‘Music is not enough to attain that luxury lifestyle that musicians love’ – D’banj

Nigerian music icon Daniel Dapo Oyebanjo popularly known as D’banj has said that music alone is not enough to attain that luxury lifestyle that musicians love.

The music star made this known while chatting with Premium Times on why he has looked at other sources of income to keep his family and fame intact.

“I tell people this, music brings you into the room but what you do in that room is entirely up to you. So if you’ve read, which I know you have, you see that I’ve been more focused, especially when I became a family man,” he said.

“It’s my sixth year in marriage, and ever since then, I’ve looked for different platforms that would keep my fame and family intact. So if you were to Google Jay Z or the wealthiest musicians in the world, you would see that only 10 percent of their wealth is probably from music.”

When asked if music alone isn’t profitable, he said it is profitable “but music alone is not enough to attain that luxury lifestyle that musicians love.”

D’banj is one of Nigeria’s most influential musicians of modern times.

Spotify reports 180 million subscribers and 3bn in revenue for Q4 2021

Some days ago, audio streaming giant, Spotify released its Q4 2021 report and here are key findings from the report;

Q4 Highlights:

  • MAUs, Revenue, Operating Income and Gross Margin performed better than expected.
  • Subscriber growth was inline, ARPU growth increased Y/Y, and our advertising business reached a record 15% of Total Revenue in Q4.

Q4 by the Numbers:

  • Premium Subscribers grew 16% Y/Y to 180 million in the quarter, led by strong promotional campaign performance.
  • MAUs grew 18% Y/Y to 406 million in the quarter and near the top end of our guidance range. We saw double digit Y/Y growth in all regions with particular strength in the Rest of World, which was led by strong results in India and Indonesia.
  • Wrapped: Collectively, 120 million MAUs engaged with Wrapped content in Q4 (vs. 93 million last year, an increase of 29% Y/Y).
  • Revenue grew 24% Y/Y in Q4 (or 20% Y/Y on a constant currency basis) to €2,689 million and was above the top end of our guidance range due to significant strength in advertising and favorable FX movements.
  • Gross Margin finished at 26.5% in Q4, above the top end of our guidance range and flat versus the prior year period.
  • ARPU of €4.40 in Q4 was up 3% Y/Y (or up 1% Y/Y constant currency). Excluding the impact of FX, we saw a benefit to ARPU primarily from our price increases.
  • Podcast MAU ended the year with a double digit increase relative to Q3. Among MAUs that engaged with podcasts in Q4, consumption trends remained strong (up 20% Y/Y on a per user basis) and podcast share of overall consumption hours on our platform reached another all-time high.

‘Staying in my marriage would have killed me’ – Onyeka Onwenu

Nigerian veteran singer Onyeka Onwenu has opened up about the difficulties she faced in her failed marriage.

The music star made this known during a chat with Kikilomo Atanda-Owo on her show “Real Talk with Kike.”

According to the septuagenarian, she tried her best to make her marriage work until she could no longer manage the situation. “I went through it. It was difficult because I really didn’t want my marriage to end but I could not take it anymore. It would have killed me. I always say and that is the truth,” she said.

She also revealed that she singlehandedly raised her children from nursery school till they bagged their masters degree.

“And it was not good for the children to live in that kind of environment where the mother is depressed, the mother is carrying the weight of the whole family. I raised my children from kindergarten to Masters Degree,” added.

Onwenu is a Nigerian singer/songwriter, actress, human rights activist, social activist, journalist and politician.

She recently released her book ‘My Father’s Daughter’ which highlights her successful music career.

Rihanna is pregnant!

Barbadian singer Rihanna is expecting her first child with rapper boyfriend A$AP Rocky.

The pregnant singer proudly debuted her bare baby bump during an outing in Harlem, Rocky’s hometown, over the weekend.

The music star wore a long pink jacket that was kept closed by just one button and a pair of loose ripped jeans.

A$AP Rocky confirmed that they were dating in 2021.There had been speculations about their relationship after Rihanna’s split from her boyfriend of three years, billionaire Hassan Jameel, in January 2020.

The two were later spotted vacationing in Barbados, Rihanna’s home country during Christmas in 2020.

A$AP Rocky and Rihanna have been friends for a while now.

The rapper served as an opening act for the U.S. dates of her Diamonds World Tour in 2013.

The rapper has previously dated celebrities such as Kendall Jenner in 2017 and Brazilian model Daiane Sodré in 2019

Nick Jonas and Priyanka ChopraPriyanka Chopra welcome 1st baby via surrogate

American singer Nick Jonas and his wife Priyanka Chopra have welcomed their first child together.

The former beauty queen and actress and her hubby took to their Instagram pages on Friday, January 21, 2022, where she announced the big news.

“We are overjoyed to confirm that we have welcomed a baby via surrogate. We respectfully ask for privacy during this special time as we focus on our family. Thank you so much,” they wrote.

The couple did not, however, reveal the sex of their baby.

Priyanka and Nick started dating in early 2018. By July of that same year, Nick proposed to the actress.

They went on to wed in a lavish three-day celebration in December 2018 and went on to host four more wedding receptions.

Wizkid’s ‘True Love’ climbs American charts

On January 21, 2022, All Access reported that Wizkid‘s ‘True Love’ will officially crack urban radio in the US on February 1, 2022.

This comes following the lofty success of Grammy-nominated ‘Essence,’ which has since gone back up into the top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100. The success of ‘True Love’ also comes perfectly-timed for Valentine’s Day.

Word on the street says that the record was meant to be flagship single for Made In Lagostill ‘Essence’ distinguished itself and found incredible success. The same rumors also have it that a video for ‘True Love’ has already been shot.

Wizkid says that he wants to see Burna Boy and Davido win

On January 22, 2022, Grammy-winning Nigerian superstar, Wizkid, was captured in a video saying that he wants to see everybody win. He also notes that it’s a good look for Nigerians.

He said, “People haven’t seen [us show each other love]. There’s actually unity, these niggas are actually cool. We’re all friends, we’re all family, we all love each other… I want to see everybody win and I’m sure everybody feels the same about us.

“No matter how bad we feel about each other, we still want to see each other win. So we have to show the fans in the videos, collabs and shows… It’s very important, man. It’s important for our people at home sef, all those people fighting genocide, who want to kill themselves.”

There’s been a lot of love in the Nigerian music industry recently. Burna Boy and Davido recently settled their beef. Just like Wizkid and Davido were recently seen hugging it out at a club. Olamide was also seen in the studio with Wizkid and Davido recently.

Faze loses mum a year after twin sister’s death

Veteran Nigerian singer Faze has lost his mother a year after his twin sister died.

The music star announced the passing away of his mother via his Instagram page on Tuesday, January 18, 2022.

“I don’t know how to express what’s in my heart. My heart is heavy. My Mum passed on last Wednesday, January 12th. This, after my twin sister, left this world last year. I don’t know why so many good people I love are leaving,” he wrote.

“But I just hold on to the thought that God is God and he knows what he is doing. It is well. I just thank Him that she lived a full life and is done with the troubles of this world. Rest well, Mummy. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ 🕊.”

It would be recalled that the music star lost his twin sister in Feb 2021, a few days to their birthday. 

Ed Sheeran set to feature on a remix of Fireboy’s ‘Peru’

This weekend, Elton John will welcome Ed Sheeran to Rocket Hour on Apple Music 1, to discuss the release of the pair’s brand-new Christmas single, ‘Merry Christmas.’

During the chat, Ed and Elton reveal how they first decided to collaborate on a festive track, plus Ed discusses introducing his daughter to Black Sabbath over daily “vinyl breakfasts,” teases details of his new remix of Fireboy DML’s “Peru,” shares why Brandi Carlile’s song “Mother” means so much to him, and more.

Speaking on how he got to work with Fireboy, Sheeran says that, “So I got sent this a week ago, to remix it. Someone, a friend of mine, Jamal [Edwards] who runs SBTV sent it to me.

“”He said, “Fireboy DML would love you on the remix of this song.” And I’ve just found it really intriguing. So I recorded a verse for it… and it’s a song that’s blowing up in Nigeria and Ghana at the moment and their club scene runs over Christmas.

“So you basically put a song to the club in the middle of December, which would seem a weird thing to do in England. But yeah, so I’ve done the remix for this song, but this is the original and it’s just, it’s an earworm, and it’s addictive, and I’m obsessed with it. I mean, Cherry will tell you, I’ve had this song on repeat constantly in the house for the last week.

Sheeran and Burna Boy featured together on Stormzy‘s ‘Own It’ together in 2019.

Listen to ‘Peru’ below;

 

Kizz Daniel, Ayra Starr, CKay, Mark Angel and more top TikTok’s round-up of 2021 for music, creators celebrities and more

On December 7, 2021, TikTok unveiled #YearOnTikTok 2021 in celebration of 2021-of-a-kind, which has been made possible by entertainment driven by its communityThis year-end celebration recognizes talent and looks back on creativity, trends, creators, movements, and moments that made 2021 one to remember in Nigeria.

Placed under different categories, #YearOnTikTok 2021 ranges from popular videos and songs that kept Nigerians on their feet dancing to creators who became voices of change and celeb/creator breakthrough stars of 2021 – and everyone has played a part in bringing creativity and joy to a platform and a world that needed it.

As seen this year alone, there is no doubt that TikTok is a unique place where culture starts and where creativity knows no bounds – where anyone can discover, create, and share content they love. In 2021, over 1 billion people turned to TikTok to be entertained, find and share their joy with others, and learn new things.

“It’s been incredible to see how Nigerians have continued to grow and support one another this year on the platform. We’ve seen trends such as the recent Love Nwantiti start and spread across For You feeds, globally. We’re humbled to see how much joy our community has brought us this year, and we’re excited to experience more incredible moments as we continue this journey together,” added Boniswa Sidwaba, TikTok Content Operations Manager, Africa.

“There’s something really special about TikTok’s diverse global community that people just can’t find anywhere else. For us, 2021 was a year for connection and we’ve seen people on TikTok laughing together, entertaining us, starting cultural phenomenons, and teaching us new things. It’s been incredible to see the depths of entertainment and creativity from this community, and we’re delighted to celebrate all the ways we’ve come together this year on TikTok,” said Vanessa Pappas, Chief Operating Officer, TikTok.

Without further ado, help us unveil the Year on TikTok 2021 report

#MusicOnTikTok : Most popular music on TikTok in Nigeria

From homemade beats to classics making a comeback, the songs

Audiomack launches “Supporters” feature, enabling artists to generate new revenue stream & connect with fans

Supporters enables artists and musicians to directly engage with their fans when they release new music, express their appreciation for direct support through a variety of messaging options, and share exclusive content and limited offerings.

“With Supporters, Audiomack is treating artists as they see themselves — as entrepreneurs building profitable careers,” said Dave Macli, Audiomack co-founder and CEO. “Supporters creates brand new monetization opportunities for our creator community while bringing dedicated fans closer to the music and artists they love.”

Fans participate in Supporters by purchasing support badges for individual song and album releases. Once a fan completes their badge purchase, their contribution is forever memorialized on their Audiomack profile and the artist’s individual song or album page. To help fans showcase their support, across social media, Audiomack provides custom shareable graphics.

Supporters are ranked on three levels:

First: The first supporters for a release

Top: Supporters who contributed the most

Latest: The most recent supporters

To participate in Supporters, artists must apply for and gain access to Audiomack Monetization Program (AMP), or distribute their music to Audiomack through participating partners, including but not limited to Warner Music Group, Amuse, AudioSalad Direct, DistroKid, EMPIRE, FUGA, Stem, and Vydia.

Audiomack, which launched in 2012, currently reaches more than 20 million monthly users globally. The streaming and discovery service has played an integral role in breaking new acts, such as Roddy Ricch and Kaash Paige; served as a trusted partner to Eminem and Nicki Minaj, among other notable artists, to debut exclusive releases; and helped rising African stars, such as Omah Lay, reach an international audience. As of December 2021, Audiomack is the top-ranked music streaming app on Apple’s iOS in Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Senegal, and Kenya.

Rapper Megan Thee Stallion graduates from university

American rapper Megan Jovon Ruth Pete popularly known as Megan Thee Stallion has graduated from university.

The music star took to her Instagram page on Saturday, December 11, 2021, where she shared photos from the graduation ceremony.

“Meg Thee Graduate 👩🏽‍🎓 I know my parents are looking down on me so proud💙 Thank you, everyone, for all the love today,” she captioned the photos.

The 26-year-old rapper joined other graduating students from Texas Southern University as they picked their graduation certificates.

Megan graduated with a degree in Health Administration, from the college of pharmacy and health sciences.

The rapper had earlier taken to her IG page where she announced the graduation.“HOTTIES…I’m officially a @nike Yardrunner, y’all! I’ll be graduating from my HBCU TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY this Saturday!! I want y’all to remember that you can do whatever you wanna do and be whoever you wanna be, cause look at me!” she wrote.

Dr Dre celebrates official divorce with huge balloons

American music mogul Dr Dre may have finalised his divorce with ex-wife Nicole Young.

This is according to the photo shared by Breyon Prescott on Thursday, December 9, 2021.

In the photo, the hip-hop mogul posed beside a celebratory display of ‘Divorced AF’ balloons.

“Hey Well, My Brother @drdre Just Told Me It’s Final !!! Congrats 🍾 Still Dre 🐐 💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾,” Prescott captioned the photo.

Nicole filed for divorce from the millionaire rapper back in 2020. She cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for her split from the hip-hop mogul.

Since their split, they have been at loggerheads of finances and prenup.

In July, a court ordered the millionaire to pay his ex-wife, Young $300,000 (N151M) in spousal support monthly.

According to Radar, the superior court judge’s decision was only temporary until a final decision is reached.

“[Dre] is ordered to pay to the [Nicole] spousal support in the sum of $293,306.00 per month, payable on the first of each month, commencing August 1, 2021,” Dre will pay a total of $3,519,672 per year until Nicole remarries or “enters into a new domestic partnership,” the court document obtained by Radar read.

The couple got married in 1996 and are blessed with two adult children, Triuce and Truly.

Young was formerly married to NBA player, Sedale Threatt, and is a trained lawyer.

‘Made in Lagos’ cost me three years, knew it’ll be mega success – Wizkid

Wizkid was recently named Artist of The Year (Africa) by Apple Music at the Apple Music Awards. During his acceptance chat, he spoke about the success of Made In Lagos.

He says, “I felt it coming. I would say I’m lying if I didn’t feel it coming because it took me three years to work on that album. So I felt like there was going to be a shift, but I didn’t know how it would come. Because I knew that it was kind of like a different… it wasn’t a different sound, but it was a more matured sound from what I used to make.

“From when I was way young, man. I called my first album ‘Superstar.’ How confident can you be? So yeah. I was born to do this sh**, man.”

He also spoke about his admiration for Tems and the success of ‘Essence.’

‘Tems is in my top three,’ says Wizkid

On December 10, 2021, Grammy-winning Nigerian superstar, Wizkid had a conversation with Apple Music. This was meant to commemorate his Apple Music Award for Artist of the Year (Africa).

He reflects on the last 12 months, discusses the huge success of his album, Made In Lagos, explains how his life has changed since his 2011 debut and reveals his plans for 2022. As part of the show, he spoke about the success of ‘Essence’ and his admiration for Tems.

He says, “I don’t see it like that. I don’t think I’m the first through it. I don’t know what I did, but it just kicked the door open. I feel like everyone’s about to come through right now. There’s about to be loads of records from Africa. That feels good because the truth is, people are tired of listening to the same sh**. They want some real sh**.

“And during the pandemic, it kind of helped because we’re all in the house. So it helped everyone find, well for me, basically I would speak for myself. It made me understand the kind of music that I really loved to listen to more. So I feel like that just helped everyone get in touch with like, oh, yeah, man. I want to listen to some good music, what feels great?

“So when that record dropped, what it did for me was what it did for the people. It made me feel better every time I listen to the song. So it’s just a great record, man. Great record. And I love Tems to death. She’s a special, special talent. She’s like my top three.

Wizkid also thanked Apple Music for the award.

Harrysong welcomes daughter with wife

Nigerian singer Harrysong has welcomed a daughter with his wife, Alexer Gopa. In a video shared via his Instagram page on Thursday, December 9, 2021, the music star is seen in a video call with his wife as she holds their newborn baby.

“And just this morning in the very cold winter season in Malta 🇲🇹 my woman delivered my beautiful bundle of blessing 😀🙌 my princess is Here 👸 🙌. she’s called DAVIVA 👸 welcome to my world of love, Hard work, peace , money , fame and grace 🌹 ,” he captioned the video.

“I guess she knows rit? 😊🤷🏿‍♂️ I’m the Happiest and most blessed man this year 2021 🕺💃🕺💃. And midnight…Tonight …we crown 👑 this celebration with the release of she knows ft Fireboy and Olamide ooooooh wat a year?????🤷🏿‍♂️🤷🏿‍♂️🤷🏿‍♂️😀😀” A visibly excited Harrysong could not hide his joy as he showed off his wife and baby to the person recording the video.

Harrysong and Alexer tied the knot earlier in the year at a beautiful wedding ceremony.

The music star is already a father of a set of twins from his former partner.

Drake, Taylor Swift, Juice WRLD, Kanye West, and Bad Bunny named as Spotify’s most-streamed U.S artists of 2021

Coming fifth is Bad Bunny. The 27-year-old Puerto Rican remains one of the most prominent singers in Latin trap and reggaeton—Bad Bunny’s continuous commercial success since 2016’s ‘Soy Peor’, the projects, added with famous features cements him as a forerunner for a genre that has claimed a top spot in modern music. Although Bad Bunny is the artist being recognized, he represents every Latinx artist since Luis Fonsi’s Despacito set the stage for Latin music’s reception in the US and worldwide.

Taking fourth place is Kanye West, otherwise known as ‘YE’. Despite the controversy, his name gets mentioned in, The multiple grammy-winning rapper, producer, father, and former presidential candidate remains one figure in hip hop that can not be sidelined. Kanye West’s 10th studio album DONDA [which we witnessed one of the iconic rollouts for, and arguably the best we’ll see in years] has received 33.4 million streams since its release. In addition, the build-up, production and dedication of the album to the rapper’s late mother, another major catalyst to the numeric success of DONDA was the brief feud Kanye had with fellow rapper Drake. The two released their albums in the same week. But, of course, beef fuels comparison. Comparison fuels competition. Competition fuels streams and numbers.

Two years after his tragic passing at 21, singer/ rapper juice WRLD’s mournful and energetic songs on love, heartbreak and emotions remain cherished among the Gen-Z audience that witnessed the birth of trap music and emo rap. Whether it’s ‘Goodbye and good riddance’, ‘Death race for love’, or posthumous album, ‘Legends never die’, in these albums, are millions of fans seeking closure and answers to a feeling the singer based his artistic career on, Love.

Taylor Swift will go down in history as one of the most iconic singers in human history. I’m talking about the kind that will inspire biopics long after she’s gone. At age 31, the singer is still breaking records, cracking charts as she evolves in sound and extension, telling her story the way she …

R. Kelly and manager allegedly tried to ‘intimidate, silence’ sex abuse accusers

American singer R. Kelly and his manager have been accused of trying to intimidate and silence his alleged sex abusers.

According to PageSix, they both allegedly tried to intimidate them with tactics that included calling in a shooting threat to a theater premiering a documentary about the singer, new court papers show.

The three ladies involved, Lizette MartinezLisa Van Allen and Faith Rogers who claim they were sexually abused by the 54-year-old convict filed the Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit alleging that; “Kelly and his inner circle … began an orchestrated effort to silence, harass, bribe and intimidate those brave young women and their friends and family.”

They alleged the singer’s manager made several attempts for the now-famous documentary ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ from going forward.

“Defendants used escalating methods of intimidation moving from legal to terroristic in a matter of hours,” the suit claimed.

The disgraced music star was recently found guilty on all nine counts charges including racketeering and violations of the Mann Act, which prohibits the transport of “any woman or girl” across state lines for any “immoral purpose.”

Fireboy hits 100 million streams on Boomplay

“Laughter, tears and goosebumps,” his 2019 debut album is his most streamed body of work with 58 million streams and his most recent single ‘Peru’ leading as his most-streamed single with 14.9 million streams.

In 2020, the Afropop sensation released his sophomore album “Apollo,” which had instant hits like ‘Champion’ and ‘Tattoo.’ The RnB album gathered over 57 million streams on Boomplay by 2021 pivoting Fireboy’s ingress into the Golden Club.

According to an in-depth analysis of data, Fireboy’s music enjoyed a total of 1884 playlists inclusion and is currently being consumed in 107 countries worldwide via the platform.

Rapper Common and Tiffany Haddish break up after over a year of dating

American rapper Common and his girlfriend Tiffany Haddish have ended their relationship after almost two years of dating.

People reports that the couple ended their relationship a while ago.

“They are never in the same city together and both of them are just too busy for a serious relationship,” a source told the publication. “I feel more confident in me and it’s not him that’s doing it. I’m just way happier and it’s like knowing I got somebody that cares about me, that really has my back. It seems like he does anyways. And I love it. I love him,” Haddish said about the rapper in 2020.

The former couple first met in 2019 on the set of “The Kitchen,” but didn’t start dating until 2020.

Haddish was previously married to her ex-husband William Stewart, whom she split from in 2013.

Common has never been married but is a dad to daughter Omoye Lynn, 24, whom he shares with ex, Kim Jones.