Uduak Oduok, Esq.: A Crash Course in Piracy – It’s #POKO Baby! Tonto Dikeh’s ‘HI’ 5Million Downloads & Its 5 Lessons for Nigerian Artists by @uduaklaw

A couple of weeks after the release of Actress Tonto Dikeh’s two new singles “Itz Ova” and “Hi,” the web went crazy as 2.3 million people downloaded her music. By the end of the week, Dikeh allegedly had over 5 million downloads.

Instead of focusing on the success of the downloads and business principles to draw on, some artists, including Burna boy, wished the worst including “death” on so called “wack” singers like Tonto.

Bottom line, as I said before, who cares if you can’t hold a note? There is an audience for everyone and the music industry is big enough to accommodate a Tonto Dikeh on one far end of the spectrum and a P-Square on the other.

Folks whether music, fashion, film or what have you, you can have an amazing product or service but if no one is buying or paying attention to you, then your product is simply not cutting it. It is either that or you have not identified your audience AND placed in front of that audience, your work so that they can scoop up everything you are serving and ask for more.

For me, Tonto Dikeh’s success, which she intends to follow up with a music video, reminded me of the need to share with you all the importance of:
1) understanding the purpose of social media; and 2) why you should make sure you do not alienate your core audience, especially those online/social media, with the deals you sign with digital distributors.

Raise your hands AML artists if you do not want to be successful? Your hands should remain to your sides. We all want to be successful. In Nigeria’s music industry, artists sit and hope that they can one day be signed to a label. Some have been signed to labels but just as quickly as they were signed, they parted ways. Names like Killz, Darey Art Alade, Kel, GT the Guitarman, Mo’Cheddah and many more come to mind. By the way, whatever happened to RETTA signed with Joy Tongo’s JTON Productions?

Back to the story. What happens after artists are signed to labels? Somewhere along the line, these artists conclude that:
1) record labels are not all they are cracked up to be i.e. they are bad; and 2) they can do what their labels where doing by themselves i.e. they can start and run successful labels.

Indeed as it stands Nigeria’s music industry is saturated with independent label owners, many of whom are artists that have no clue about running a business much less a record label. I should know this because my inbox is constantly filled with many of these artists turned label owners soliciting even the minutiae of details on how to run their indie labels.

In any event, these artists launch their record labels and what happens? They realize being a business owner IS VERY hard, “asin” VERY VERY HARD. Entrepreneurs are fearless people and there is a certain grit and determination you gotta have as an entrepreneur to be successful.

These artists turn label owners realize that they do not have the resources to run a label. They also realize they are pretty screwed because they have to run a label and at the same time produce music, as signed artists on their self owned labels, to stay relevant. The smart ones discover that social media is an integral part of their success story, especially as indie label owners. They look to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, Blogs, iTunes, CD Baby, Sound Cloud, Band Camp etc. to get the word out and have fans sharing to increase demand for their services i.e. concert performances etc. and products.

(Fans) People start getting to know about their work and most importantly, SHARING IT. What has been happening of late, especially in the past year? A new digital distributor gets into the picture and says I can make you money by curbing piracy of your work online. I’ll give you an upfront fee. You sell exclusive digital distribution of your songs to me. I will use YouTube’s ad supported platform and my website to make money and then circle back based on the percentage you sign to pay you royalties. The artists sign the exclusive deals, get the upfront monies and jump on Oprah’s sofa like Tom Cruise did.

The artists doesn’t even factor the fan in the deal. They have never sat to think and say: who are my fans? What age? What do they do? How do they do it? Basically both the demographic and psychographic segmentation necessary. They basically jabor “asin” dump their fans to be at the mercy of these new entrants.

What happens to the fans that have been sharing the works of these artists in gazillion places? The new entrant labels them ”pirates,” and restricts access to only one platform to share music, with the assumption that if the fans want the works of the artists, the artists no longer has to work for it. Instead, the fans, whether they like the platforms or not, have to go find the artists on You Tube via IROKO, IROKOING or Spinlet.

By the way, how disastrous was that whole EME highly anticipated album shared on Spinlet on an exclusive deal? That was such a missed opportunity because again, there was the whole focus on “piracy” and making a quick buck without the big picture in mind, the fans. The result was a dissatisfied fan base and frankly an injured Spinlet in terms of credibility in the market place.

Tonto Dikeh’s 5 Million downloads, to me, says we need to reassess the way Nigerian artists view sharing and how they treat the very fans who have helped them get here and want to help them even more.

In the industry, I have seen and know artists who usurp (i.e. take) from producers, promoters, industry professionals et. al. without having the decency to give back both when they asked and even if they are not. It does backfire. While these kinds of actions may not have as crippling an effect on your career within the industry; as an artist, when you take the same conduct to your fans, you build resentment, distrust and dwindling sales.

Indeed, the graph below titled ‘A Crash Course in Piracy,’ continues to substantiate my discussions about the false alarm of piracy, online, that has been raised by new entrants into Nigeria’s music distribution game against the very fans that has helped our artists get to where they are.

I often discuss IROKO/IROKOING because they are the most visible and have spearheaded the alleged campaign of curbing piracy online.

5 Lessons for Nigerian Artists

I get curbing piracy but please note the following 5 key lessons when it comes to digital distribution that you should walk away with from the Tonto Dikeh case:

1. Without getting too technical, the internet is founded on fundamental principles of sharing. Indeed this core function of the internet remains till today. An exhibit can be seen with the power of social media.

2. But for Nigerian fans and blogs SHARING the works of our artists, most of our artists will not be where they are today. Further, there would not be this resurgence and reawakening of respect for Nigerian artists.

3. Alienating fans who share your work is lame. There is no other way to say it. Have you all sat and thought long and hard why Tonto Dikeh has over 5million downloads in a few days of releasing her two singles ‘Hi’ and ‘Itz Ova? Despite how successful leading names like M.I Abaga, P-Square, Davido, Wizkid and D’Banj are, we have never seen that in the entire history of the music industry. Please correct me if I am wrong. Tonto Dikeh is not even a singer. She is an actress!

What if she limited the ability to share her songs online by as many fans as possible in whatever platforms they deem fit to their friends and families? Do you think that would have helped to make her singles go as far as they have? What does 5 million downloads mean for her? Does it mean a musical career? Probably not. Tonto Dikeh has said she is doing this to prove a point not necessarily to sing. She thinks no one should deter you from your goals. Just do it!

“I listened to my songs over and over again and I told myself I did well. In all I see only the positivity in it,I made History. Peoples opinion of how my music was has further strengthened my belief that dreams die when you let the next man’s opinion get to you and I am using now to pass a message to everyone out there, if you can just do it. Don’t let anyone’s opinion kill whatever dream you have or try to stop you from taking the next step[i][/i].”

Does Tonto’s 5 million downloads mean endorsement deals worth millions of Naira for Tonto? Most likely yes. Does it mean increased requests for her appearance from events to films where she can command thousands of US dollars/British Pounds? Most likely.

Folks, these days, even American artists know that music is a free commodity as painful as this may sound. Instead, they have rewired their minds and don’t necessarily focus on selling just their music. In fact, in many instances they give that free commodity away in exchange for what their emotionally connected fans cannot easily get i.e. access to them, tickets to their concerts/ tours, subscriptions, merchandise etc.

4. Artists you alienate your fans when you turn those sharing your work into so called “thieves.” This model has not worked for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and it certainly will not work for Nigerian artists, IROKO, Spinlet or the new entrants getting into the digital distribution market place. The RIAA has sued 12 year olds, dead people, single mothers and over 12,000 people and they have realized it doesn’t work. It alienates and creates animosity and artists are not any better off than where they were before.

5. Artists y’all gotta rearrange your mindset and when next a digital distributor approaches you and says, I can display your music videos on You Tube and my website but you have to sign an exclusive deal with me, you should look at them like they are retarded, think about your fans and negotiate a better non-exclusive deal. You should also think outside the box and the many ways you can generate income from your songs.

If “PIRACY” is what is thrown at you for the licensing of your IP rights digitally, you should point to the graph and numbers below and ask for the data that so called pirates i.e. your fans, online, are stealing (which is allegedly) making you lose money.

In conclusion, yes be about your money, but don’t forget about your fans and how you make them FEEL, especially as the digital revolution in Nigeria’s music industry continues. In the final analysis, as Tonto Dikeh’s 5 million downloads, within days, show, it can be the difference maker with whether you will have a successful career or not.

Can we say #POKO’s “HI” 5 Million Downloads sharing method is WINNING?

Taken from 360nobs
Written by Uduak Oduok, Esq. @uduaklaw
http://africamusiclaw.com

Ms. Uduak Oduok is an Attorney and Partner at Ebitu Law Group, P.C. An industry insider as well as a Publisher (Ladybrille) & Journalist, her practice areas include Business Litigation and Fashion & Entertainment Law.

The person who wrote that does not know the dynamics of the Nigerian entertainment industry at all. When eedris was at his peak, he looked untouchable, some people were even talking international but we all know how it went down.

By the way, Tonto got that much downloads cuz it's free. I bet no one would pay a dime for it if they had to part ways to listen to her.
All that figure is what i call social media response to mockery.
Just give her a couple of months and lets see the outcome of all this charade.

What I got from Uduak is that with technological advancements it has become harder to protect information no matter what field you are in and artistes need to be open to this idea to grow. Tonto's music may have been awful but the popularity it got is more than what other aspiring musicians can only dream of. When the video comes out guess what will happen? People will still download it. How many people are aware of Jim Iyke's rap single featuring 2face. It was so horrible I could only bury my face in shame!! Tonto got the attention even though that doesn't make her bank balance bigger, but who knows she might surprise us with better music that what she did before.

Thank God for social media and other online sites for providing a platform that has made it possible for new acts to get the appreciation their talent deserves. its all about having a good product and creative thinking to make it successful.

It might give her exposure and a brought her into the news, but are you forgetting that this is not Hollywood where any type of attention works for you?

In the Nigerian entertainment industry, negative attention might actually be the end of that person's career. Ask eedris Abdulkareem.

I am not saying that bad publicity is good for her but it did generate attention and might not be bad if her next release is actually good! Note I said 'if'. There are other average artistes that are still in the industry and the downloads for all their songs won't add up to 'Hi'.

Entertainers make most of their money on tours and concerts, if ur music is crap your chances of performing in front of a large crowd are very slim. I read somehwere that Tonto got a gig recently to perform for some event, but we all know that is a ruse by the organisers to tap into her ability to attract attention and put their show in the limelight. That is because they know people will be downloading the video with their names and those of the sponsors on display. It's a marketing trick.

Amy Winehouse (God rest her soul) was good on screen but her concerts were horrible as she was high and fumbled her lyrics that the number of concerts reduced. People should stick to what works for them but sharing ur product for free is a quicker way to enter a market and seek out ur fans.

Mynd_44: It might give her exposure and a brought her into the news, but are you forgetting that this is not Hollywood where any type of attention works for you?

In the Nigerian entertainment industry, negative attention might actually be the end of that person's career. Ask eedris Abdulkareem.

I thought Denrele said any publicity either positive or negative is still good publicity while no publicity at all is bad publicity.

Brand_new:
I thought Denrele said any publicity either positive or negative is still good publicity while no publicity at all is bad publicity.

Denrele was talking textbook entertainment and not the Nigerian factor.

It is only in Nigeria that movie distributors and marketers(not the actor's guild) can place bans on actors and actresses and stop them from appearing in any movie for a year.

Nigerian is peculiar and negative publicity here is a bad thing

First off, I don't understand how someone will try to explain the uniqueness of the Nigerian entertainment industry by quoting American statistics. The article is just a bundle of confusion. By the way, having been a Social Media Marketer for a couple of years, I can tell you all that bad news sells more than good news on blogs and websites. This means that if Tonto Dikeh rather than Adele had released "Someone Like You", less than 300,000 people would have downloaded it. If it wasn't for free, then even less than 10,000 would have bought it online. You can find that out from Spinlet.

Generally, I'll blame publishing of this article on the need for publicity. The writer wanted to be known, and possibly consulted for legal advice on entertainment issues, unfortunately, it is the same article that has exposed them as a quack "charge and bail" lawyer. Online piracy can be stopped. It's a shame that someone hiding underthe wig of a lawyer will want to tell us otherwise.

I know most of the music being released today is mediocre, and cheaply produced by non-professionals like Tonto Dikeh, who can therefore give it out for free, however, we do have very hardworking artists such as Bez Idakula, Christine Ben-Ameh, and TuFace Idibia who put in their all into making amazing music. Asking these hardworking professional musicians to give out all their music for free, just because of our laze in combatting piracy, is indeed myopic and very retrogressive.

@nex,
while I admire your write up, I have just one question.

why so serious? Common dude your post was too serious

^ it should be serious I enjoyed reading that.

I just wonder who is going to stop online piracy? I don't see it happening anytime soon. I rely on iROKO for my movies and music as well as their YouTube channels for my entertainment and a number of Nigerians do, so one step at a time. Like I said before for new entrants to make headway it is better to share their song for free except if they have something really amazing with the right backing/support that would earn them money.

P Square, 2Face, D'Banj and the likes have a stable place in the industry and do not need to give out their music for free, because people will listen and are ready to buy their music. The author of the article, like most of us, was shocked at the number of downloads her music caused. I didn't even think it possible but the fact that it happened must have sparked something in Uduak's brain . Many important artists today had to give some of their music for free, do free shows, beg for air time on radio before they were noticed, snatched by record labels and made it big. They still give away their music for free sometimes as a gesture and show of appreciation to their fans. In the end it is all about how smartly you manage your art in this dynamic industry.
This article made me think about how thin and grey the line of piracy has become today.

You guys, don mind me jare. I had earlier started an anti-piracy move against all media houses in Nigeria, and I was trying to mobilize records label executives, and veteran music artists, when suddenly, I saw this same article on 360 nobs. It was really upsetting for me, especially coming from a lawyer.

Anyway, na she sabi. Everybody with their own philosophy.