Music has been a means to heavy wealth in Nigeria and the year 2015 in retrospect has been a great year for entertainers in the industry, with many talented and creative singers going on international tours, getting international recognitions, making huge record sales, bagging awards and snagging different endorsement deals, it is safe to say 2015 was indeed a success for many Nigerian artistes. Of course Nigerian musicians are known for their flamboyant lifestyles, especially with some flaunting their wealth publicly, but not all of them are as wealthy as they appear. The question is who really acquired the wealth this year among these guys? Most Nigerians have been made to believe a very non-sensible list rendered by other popular Nigerian websites where a Nigerian artiste will be rating as much as $200M. We can boldly say most of these ratings are false as no Nigerian artiste has been recorded to reveal or declare his/her assets. Greennews.ng have decided to put out facts in correction to the very wrong and bad rating of Nigeria’s richest musicians mostly found online, thereby releasing the list of highest paid musicians for the year considering the following factors; => First consider the kind of situation the artist is in, signed to a label or on his/her own? => Number of hit songs the artist released and the sales of these songs on Itunes => The status of the artist in the media => How much the artiste charges for shows => How often does he or she go to shows => How many tours he or she went to and how much crowd it pulled => Did the artist release an album? if yes, did it sell well in the market and on iTunes? => The number of endorsements and how huge is the money?

1. OLAMIDE:


Topping the chart is the fearless and craziest rapper in Nigeria, argurably the most consistent in the last 5 years and of course the hottest artiste in the year 2015. You can dance to this; Shutdown concert in Lagos-1, shutdown concert in Malay-2, Shutdown concert in Yankee-3, Shutdown concert in London-4…and not to mention his recently concluded OLIC2. Olamide all through the year was smoking hot and having his shows sold out same way iced water will sell in hell is already a tradition for him. The rapper had his contract with Etisalat and Guiness renewed, while adding a new deal with Nigeria based Online betting company, Surebet24/7 reportedly worth N20M. With a pay cheque of about N6M per show, Olamide makes alot of earnings from shows as he’s estimated to cover between 12-16 shows monthly. Olamide’s personality might not be all glued to the media in 2015, but surely his songs never let his name down in the media. He’s got heavy record sales on iTunes making his newly released album, Eyan Mayweather the only Nigerian Album that Kicked down Adele’s 25 album from the number one spot in it’s first week of release. His proteges, most especially Lil’kesh must have also earned him alot in 2015

2. PSQUARE:


Sitting on the number 2 spot of the highest earners of 2015 is the Africa’s Artiste of the decade, Psquare as awarded by MTV MAMA 2015. After speculations that the singing duo might be on the low in the year after they’ve made massive sales on the hit single “Collabo” ft Don Jazzy, the giant group were constantly cashing out from international shows, Starting with their Summer tour in US and Canada and then proceeding to England. Fans heavily criticised their performance at the Presidential Inauguration in Morocco while they were getting more recognition and adding more zeros to their pay. The duo have shown overtime that they don’t settle for less as they charge between N9-10M per show within Nigeria and about $200k outside Nigeria. Before finally retiring home, they acquired a 3rd house in Atlanta. Coming back home, Psquare was welcomed with mouth watering deal from Glo with its worth amounting to N140M accompanied by a gift of luxurious cars each ( Range Rover and Benz G-wagon). For the sake of their consistency, they received MTV MAMA Best Group award.

3. WIZKID:

Running up the third spot on the chart of the highest earners for the year is wizkid. He’s known around the world as a hit maker who goes home with a pay cheque between N6M – N8M after a show. Wizkid is estimated to cover between 10-12 shows monthly, home and abroad. This year the star singer snagged a new endorsement deal with Nigeria’s Telecoms giant, Glo of a N128M worth. Also got his Pepsi $350k endorsement deal renewed. Wizkid also made earnings from iTunes sale this year with his latest hit single (Baba Nla)-Final topping the Nigerian chart at $1.29. Afro pop star had his name all glued to the media, Not just having international stars bopping and dancing to his jam but ranking above many of them on the 12th spot of the world’s biggest song of 2015 with Ojuelegba remix featuring Drake and Skepta according to Fader. With this weight of achievements and acquired wealth, Wizkid can now be officially called WizFather.

.. 4. DON JAZZY:




. For the man with the midas touch, Don Jazzy, 2015 was one of a tremendous personal growth, spinning into an artiste on his own right with show stopping hooks at every turn and features. Endorsement for the Mavin Boss came in fast with Nigeria’s largest online retail store, Konga.com and thick with the classy liquor brand, Johnnie Walker pitching their tents with him, which adds to the renewed and probably reviewed contract deal with MTN while the Loya Milk endorsement still stands. To crown it all, Access Bank partnered with his record label, Mavin Records to host their first ever concert tagged ‘Access Mavin’ which held on December 23, 2015.

5. D’BANJ: images (63) The kokomaster ranks 5th on the list, more thanks to the N100M worth endorsement renewal from Telco firm, Glo and the newly bagged deal from international Beverage company, Ciroc, also not forgeting his latest landed deal with Nigeria’s biggest mobile gadget company, Slot which came with a Porsche car. This year the ‘Big fish’ was seen on varying international stages performing alongside international stars such as Usher, Mary J. Blige, Gwen Stefani, Akon and such others. D’banj was more into the celebration of his 10th year aniversary which probably saw him honoured with the MTV MAMA Evolution Award. D’banj was in the media at every quarter of the year even as he kept releasing songs and visuals from his ‘An Epic Journey’ EP which featured quite a number of international acts. Bangalee charges about N8M to N9M per show but his earnings this year were majorly saved by the different endorsement deals he’s got.

6. IYANYA:
Applaudise to the triple MG henchman who has been ever consistent with a high number of sell outs. Although the singer made most of his money mostly from endorsements and local shows this year in which he charges around N3M per show. His N60M contract with with MTN and N35M with Solo phones were renewed this year, th singer only bagged a fresh ambassadorial deal with the new online retail store, Yudala.

6. IYANYA:
Applaudise to the triple MG henchman who has been ever consistent with a high number of sell outs. Although the singer made most of his money mostly from endorsements and local shows this year in which he charges around N3M per show. His N60M contract with with MTN and N35M with Solo phones were renewed this year, th singer only bagged a fresh ambassadorial deal with the new online retail store, Yudala.

7. TIWA SAVAGE:


Taking out time to be a nursing mother this year did not stop the fact that she still remains the queen of Nigeria music industry as she is the most famous of all female musicians, making lots of money from music. Earlier in the year the singing bird was still seen rocking the concert stages even with a baby bump which got many criticising her. She however snagged her first deal for the year with Konga.com. The mother of one held on to her contract with Pepsi and her N30M MTN deal which came with a possible upward review. While she also resumes ambassadorial duties for the still standing deal with Forte Oil. All of these has made Tiwa the richest female singer in Nigeria.

8.PHYNO:


The king of the east has maintained his profile through hardwork. 2015 had the singer releasing a joint studio album with Olamide, his western counterpart. Phyno was a regular performng act at the Local shows with a pay cut of about N3M making him more bankable. This year, Phyno kept up his end of the Guiness brand endorsement, thereby got it renewed while he added a major scoop with the telco company, Airtel and top sport betting company, Nairabet. Phyno wrapped up the year in style with his connect concert and the connect smashing hit which has shaped up to become one of the hottest songs to round-off the year. Connect is on number 3 for top selling Nigeria singles on iTunes.

9. FLAVOUR:



Multi talented Flavour is raking in millions every week, pocketing between six and seven million naira per show. His ability to get all categories of people especially people from Igbo extraction to sing and dance to his ‘funkyfied’ highlife song is no mean feat. For that, he charges heavily to get his service which has been his major stream of earnings this year asides the still standing deal from Globacom.

10. PATORANKING:



The singer consolidate his position this year with the Wande Coal assisted ‘My Woman my everything’ His recent single ‘Make Am’an inspirational number racking up to the 5th spot on iTunes top selling Nigeria single hits. Patoranking earned big this year as most shows rarely do without him. He also fared respectably in the endorsement department after he bagged the deal with Sky Vodka and Airtel. One deal which also placed patoranking in a good place, was the ground breaking agreement he signed with one of the world’s biggest music label, VP records. Patoranking bagged quite a number of major awards already this year and went on tour in the US.

11. DAVIDO:



‘Owo ni koko’ singer launched into 2015 with his smashing hit single, ‘The Sound’ ft Uhuru, then came the almighty Meek Mill Collaboration on the chart topping single ‘Fans Mi’which has led up to the recent jam ‘The Money’ with Olamide. He also put in admirable work on DJ Xclusive’s ‘Wole’ Davido never stops at getting booked for the big shows. He shutdown his London tour big time which saved him up to earn some money this year. On the endorsement front, not a lot of activity happened for the man but then he renewed his deal with MTN Pulse and inked a new deal with close up. Adding to his relevance this year, he was named one of Forbes most influential artist, not to mention the award for best male artist at MAMA and In reference to his social media status, David has the largest fan base in the country.

12. TUFACE IDIBIA:


Even though he did less putting out songs this year, he’s still sort of a living legend and well bankable. Tu-baba’s influence has gone beyond the music scene into the political scene of the nation. This year alone, he led a campaign tagged ‘Vote Not Fight’ to promote peace in the nation, and was recently given a chieftaincy title in Kaduna state; not to forget the caliber of dignitaries and celebrities that came to honour him during his FORTYfied All-Star Tribute Concert. This year Tuface made earnings off his endorsement deal with Airtel as well as from booked big shows in which he charges between N6M to N8M.

13. M.I ABAGA: The incredible rapper, now CEO of chocolate city, M.I has built a reputation that will be too difficult for anyone to surmount. The rapper dropped some visuals off his chairman album which created some buzz for him. In the class of mouth watering endorsement this year, M.I wasn’t left behind as he lands an ambassadorial deal with cognac brand, Martell. The Bullion Van crooner also renewed his big endorsement contract with Glo. ——————————————————————————— 14. YEMI ALADE: She is currently the biggest female musician in Nigeria after Tiwa Savage and might overtake Tiwa in a couple of years if not months. Yemi has been really busy this year expanding her influences and pocket with her countless shows across Africa, her collaborations, her local and international Awards /Nominations (MAMA, MOBO, BET, NEA, and Headies), her recent lunch of her jewelry line and mobile app. She currently has the most popular music video by any Nigerian female artiste on YouTube “Johnny” with over 30million views. ——————————————————————————— 15. REMINISCE: The indigenieous rapper was the very first artiste to nab an endorsement deal in the year 2015 as he signs a deal with Orijin, an alcoholic herbal drink. He further made huge record sales after dropping his third studio album, ‘Baba Hafusa’. The album saw Reminisce becoming the only hip hop artist in all of Africa to have an album debut on Billboard Charts World Music category at no. 12. This opened a money running tap for Reminisce With over 500,000 copies sold in Nigeria in 2 weeks and the album claiming the number one spot on iTunes for more than a week – The Baba Hafusa album is arguably one of the most successful hip hop albums in the Nigerian history. ——————————————————————————— 16. SEYI SHAY: Seyi Shay’s year has been a revelation. Picking up the year with visuals of ‘Crazy’ ft wizkid and ‘Jangilova’ which ushered in the deal clincher ‘Right Now’. The song has since then become a money spinner for the Diva. That led to the release of her debut album “Seyi or Shay” and also aided in her new Pepsi brand endorsement deal while she renewed her deal with Etisalat. Meanwhile she also got a deal from “Nunu” milk.

17. KOREDE BELLO: Korede Bello is doing amazing well among his SMD peers who are not doing pretty bad as well. 2015 gave a huge boost to his music career especially with his seemingly unfading popular song, ‘Godwin’. This saw him performing at major concerts, he also performed at the presidential inauguration dinner which can be said to be quite an achievement in which even many of his seniors in the Industry didn’t get the chance. Adding to his bank roll, Korede snagged a huge endorsement deal with the popular telecom company GLO on the 1st of July 2015. Making one of the certified ambassadors of glo. ——————————————————————————— 18. FALZ: With comedy forming a strong part of his artistry, Falz has been able to utilise his teeming fan base eagerly consuming his music. The rapper has had a number of good songs, with karishika forming an integral part of jis second studio album “Stories That Touch” which is receiving credits as a fantastic conceptual artwork and also sittiing on the number one spot of top selling Albums(Nigeria) on iTunes. Endorsements also came for the ‘Bad Guy’ with online brands, Cheki and webmall signing him for lucrative deals. He’s also currently on campaign deals with Coca Cola and Remy Martins. Of course he gets well booked for big shows, home and abroad. ——————————————————————————— 19. BURNA BOY: Burna Boy is currently promoting his sophomore album “On A Space Ship”, which crowns a thriving year for the singer. But then his sinles; ‘Follow me’, Rockstar’, ‘Soke’ and international features have all been stellar to the dance hall singer’s show running cataalogue, propelling him to relevance in and out of the country. Burna Boy also got a huge financial boost as one of the headlining acts for 2015 Hennessy Artistry. Meanwhile he also renewed his Glo contract this year. To round off the 2015 on a good note, Burna inked a distribution deal with Universal/Island records for distribution of his music. ——————————————————————————— 20. PASUMA: On the number 20 spot is the currently most popular and soughted after fuji musician in NIgeria, Pasuma – Wasiu Ajibola Alabi. Loved by all for his style and lyrics, Pasuma was a hot cake not just within the fuji circle but also on the hip hop scene. The fuji star made an extent of success on the hip hop terrain when he dropped his 15 tracks album ‘My World’. The album featured the likes of Olamide, Tiwa Savage, Phyno, Oritsefemi, Terry G, PatoRanking, among others. This won him some shows on the hip hop wing as well as putting his name of various music charts. Pasuma’s shows are cannot be accurately numbered as he’s constantly soughted almost all over the world. In Nigeria, Pasuma on a very fair note will thrill audience at a show on a paycheque not less than a million. ————————————————- 21. HARRY SONG 22. KCEE 23. TIMAYA 24. ICE PRINCE 25. PRAIZ 26. WANDE COAL 27. BANKY W 28. LIL KESH 29. ORITSEFEMI 30. TEKNO 31. DR SID 32. CHIDINMA 33. SOUND SULTAN 34. OREZI 35. RUNTOWN 36. KISS DANIEL 37. REEKADO BANKS 38. TIMI DAKOLO 39. VECTOR 40. DI’JA 41. MC GALAXY 42. SKALES 43. CDQ 44. ILL BLISS 45. SEAN TIZZLE

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Hmmm.... how true is this, you mean my name is not there? Na wa o...

Ok. Big lie