POSITION PAPER from
inaugural Nigerian Entertainment
Conference (#NECLIVE) held in Lagos
on April 26 2013.
·
The
maiden edition of NEC held in Lagos, 26 April 2013 and created a platform to
initiate holistic conversations among the industry’s practitioners, talents,
interested parties and investors of the sector.
·
Sessions
at the conference covered various sectors of the industry including Music,
Nollywood, Business of entertainment, Media and Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR).
·
This
year’s edition has now been announced to hold on Wednesday April 23, 2014
The Nigeria
Entertainment industry is evolving. The industry has a strong potential to
contribute unequivocally to the GDP of Nigeria alongside other sectors such as
agriculture and manufacturing, if proper structures and policies are put in the
right perspective to support it.
The media industry
is valued at $650m; the music industry at about $105 million and Nollywood
at almost 100 billion Naira. The monetary figures portend to increase over time
when adequate financial tools are implemented to track and interpret earnings
in the industry.
It was identified
that uniqueness of the entertainment industry in Nigeria gives ‘thought’,
‘voice’ and ‘sight’ to the society’s culture and its shared values through the
expression of creative works either in film, music, performing arts, literary,
content origination and other related intellectual property assets constantly
reminding the people who they are and what they represent.
The theme “Building
the industry of our dreams” not
only challenged all and sundry on the need for collective responsibilities but
engaged with varying solutions to redefine the Nigerian entertainment industry.
There is an imperative need to begin a process of structuring the business in
entertainment, setting up systems that are accountable, practical and very much
applicable to the Nigerian environment. The distribution networks across every
strand of the Nigerian entertainment industry must align with the objectives of
accessibility, transparency and efficiency. Marketers, distributors (local and
international), investors and audiences with an appetite for business or
products from the Nigerian entertainment industry must be able to access the
sector with ease.
Credibility in the industry is critical,
as this can only be achieved when there is an organised structure put in place
to checkmate negative exigencies currently experienced. The fight against
piracy, an ugly demon challenging the industry even at a global level, can be
curtailed through collective efforts with the agencies established as watch
guards, protecting the industry from continued erosion. To this regard,
government policies backing the entertainment industry and protecting the
intellectual property rights in this sector should be actively implemented
without fear or favour.
Obvious technical
deficiencies continue to plague the Nigerian entertainment industry with grossly
inadequate distribution structures that could easily be monetized. Businesses
existing within the industry should build and operate on a sustainable business
plan or model with proper corporate governance identity. It is believed this
will help change negative perceptions of entertainers from being seen a ‘joke’
to being seen as ‘entertainment entrepreneurs.’ Hence, the need for adequate
education of the entertainment professional to good standards and better still,
understand the great influence they wield in society.
Professionals in
the Nigerian entertainment industry should organise themselves into proper
unbiased pressure groups advocating on behalf of the general masses, whose
consciousness can be easily influenced by this industry. As Frank Nweke,
Director General of the NESG and keynote speaker at the NEC 2013 puts it, “No sector or industry has more power than the
entertainment industry in terms of mass influence.”
The maiden
edition of NEC held in Lagos, 26 April 2013 and created a platform to initiate
holistic conversations among the industry’s practitioners, talents, interested
parties and investors of the sector. Sessions at the conference covered various
sectors of the industry including Music, Nollywood, Business of entertainment,
Media and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Frank Nweke, Director General of NESG declares NEC 2013 open:
The Nigerian
entertainment industry is a veritable tool for building positive perceptions of
the nation through its movies, music, literature and the performing arts.
Talents abound in Nigeria but must be nurtured and provided with an environment
that allows for unhindered creative expression.
Today, the media
sphere has evolved into multi-dimensional platforms creating opportunities to
birth dynamic contents. The NTA and other television stations hold airtime in
trust on behalf of Nigerians and must seek to collaborate with content producers
from the digital divide rather than fostering a rent mentality, expecting
independent producers to do the hard work of producing content and pay
exorbitant air time rates.
Importation of
aged Latin American soap operas for broadcast on national television killed the
tradition of world class Nigerian drama. The NTA as a case in point had
previously championed creation of great local content up till the 80’s. From
this time, support structures for a viable entertainment industry collapsed and
still not rebuilt. The Nigerian entertainment industry must begin to engage in
a different narrative, in order to harness the full potential and possibilities
at present.
It is important
to understand the benefits of deriving true value from any endeavor within a
system with functional value chain. The value chain is a fundamental catalyst
that makes the likes of American stars become financially successful over their
Nigerian counterparts. Every aspect of the system is adequately structured
to contribute value that is shared across board.
Piracy must be
checked. Lack of protection of intellectual property and appreciation of the
creative ingenuity continues to bedevil the entertainment industry. The weak
Intellectual Property protection policies make it impossible for exploited
Nigerian talents to seek redress in courts. The laws that exist on intellectual
property infringement are not effective and must be muscled by the government.
The government has not done well with enforcement of copyright laws and many still
lack rudimentary understanding of the business in entertainment.
To maximize
benefits of the value chain in building the industry of our dreams, each
business in the entertainment industry should have a defined structure with
obvious lines of business transactions, income and expenditure that can be
tracked, enlist corporate identities and in general, hold a serious business
‘look and feel’. By doing these, it dispels the notion of the sector being just
provider of fun but rather, seen with true potential of being a major provider
of jobs, revenue earner and contributor to Nigeria’s GDP.
MUSIC: Are record labels endangered species?
Paper presented by Kenny Ogungbe, Founder/ CEO Kennis Music. Panel discussions moderated by: Sound
Sultan
Record labels are
evolving as the industry is embracing new technologies and especially as the
new/ social media is getting most of the audience divide. The technological
revolution of the music/ entertainment industry gives rise to the impressive
and the remarkable growth in the media industry, more so, the broadcast sector.
Therefore the discussion on this paper presented focuses on two fundamentals,
one, the ingenuity and two, the explorative capability of making revenue from
what may be perceived as a hobby.
There is an
utmost need for the entertainment industry to be appreciated and nurtured in
the right stead as it is fast emerging as one of the greatest revenue earner.
It is also strategic in its positioning as an international branding platform
for Nigeria, only if the system and appropriate structures that can sustain the
industry are put in place. The music industry has transited from a communal
domestic endeavor into a global multi-dollar business but with gaping voids
such as piracy, weak protection of intellectual property rights, ineffective
distribution network and non-existing database of sales and revenue.
Other problems
that militate against the growth of the Nigerian music sector include,
infrastructural deficiencies, lack of capital, operational structures and
ineffective management of the industry. These challenges were identified as
attitudinal, institutional and sometimes a function of sheer ignorance by the
people who should positively engage and benefit from the industry, a case in
point being, the artistes themselves.
Some record label
owners today, see music as bad investment due to the monstrous problem of
piracy. Piracy is killing the artiste, the record label owners and the industry
at large. Therefore, there must be a collective effort by all to win the war
against piracy. “Quality should not be compromised at the altar of cheapness”.
To curb piracy,
record label owners should make works of their label artistes available at
designated outlets, shops or markets as scarcity sometimes encourages piracy.
One quick fix strategy therefore, is to make the products readily available.
Accessibility of an artiste’s work will also encourage collation of royalties
on the property, so long as the work is good and garners airplay.
It is therefore
important for government agencies such as National Broadcast Commission (NBC),
Nigerian Copy Rights Council, the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB)
and others to collaborate in ensuring that standards are maintained in all
artistic content emanating from Nigeria. Also, the collection of artistes’
royalty should not be the responsibility of any organisation or private body
not constitutionally set up with the support of the Nigerian government.
MEDIA: Role of the media in developing the
industry of our dreams. Paper presented by Chris Ubosi, CEO – Megaletrics
(owners of Beat FM 99.9, Naija FM & Classic FM). Panel discussions moderated by Tolu
Ogunlesi
The role of the
media is pivotal in achieving the industry of our dreams with the consumption
pattern of content constantly changing. The media continues to have significant
audience response from Nollywood and the music sectors. The media is giving
considerable mileage to these contents.
Issuance of
private licenses to operators in the advent of decentralizing government’s
monopoly has done more good to the industry. Ray Power FM was the pioneer
private radio station. Today, the media community in Nigeria can account for
over 150 regional radio stations and 3 national networks that include, one
government owned, NTA, and the other two, Daar Communications and Silverbird.
Accessing content
is now tilting more towards the new media, which is being consumed in multiple
platforms, especially through mobile phones. There are over 100 million mobile
phones in circulation, 45 million Internet users are estimated to exist in
Nigeria and about 54 million Nigerians probably use mobile phones. It is also
recorded according to reports from Lagos Social Media Week 2013 that social
media is becoming an integral part of Nigerian entertainment. Nigeria is said
to have the largest tweets in Africa with the second largest Facebook access.
Therefore penetration of media content through social media is increasing and
can be monetized. Sadly, the culture of data keeping is non-existent in the
industry. This must change.
The media sector
must begin to tell their own story, telling narratives from the Nigerian/
African perspective. To grow the industry of our dreams it starts with growing
from within. This is achieved by promoting significant collaborations.
Collaborations that are in the best interest of everyone and the industry, as
50% of content on most international channels – DSTV, MTV base etc are already
provided for by Nollywood and the Nigerian music sectors. There is an
opportunity to generate better-defined income through these platforms.
Discovery of new
talents is critical to the continuous evolution of the Nigerian entertainment
industry. However, there is also need to keep on helping and encouraging
talents at local/ rural levels. The industry needs to be mindful of not over
raising the bar so that raw talents can still be identified and nurtured to
form.
This industry has
the capabilities, if properly structured to survive by itself from internally
generated money. The Nigerian entertainment industry can fend for itself and
does not need financial handouts from the government. “Nollywood is already the
second biggest employer of labour”. Therefore, when the system is working
within the industry, investors will become more confident to support. The
government should rather concentrate on providing good governance.
Finally, the
industry needs to engage in exploring different models of doing the business of
entertainment. Digital media is the future, is Nigeria prepared to embrace this
change? There is an imperative need to move away from traditional business
models and begin to engage and apply new thinking approaches to create ‘new’
revenue streams. “We need to change
the entire supply chain, from production to archives to distribution”.
NOLLYWOOD (FILM): The Nollywood Paradigm –
reflections from an unapologetic commercial Nollywood filmmaker. Paper presented by Amaka Igwe –
Director, Amaka Igwe Studios. Panel discussions moderated by Victor Akande
Nollywood is a
phenomenon. It is a name by which the Nigerian movie industry has been promoted
in the past fifteen years, coined by the Washington Post journal. The Nollywood
industry thrives because of its originality and non-conformity approach to film
making. This sector of the industry is unique to Nigeria.
The uniqueness of
Nollywood holds a traditional value and cultural base, adapting to wide range
of socio-economic challenges within the operating system. The industry was
forced to invent itself and till date, Nollywood continues to be inventive and
innovative itself towards the practice of the trade. The stories should remain
socially relevant and resonate with the people. There is no need to imitate
Hollywood.
A missed
opportunity to set up appropriate infrastructure and systems for the industry
was when the government decided to ban cinemas in Nigeria. It did more harm
than good, as there were no alternative plans to fill the gaps created.
The influx of Mexican soaps took preeminence over the support of encouraging
local and original Nigerian productions for television. Largely, the government
did not understand the audience for whom this industry is created.
Technology has
ignited a quantum leap in the future of Nollywood, giving rise to increased
interest in training to understand how to use and adopt these technologies for
the good of the industry. Training is a guaranteed pathway to gaining better
experience and involvement of the industry if it must advance.
However
distribution remains a major challenge for the industry, second after piracy.
Piracy is killing the industry with about 82% of works being pirated. Also,
lack of data gathering, its interpretation and the utilization of intelligent
information to monitor and assess marketing performance within the industry
persist.
There is need for
the Guild to critically understand its role in protecting the best interests of
members and not focus attention solely on the government intervention fund. It
is important to instill and monitor a high level of professionalism within the
industry. The guilds should be restructured to carter for the needs of its
members.
Growth of the
Nollywood industry should be driven by infrastructure that is required to
service existing and new markets as they develop. The industry should use the
power and skills inherent to promote and project modern and historical
documentation, education and preservation of cultures in Nigeria. The industry
has the potential of shaping a positive image for Nigeria. “What we are putting out is what the world
thinks about Nigeria”.
BUSINESS: Relationship between Corporate
Nigeria and Entertainment – parasitism or symbiosis? Paper presented by Kolawole Oyeyemi, GM
Consumer Marketing, MTN Nigeria. Panel discussions moderated by Efe Omorogbe
The interaction
between brands in corporate Nigeria and the entertainment industry have seen
the existence of formidable relationships though strategic alliances. Most
brands are adopting the pyramid strategy for inclusive brand integration into the
entertainment industry. For instance MTN’s pyramid strategy reveals that at the
base, known as developmental, the brand finds and groom budding talents. At the
middle is the platform; an avenue for these talents to rise into stardom and
the top level shows a reward scheme of achievements to the talents. Other
brands are adopting similar pyramid models.
Practitioners in
the industry must engage in a process that brings about added value to the
system. The process will identify the cycle of impact looking at the brand from
the inside as it transitions to customer expectations while engaging with the
events or content within the entertainment industry.
The brand is
interested in the value derived from its association with any industry either
by direct sales benefit or visibility. Therefore, critical evaluation of the
value chain between the brand and the sector is necessary. This fosters a
symbiotic relationship for in the industry as the values can be monetized.
There is an
increasing need for professionalism in the entertainment industry. The industry
must challenge status quo by making convincing and professional presentations
to the corporates or investors. This will inform the business decisions that
they will take.
The entertainers
in the industry only succeed in the business of branding that is, putting up a
good front for aesthetic purposes but fail in understanding the branding of
business. There is need to learn the business in entertainment and not just the
business of entertainment.
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