There's an ongoing shift in the creative landscape particularly in the entertainment scenes of Africa, and more specifically, Nigeria that is both fascinating and deeply concerning. In the past, musical success was largely merit-based. Artists who honed their craft, created original sounds, and spoke truth through their lyrics often found a loyal audience. Music lovers went out of their way to purchase physical CDs of their favorite albums, not because of a viral moment or a trending topic, but because they genuinely connected with the music.
Fast forward to today, and things have taken a dramatic turn. In this era dominated by streaming platforms, social media, and viral content, success in the entertainment industry is now heavily driven by hype and aggressive promotion. A song or movie doesn't necessarily need to be groundbreaking or even good to dominate the charts; it just needs the right amount of noise around it.
Take, for instance, the recent Nollywood release Love in Every World. The plot may raise eyebrows with its oversimplified take on romance and wealth every affluent man is Odogwu, and every woman, regardless of her depth or ambition, is labeled Achalugo, seemingly only worthy of praise when she is being taken care of. Still, the film is everywhere. Billboards, social media influencers, radio interviews, reaction videos, its omnipresence is hard to ignore. It’s not the storytelling that’s captivating audiences but the well-oiled promotional machinery behind it.
Interestingly, another tool in this promotional arsenal is criticism itself. Nowadays, it seems that bad press is often just as effective, if not more so than glowing reviews. A song might be poorly written, lacking in musicality or meaning, but once it's criticized harshly, curiosity drives people to stream it just to see what the fuss is about. Ironically, those clicks and listens feed the same algorithm that propels the track to the top of the charts. In this feedback loop, criticism becomes a form of advertisement.
The downside? Talented artists who pour their hearts into original work often get overshadowed. Their voices are drowned out in a sea of over-hyped mediocrity. And it’s not because their art lacks merit it’s simply because it doesn’t come with the massive promotional budget or the viral strategy that turns content into trends.
There’s also a growing trend of fan culture becoming aggressively defensive. Take, for example, the case of TikToker and music influencer, Tiktok steamer Peller and Jarvis, one day, I’ll dedicate a piece to him properly, and I expect his fanbase to come at me with all guns blazing. But let it be known that I admire his energy, his consistency, and the way he connects with his audience. Still, admiration should not silence honest criticism. As creatives and consumers, we owe ourselves the responsibility of calling things what they are, even if it means challenging popular opinion.
At the end of the day, the conversation isn’t about bashing the new or romanticizing the past it’s about balance. It’s about ensuring that amidst all the hype and noise, we don’t lose sight of genuine artistry. Honest criticism shouldn't be feared; it should be embraced as a tool that helps the industry grow and evolve. Promotion is important, yes but it should never replace talent, authenticity, or the magic of real storytelling.
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Yesterday's world is quite different to today's world. Before the digital world, the Internet, much less music was published, with the record labels being gatekeepers of 'quality' music and artists producing 'quality' music ('quality' in quotes since it is mighty difficult to define what 'quality' is). Post Internet, Post laptop software, Post AI, anybody can create music, and the number of people who started their travel on the music path increased tremendously. Much of it is subpar or blunt-out bad. Due to the enormous growth of artists and productions, it becomes more difficult to stand out. That said, when going the gig route, I am pretty sure when one is good, one gets the gigs, and when one is not good, one doesn't get the gigs. My take is that musicians shall use productions to get promoters to book the artists for a gig. This may reduce the need to market the productions since not the whole world has to listen to the music and work from the musician, as long as the promoters are seeing regular releases. For small as well as starting artists, they simply have to focus on their geo area since such artists will be booked for gigs locally. Though gigging shall find the way forward when in demand, the geo area space for gigging will grow. I truly believe musicians should not try and fight the algo and should forget about becoming popular by just releasing music. Those times are over.
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