‘It costs N265m to promote one song’ — Slimcase cries out over music industry

Street artiste Slimcase has raised concerns over the rising cost of music promotion in Nigeria, saying it can cost as much as N265 million to properly promote a single song.

Speaking in a recent interview with Echo Room, the ‘Shaku Shaku’ crooner lamented the financial pressure the trend places on up-and-coming artistes trying to gain recognition in the industry.

Slimcase attributed the increasing cost of promotion partly to the rise of influencer culture, noting that dancers and content creators who once sought opportunities to work with artistes now charge significant amounts to feature their songs in their content.

“Back in the days, dancers flooded artists’ DMs. Now you have to pay them big, even content creators. $200,000 is not enough to blow a song now. And that is why you hear the same artist and sound for over 20 years, while many upcoming artists remain unheard,” he said.

According to the singer, the high cost of promoting music has contributed to a situation where only a small number of artistes continue to dominate the industry, while many talented emerging acts struggle to break into the mainstream.

He appealed to music executives and other industry stakeholders to consider the challenges facing upcoming artistes and explore ways to address the rising cost of music promotion.

Slimcase also urged Nigerians to support emerging artistes by discovering and listening to their music rather than relying solely on influencers and the media to determine what they add to their playlists.