
One of the questions fielded by panelists had to do with the right channel for artistes to promote their songs. The young lady who asked the question bemoaned the fate of budding artistes who are often more than not shown the door when they visit radio and TV stations. She also complained that there are times they pay a huge sum to the so-called promoters to get visibility in the media only to realise it was a scam.  Deji Awokoya addressed this issue by highlighting that artistes should not go through the back-door to get their music played, rather they should make it official by paying the station. However, he warned that  if a song is ‘wack’, it would not  be played on-air. This session was moderated by Zainab Balogun, a presenter with EbonyLife TV.

Be Original
The second session “ How to Sell Nigeria Content” received mixed reactions from the panelists and the audience. Moderated by MTV Base VJ Ehizioje Okoeguale, the panelists which included architect and CEO of Total Consult Limited, Theo Lawson;  CEO of Africa Film Festival (AFRIFF), Chioma Ude; Recording artiste and Producer Wunmi Obe and Femi Falodun, argued that the originality of the Nigerian content makes it sellable. Wunmi Obe was against artistes who try to infuse Western beats with African rhythm. To her, it seems Nigerian artistes are begging to be recognised. She urged them to embrace the African identity and that they can never compete with the likes of  Beyonce, if they do not identify with their roots. Kaffy reacted to this by pointing out that there are Nigerian artistes who can do better but due to lack of enabling structures, it becomes too difficult for the artistes to compete favourably with international stars. Again, Obe argued that even when these artistes are called to receive international awards that they are not called to the stage but given their awards off-stage. Ude strongly opposed this assertion. The session rounded off with the two arguing who was right. For Theo Lawson, the use of artistes as ambassadors of brands seems unnecessary. But Ude explained their role. Ude further highlighted that one of the reasons Nollywood is not making a headway internationally is because of the sub-standard production of indigenous movies. Nevertheless, she pointed out that since the industry has set up its Oscar Screening Committee to get Nigerian movies on the Oscars, there is hope for the industry. Actress Ini Edo who was supposed to be part of the panel was nowhere to be found in the hall.

Talent as Cheap Commodity
The Nollywood session was perhaps the most heated of all as the Thespians left no holds barred. Veteran actress Joke Silva kicked off by giving a ray of hope to budding actors. She encouraged them to keep their dream alive and not to give up because with the right training, they could reach beyond the sky.

The core of the discussion revolved around the blatant craze for fame without training. Film maker, Chris Ihidiero, described the celebrity status as a quickie, saying that the red carpet, the selfies will fizzle out with time but if one is armed with the right training, he would become a good investor. He also touched on the Federal Government grant to the Nollywood. While he acknowledged the Goodluck Jonathan administration for its contribution to the industry, he couldn’t help but label the assistance as escapist and not capacity building. To him, the money was not channeled to help the industry in any way.
Lala Akindoju, also a panelist cited herself as an example on how she trainedherself to be at the elevated status she is today.

While the media was not part of this session, it was not immune to jabs from Chris Ihidiero who blamed journalists for not performing their job. He was supported by the host, comedian Tee-A who joked about journalists that refer Davido as a legend. Efe Omoregbe bemoaned the poor state of the profession that warrants journalists to ask for ‘something’ at every turn. However, it is the opinion of this reporter that these ones were unable to separate the wheat from the chaff. Much of the instances they referred to concerned those who have garnered cheap fame and publicity in the cyberspace. Linus Idahosa was also absent at this session.

Shocking Revelations
The conference seemed to be the appropriate ground for the speakers to make one or two announcements. First, was the announcement by Joke Silva that she is no longer the director of the Lufodo Academy of Performing Arts. Joining her was Audu Maikori, the CEO of Chocolate City Records. Audu announced that he will stepp down as the Chairman of the label. While M.I, a rapper and Vice President of the record label announced the merger of his own record label Loopy Music to Chocolate City.

Spats Resolved
The NEC provided a good ground for resolution of disputes. For MI and Shina Peller, it was time to shake hands and be friends again. MI has in the recent past ranted about the poor treatment meted to him at the latter’s club, Quilox. But at the conference, they sat together and acted like nothing happened in the first place. MI also addressed the importance of the record label and why it is not likely to go into extinction soon.
Davido, got artistes on steroids when he had to produce a song live on stage to the excitement of the audience. Through his 15-minutes demonstration, he and his producer Shizzi showed the audience how to make a good hit-song.
Chris Ihidiero presented his book ‘Wanderings Of A Rapidly Degenerating Mind’: a compilation of 100 of the best articles from his weekly column ‘Chris Ihidiero Unedited’ on NET. The six-part literary piece is divided into sections on Music & Showbiz, Books, People, Music, Issues of the Heart and Daring the Heavenlies.

Mai Atafo led the fashions session while Yetunde Babaeko explored the lens with budding photographers.
Although, they have passed on, Dagrin, Goldie and Zara were honoured at the event. Also receiving awards were Cobhams Asuquo, Lagbaja, Alex Okosi, Tony Okoroji and Jahman Anikulapo.

The Glitches
Besides the limited space, NEC is yet to overcome its repetitive handling of the conference. There were no coffee/tea breaks; making the conference long and tiring. Seyi Shay was the only performer at the event. Ruby Gyang whose artistry was expected on stage from an earlier announcement, could not showcase her stuff at the event.
Nonetheless, the conference was a huge success.