- Bizzle Osikoya, expresses concerns about the decline of the country’s music industry.
- He highlights a significant gap in the development of skilled professionals in the industry.
- Osikoya notes that the focus on fame is overshadowing the need for a solid and sustainable foundation in music.
Nigerian music executive Bizzle Osikoya has raised concerns about the current state of the country’s music industry, warning that it is heading towards decline.
Speaking during an appearance on CreativiTea, Osikoya pointed out that there is a significant gap in the development of skilled professionals within the industry. He emphasized that the pursuit of fame has taken precedence over building a solid and sustainable foundation.
According to him, this lack of professionalism and structure is a key reason why some Nigerian artists, after achieving fame locally, choose to continue their careers abroad.
“It feels like the industry is crashing and the reason is because we are not building professionals,” he said.
“It more of everyone chasing to be in the limelight rather than building a sustainable industry. Everyone is just looking for the next person to make a superstar.
“That’s why we see that a lot of time when an artiste get into the limelight and they don’t want to return to Nigeria after leaving for a while because they have seen how things work in other industries and they want to be more professional rather than being in Nigeria where it’s treated like a child’s play.”
The music executive further claimed that major international labels like Sony have struggled in Nigeria due to a poor understanding of the local market, noting that only a few labels have successfully navigated it.
He emphasised the need for more collaboration and partnerships to strengthen the industry.
“A lot of big labels like Sony are in Nigeria now but are not successful because they don’t understand our market,” he added.
“I feel like it’s only Mavin Records and Chocolate City, YBNL have been able to understand the Nigeria music market and every other person takes it as just fun and games.
“We need to realise that we all can not have record labels so we need to partner more.
“But everyone wants to set up a record label because they believe they can do it. We have to collaborate, partner with people that are established.”
