The entertainment promoter Paulo Okoye has maintained that Burna Boy is the richest Nigerian artiste.
Okoye recently discussed his opinions about the Nigerian music business in a conversation with media figure Daddy Freeze.
According to the music executive, Burna Boy made roughly $80 million in 2023.
He claimed that this is a result of the singer’s tight team structure, which includes his sister, mother, and a few other people.
Additionally, Okoye stated that if Kizz Daniel improves, he could pose a threat to Burna Boy.
“Regulating Nigeria’s film industry is huge because the film space is largely upcoming and unstructured,” he said.
“You conclude talks with one group and another has already emerged and called themselves filmmakers. They have democratised filmmaking.
“Now with a 4K phone, you can be a filmmaker. Make a good one. A distributor picks it up. Tomorrow, you become a superstar.
“Technology has made it so easy that everyone is now a filmmaker. You can go directly from script to filming. This was not always the case. You can create content in your room and upload it.
“You don’t even need a distributor or marketer. And there is no single collective to which you can say all film people belong.
“NFBCB law demands that you have an affiliation for your film to be classified. You must belong to a guild that is not proscribed.
“We need these structures, so the industry is better organised. Even the guilds have members who still bypass NFVCB. We can’t police everyone but we’re getting there.”
“The only person that is making money in Nigeria is Burna Boy. He made at least $80 to $100 million four years ago. Burna Boy is the richest,” he said.
“The good thing about him is that he has a very small unit of people. His mother, sister and others in his team are not up to eight. Every other person is either a contractor or consultant.
“Kizz Daniel is the only person that I know that can challenge Burna Boy if he puts himself together.
“I worked with him two years ago and I know how much he makes. Kizz Daniel made at least $7.5 million from my side. I don’t know how much he makes from others.”
Okoye also described Rema as an overpriced artiste.
He claimed that the Mavin Records signee needs to expand his fan base to justify his current market value.
“Rema is on another level, he is a Gen Z superstar. He is our major face of African music, and they regard Rema the same way they do American artistes,” he said.
“But the problem with Rema at the moment is overpricing. I think he overpriced himself. He needs to do more shows to build a huge fanbase to earn his price tag.”
