Popular comedian Ayo Makun, popularly known as AY, has revealed that some Nigerian artistes now demand as much as N200 million to appear at comedy shows.
The comedian made this known in a video while urging fans to focus on comedy when they attend comedy events.
AY recalls era of artiste-comedian collaborations
AY said major Nigerian artistes have performed at his AY Live shows in Lagos, Abuja and other cities.
“When you buy a ticket for a comedy show, there is often an expectation that you must also see several top musicians. For many years, we made that combination work.
Since the beginning of AY Live, every major Nigerian artiste that you can think of, from Wizkid to Davido, Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Olamide, Phyno, Psquare and others, has performed at AY Live in Lagos, Abuja and other cities.”
He said comedians and musicians once relied on friendship and mutual support when working together.
“In those days, many appearances were made possible through friendship, mutual support and the understanding that we were all growing together. An artiste would just accept any reasonable amount and find a way to genuinely support you, but the industry has changed.
Today, Nigerian musicians are global stars. They earn from streaming, international endorsements, and several opportunities that come in foreign currencies, so they no longer depend on comedy shows for visibility”
AY said the change has made it more expensive to book popular artistes, especially without a personal relationship.
“The reality is that if you do not have a strong personal relationship with any of these artistes, bringing them to a comedy show can be extremely expensive. You could approach one artiste today, and they ask you for 200 million; another asked me for 120 million. Even the one who hasn’t attained fame was asking for 80 million, so at this point, you have to ask how much it costs to organise the entire comedy show.”
AY speaks on cost of comedy shows
The comedian said artiste fees are only one part of the cost of organising a comedy show.
“We as the organisers still have to pay for the venue; we still have to pay for production, sound, screens, security, publicity, the comedians’ staff.
Sometimes, the fee that just one artiste is asking for covers the entire cost of production.”
AY stressed that his comments were not intended as criticism of Nigerian musicians.
He said the collaboration between comedians and artistes had benefited both sides in the past. He also noted that musicians did not always have frequent live shows where their core fans could see them.
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