Why it’s now more difficult for up-and-coming artistes to make it in Nigeria – Slimcase

Street artist Slimcase has expressed worry about the challenges facing new artists in Nigeria, citing the soaring expense of music promotion. In an interview with Echo Room, Slimcase revealed that it costs approximately N265 million to adequately promote a single song in Nigeria. He further blamed the rise of influencer culture for the increased cost, noting that dancers and content creators, who once accepted free exposure from artists, now demand substantial fees for featuring songs in their content.

Slimcase lamented that this high cost of promotion is the reason why only a few artists manage to stay prominent in the industry for years, while many talented newcomers remain unnoticed. "In the past, dancers would swarm artists' DMs, but now you have to pay them generously, even content creators. $200,000 is insufficient to make a song stand out anymore," he lamented.

Slimcase called on music executives and other stakeholders to address the issue of the high cost of music promotion and urged Nigerians to support upcoming artists directly, rather than relying solely on influencers and the media to shape their playlists.