COMPLAINTS are rampant from numerous musicians, most of whom are exponents of Nigerian music, that radio deejays are refusing to play their record releases. As a matter of fact, it is an open secret that financial payment is now the condition for airplay.
I want to believe that this is happening out of ignorance on the part of the deejays. If they understood the aim of broadcasting and the great responsibility that their role as deejays places on them, they would think twice and place the interest of their country before their own selfish and individual ones. They would embrace cultural relevance and the musical quality of recorded releases as pre-requisites for air play.
Broadcasting in all its ramifications exists as a tool for promoting a nation's cultural evolution. All programme production formats employed on radio - comprising the talk which is a single voice technique, interview, discussion, and composite programme types such as the magazine, drama, features and documentaries, audience participation programmes and music, are all intended to promote the arts, customs, beliefs and all the other products of human thought made by the people at any particular time -even in the process of informing, educating and entertaining.
Of all these formats, music constitutes the most easily identifiable cultural identity. It is the one that creates a more lasting impression because of its entertainment value - in terms of providing melody, harmony and rhythm. Music is in itself a loud expression of culture; and it occupies over 50 percent of a station's air time whether in a commercial or public service broadcasting situation. And the fact that music abounds in copious quantities in the forms of CDs, cassette tapes and vinyl makes it readily available for use in broadcasting.
Every country tries to take advantage of this facility from a patriotic point of view. Each country is proud of her music and musicians whom they promote as a matter of principle to boost their cultural image. The popular music of Britain is 'rock' and the British Broadcasting Corporation plays essentially that. The popular music of America is 'soul' and Voice of America never stops promoting it. The same goes for India, Japan and all the industrialised countries of the world. It is therefore unfortunate that Nigerian stations take delight in promoting American music, and by extension her culture.
The Nigerian music industry is virtually dead. The fault is not that of the musicians, but radio stations that over the years have failed to promote their own music and musicians. Our young musicians have been accused of playing imitative music, which often invariably lacks authenticity. But they do not seem to have any choice because they are playing what they have grown up to listen to on Radio - a medium, which is supposed to lead and guide opinion.
The musical culture of a nation depends solely on radio for development and promotion. Successful musicians all over the world owe their success to air play because no matter how great their recorded efforts are at any point in time, if they are not promoted, nobody gets to hear about them. All the great musicians in this country owe their success to radio without which the likes of E.T Mensah, Bobby Benson, I. K. Dairo, Fela Anikulapo Kuti and all the veterans would not have been known today. The Radio deejay therefore is not out to promote himself and the music of his choice. He is there in the national interest and should be proud of the musical culture of his motherland.
There are numerous musical idioms that require promotion for the benefit of the young generation who are growing up on the heavy doses of foreign popular music, which they hear all day long. Station managers should create programme slots for highlife, juju, fuji and all the Nigerian popular music forms. Regular slots should also be created for music of our land in terms of indigenous rhythms whose exponents are gradually disappearing for lack of promotion and patronage. Kalangu and Goje are still popular in the North, but in the South for instance idioms like Sakara and Apala are virtually extinct. Since the demise of Yusuf Olatunji, Haruna Isola and Ayinla Omowura, no newcomers have emerged to continue from where they stopped. Radio can bring back a vibrant music industry.
Music presentation is not just a business of promoting foreign music idioms and talking American slangs. It has to do with patriotism and effective communication. Some private stations have adopted the style of letting the music play while the presenter turns himself into a 'dumb witness.' All programmes have now been turned into ordinary compilations and their own idea of 'link continuity' is the mention of a few people in the "house" and the mention of one or two friends who are listening. Every programme must have its own aim, what it intends to achieve and how to achieve this objective. A music programme needs to have a definite character and personality and it should tell a logical story from beginning to the end. What he says and the way he says it depends on the brief of the music programme.
If it is a low profile presentation programme, the music is paramount and the presenter has little to say. His job is unobtrusive; to provide background listening and all that is required is the occasional station identification or time check.
In the specialist -oriented presentation, experts in their own fields of music can make excellent presenters as they spice their transmissions with anecdotes about the artistes and stories of happenings at recording sessions, as well as informed comment on performance comparisons and the music itself. Jazz, classical music, highlife, folk among others, lend themselves to this treatment. Often analytical in approach, the presenter's job is to bring alive the human interest inherent in all music. The listener should obviously enjoy the music played but half the value of the programme is derived from hearing authoritative, possibly provocative comment from some one who knows the field well-an expert. How many of this type do we hear on the air waves today?
The personality-oriented programme is the most common of the music presentation types. The presenter here must do more than just playing records with some spontaneous ad-libs in between-as is now common with the new private stations. However popular the music, this simple form of presentation soon palls. The deejay must communicate his own personality, creating a sense of friendship with his audience. He must entertain. To do this well programme after programme requires a lot of preparation.
It is important to decide what to say and how to say it. This means listening to the records before hand to decide the appropriate places to respond to the words of a song, a remark or other comment, where to place a listener's letter, quiz or even a phone call. The chat between the records should be thought about in advance so that it does not sound pedestrian, becoming simply a repetitive patter.
The programme may also contain identifications, time checks, traffic information, sound effects, chitchat and interviews among other sound elements. The presenter should therefore never be at a loss as to what to do next. He must know in advance what he wants to say and be constantly replenishing his stock of anecdotes where possible. These should be drawn from his own observation of the daily scene. Certainly, for local radio stations like ours, the more the presenter develops a rapport with his own area, the more his listeners will identify with him.
When a presenter is criticised for talking too much, often times it is because he is not interesting enough. There are too many words employed for what he has to convey. It is possible to correct this by talking less, but similarly the criticism will disappear if the same amount of speech is used to carry less waffle and more substance. The substitute is not the'more music less talk' approach now adopted by some stations.
In most cases it is even necessary to have a producer assigned to the programme. He can help to make additional bits and pieces of programme material, which will help to bring the show alive. Recorded on tape, these may consist of snatches of music, sound effects, funny voices on echo, chords of music, double speed tape and so on. Only the amount of time set aside for preparation and the presenter's own imagination, sets limits on what can be achieved in this way. All inserts are very brief but they enliven the presenter's normal speech material, adding an element of unpredictability and increasing the programme's entertainment value.
However, whether the programme is simple or complex, the personality deejay should, above all, be fun to listen to. The show may give the impression of spontaneous happening but sustained success is seldom a matter of chance. It comes only as a result of careful preparation and hard work. Script writing is a complete necessity in broadcasting. Even in programmes that essentially derive from adlibbing, the presenter may not write a full-length script -in terms of details. He needs to be guided by a written outline without which the programme can lose logical continuity.
Contrary to what some stations now want us to believe, there is no blanket approach advocating for "more music and less talk." Although it is generally not advisable to talk too much in any music programme, the aim of a programme and its target audience will determine how much a presenter needs to say. In 'personality' and 'specialist' presentations for instance, it will be untidy to talk too much. But in a programme like "Artist of the week" for example, even though the listener is interested in the music, the profile of the artist is very vital.
If the deejay keeps himself busy with all these essential formalities, he will turn out to be a better broadcaster; and will find it more fulfilling than the financial reward.
By Benson Idonije of the Guardan Newspaper
Jan 19, 2010
Jan 4, 2010
2009:Movies,music and more!
There‘s music in the air, as I write - just like there was music in the year, from January to December. There‘s a movie playing in my head - memories of images from Jenifa, and Figurine and 2010 and many more clips that ruled the year.
My head is breathing and banging and thrumming; almost overwhelmed by all that went down this year: the good, the bad, and the absolutely unpalatable. The past 12 months have been engaging and exciting; filled with a mixture of fun, fabulous moments, and periods of havoc and hazards.
And it‘s all happened fast - so fast, even Usain Bolt would have had a difficult time keeping up with the pace. From Nayo‘s surprise retirement, to Lord of Ajasa‘s secret wedding, the confusion at PMAN, Dan Foster‘s alleged deportation and the messy divorce war between Alec and Kefee, the year kicked off with drama and more drama.
2009 will be remembered as the year Kemistry went to war with Inspiration FM, the year 9ice built his first home, Soul E parted ways with Ure Okezie, and Timaya got into a messy fight with his lover, Empress Njamah.
There‘s more! Ras Kimono returned home and tried to ‘bring reggae back‘, Ikechukwu dumped Storm Records for Mo‘ Hits, and Kween delivered her second baby boy. Rooftop MCs survived a nasty car crash while Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi lost her SUV to robbers. Talk of robbers, Gbenga Adeyinka, Jimmy JATT, Banky W all fell victims, lucky to escape with their lives. Death, meanwhile, snatched some of your favourite acts : Remi Abiola, Monsurat Omidina, Steve Kadiri, Nicholas Anukanti, Momoh Kubanje and Caroline Johnson.
Although it was released last year, Funke Akindele‘s Jenifa will easily pass as the most popular movie this year, influencing our general lingo, and winning a new kind of attention for Nollywood movies. Jenifa defied the theory of the critics, throwing up that question for the umpteenth time: “What and who really determines a good movie?‘‘ what Jenifa lacked in story and cinematography, The Figurine, Through the Glass, Guilty Pleasures and a few others seemed to bring in excess. And, if there were ever any doubts whether there‘ll be space for Nollywood in the re-emerging cinema arena, the screening of The Figurine, Through the Glass and Guilty Pleasures should erase all such doubts permanently.
If we ignore all the intrigues playing out at AGN (the Actors’ Guild), and the many lack-lustre movies still finding their way out of the industry, and focus on the few actors, directors, producers and enthusiasts determined to do things right, then it can be said that in 2009, Nollywood moved far away from a quantity-driven system, and stepped closer to an environment where quality is key.
Sadly, the same cannot be said of the music scene. The musicians‘ union remains in coma, and piracy still reigns supreme. And, while the artistes earned big bucks all year, and amassed major awards like they‘re going out of fashion, the industry remained in chaos, with labels broke, broken and battered, and the quality of music castrated, cheapened and compromised.
To the casual observer, it would look like 2009 was a good year for the music industry in Nigeria. Far from it! It was a good year for a few artistes, no doubt. But it was a bad year for music business and allied industries — no thanks to unhindered intellectual property theft (including bootlegging, illegal internet file sharing and downloads), poor rights administration, lack of effective distribution network, continued flight of valuable professionals, poor CD pricing, poor quality control and monitoring system, and terribly poor funding.
The Nigerian music ‘industry‘ generated revenue running into billions in 2009; most of it coming from sponsorships, endorsements and performance fees - a dangerous trend, considering that the industry‘s primary products are audio and video CDs. Corporate dominance renders the industry vulnerable, and susceptible to manipulation and misdirection. And a change in policy by the big spenders could mean disaster for an over-reliant music sector.
Okay, stop fretting. There‘s some cause to smile: a distribution system — an alternative to Alaba — is gradually emerging, thanks to Soforte Entertainment and other stakeholders; the newly-formed Copyright society of Nigeria (COSON) is poised to make some difference; and the successes recorded by the likes of Femi Kuti, Darey Art Alade, Etcetera, MI, Bracket and Asa showed there‘s still some hope for serious, sensible sounds..
There‘s hope too, for the fashion industry. Young, gifted designers are setting up practice, while more and more beautiful young men and women are ignoring the call of blue-collar jobs and heading for the runway and photo studios. From South Africa to Milan and New York, Nigerian models, tailors and designers raised the green-white-green high, performing wonders with African fabrics, and contemplating a fresh path for the global fashion industry. But, as the controversies surrounding The Next Top Model have shown, the fashion industry too appears soiled with dirt, plagued by disorder and decaying in the absence of an effective watchdog. The most promising models are fleeing to South Africa and the US, while young designers are getting choked by the burden of competing with established foreign labels - which still find their way here en masse, in spite of government regulations.
On TV this year, the regulations proved to be a gift and a curse. Most Channels pushed up their local content, in obedience to NBC‘s 70:30 command. But most of the home-made programmes were nothing to write home about. The music shows all followed one pattern: either video rotation, or graphic news and voice overs. Apart from Celebrity Takes 2 (which is still on-going), same can be said for the reality-interactive TV shows that ruled the year: poorly adapted foreign concepts, poor execution. And it‘s not all the producers‘ faults - in a country where TV stations are shying away from developing or commissioning content; where independent producers who do have to part with an arm and a leg to get the programmes aired continuously, chances that we‘ll get palatable results are slim; very slim.
Unlike TV, there‘s some exciting stuff going on on radio. A fresh set of DJs and presenters are giving audiences what they want, and expectedly, listenership is soaring. Dozens of new stations kicked off all over the country this year (including Beat, Smooth, Classic etc), and many more are right now setting up, getting ready to go live. In a country where most of the major cities are plagued by traffic, rush-hour radio shows are making life easier; giving many something to fix their minds on, while they wade through the traffic. But, in terms of content and direction, majority of our FM stations are still heavily ‘Americanised‘. Most of the presenters either have accents or fake it, the entertainment news is filled with mostly Hollywood info, and the music, when not Rihanna and Jay Z and Beyonce, is from Nigerian acts who sound like (or want to sound like) them. In Lagos for example, apart from Wazobia, Eko FM and 107.5, most of the stations still do not include Fuji, Juju, Highlife or Afrobeat in their day-to-day playlist. If it‘s not pop music, then it‘s not flying! In fact, even if it‘s pop, and it‘s not fast enough, then no way! And because radio is powerful, the resultant effect is that majority of the acts coming out are now embracing pop music - even the established ones are looking for up tempo bubble gum sounds, to increase their chances of getting radio airplay.
And, because the librarians don‘t properly screen the music, and NBC is, most of the times, asleep, a lot of cuts that should have been labelled NTBB found their way to radio from January to December. You could be riding in the car with your kids around noon, and tune on the radio, only to be confronted by a raw, vulgar, or violent song coming from the speakers. Artistes no longer care about radio edits, the stations don‘t insist on it, and before the NBC notices what‘s happening and forces a ban, the songs would have already been on the air for months.
Sad
The entertainment Media (print and online) is more driven by local content; and practitioners less tolerant to entertainers‘ misdemeanours. But, while celebrity reporters and journalists are up and running, feeding fans with gossip, news and features from a personal, human interest perspective, art reporters appear to be on vacation — leaving actors, directors, musicians and artists to wander and stray — In the absence of regular, well-thought reviews, critiques, analyses and agenda setting.
It was the online community (through iTunes, Amazon, notjustok.com, bellanaija.com, thenetng.com, mytruspot.com, nigerianhiphop.net, youtube.com and others) that emerged the biggest surprise of the year. Well- designed and well-written, the blogs and journals are giving audiences what they want, and they‘re responding with love and attention. Who would have thought a day would come when artistes released their songs (and even albums) first on the internet before taking them to radio and physical stores? Nigeria still has a long way to go in terms of information technology and use of the World Wide Web. But the entertainment industry realised the power of the online tool this year - and we give them thumbs up for exploiting it in ways many would have thought impossible - well, including having Facebook video premieres and adopting the micro blogging service Twitter as an efficient PR tool...
In all, 2009 was not a terrible, wasted year. But it was not a fantastic year - sadly so, because we had an opportunity to spend the year the way we wanted to; we had a choice - to either reap the full benefits and move the industry forward in every ways possible, or to continue the chaos we call an industry.
Source: www.nigeriafilms.com
My head is breathing and banging and thrumming; almost overwhelmed by all that went down this year: the good, the bad, and the absolutely unpalatable. The past 12 months have been engaging and exciting; filled with a mixture of fun, fabulous moments, and periods of havoc and hazards.
And it‘s all happened fast - so fast, even Usain Bolt would have had a difficult time keeping up with the pace. From Nayo‘s surprise retirement, to Lord of Ajasa‘s secret wedding, the confusion at PMAN, Dan Foster‘s alleged deportation and the messy divorce war between Alec and Kefee, the year kicked off with drama and more drama.
2009 will be remembered as the year Kemistry went to war with Inspiration FM, the year 9ice built his first home, Soul E parted ways with Ure Okezie, and Timaya got into a messy fight with his lover, Empress Njamah.
There‘s more! Ras Kimono returned home and tried to ‘bring reggae back‘, Ikechukwu dumped Storm Records for Mo‘ Hits, and Kween delivered her second baby boy. Rooftop MCs survived a nasty car crash while Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi lost her SUV to robbers. Talk of robbers, Gbenga Adeyinka, Jimmy JATT, Banky W all fell victims, lucky to escape with their lives. Death, meanwhile, snatched some of your favourite acts : Remi Abiola, Monsurat Omidina, Steve Kadiri, Nicholas Anukanti, Momoh Kubanje and Caroline Johnson.
Although it was released last year, Funke Akindele‘s Jenifa will easily pass as the most popular movie this year, influencing our general lingo, and winning a new kind of attention for Nollywood movies. Jenifa defied the theory of the critics, throwing up that question for the umpteenth time: “What and who really determines a good movie?‘‘ what Jenifa lacked in story and cinematography, The Figurine, Through the Glass, Guilty Pleasures and a few others seemed to bring in excess. And, if there were ever any doubts whether there‘ll be space for Nollywood in the re-emerging cinema arena, the screening of The Figurine, Through the Glass and Guilty Pleasures should erase all such doubts permanently.
If we ignore all the intrigues playing out at AGN (the Actors’ Guild), and the many lack-lustre movies still finding their way out of the industry, and focus on the few actors, directors, producers and enthusiasts determined to do things right, then it can be said that in 2009, Nollywood moved far away from a quantity-driven system, and stepped closer to an environment where quality is key.
Sadly, the same cannot be said of the music scene. The musicians‘ union remains in coma, and piracy still reigns supreme. And, while the artistes earned big bucks all year, and amassed major awards like they‘re going out of fashion, the industry remained in chaos, with labels broke, broken and battered, and the quality of music castrated, cheapened and compromised.
To the casual observer, it would look like 2009 was a good year for the music industry in Nigeria. Far from it! It was a good year for a few artistes, no doubt. But it was a bad year for music business and allied industries — no thanks to unhindered intellectual property theft (including bootlegging, illegal internet file sharing and downloads), poor rights administration, lack of effective distribution network, continued flight of valuable professionals, poor CD pricing, poor quality control and monitoring system, and terribly poor funding.
The Nigerian music ‘industry‘ generated revenue running into billions in 2009; most of it coming from sponsorships, endorsements and performance fees - a dangerous trend, considering that the industry‘s primary products are audio and video CDs. Corporate dominance renders the industry vulnerable, and susceptible to manipulation and misdirection. And a change in policy by the big spenders could mean disaster for an over-reliant music sector.
Okay, stop fretting. There‘s some cause to smile: a distribution system — an alternative to Alaba — is gradually emerging, thanks to Soforte Entertainment and other stakeholders; the newly-formed Copyright society of Nigeria (COSON) is poised to make some difference; and the successes recorded by the likes of Femi Kuti, Darey Art Alade, Etcetera, MI, Bracket and Asa showed there‘s still some hope for serious, sensible sounds..
There‘s hope too, for the fashion industry. Young, gifted designers are setting up practice, while more and more beautiful young men and women are ignoring the call of blue-collar jobs and heading for the runway and photo studios. From South Africa to Milan and New York, Nigerian models, tailors and designers raised the green-white-green high, performing wonders with African fabrics, and contemplating a fresh path for the global fashion industry. But, as the controversies surrounding The Next Top Model have shown, the fashion industry too appears soiled with dirt, plagued by disorder and decaying in the absence of an effective watchdog. The most promising models are fleeing to South Africa and the US, while young designers are getting choked by the burden of competing with established foreign labels - which still find their way here en masse, in spite of government regulations.
On TV this year, the regulations proved to be a gift and a curse. Most Channels pushed up their local content, in obedience to NBC‘s 70:30 command. But most of the home-made programmes were nothing to write home about. The music shows all followed one pattern: either video rotation, or graphic news and voice overs. Apart from Celebrity Takes 2 (which is still on-going), same can be said for the reality-interactive TV shows that ruled the year: poorly adapted foreign concepts, poor execution. And it‘s not all the producers‘ faults - in a country where TV stations are shying away from developing or commissioning content; where independent producers who do have to part with an arm and a leg to get the programmes aired continuously, chances that we‘ll get palatable results are slim; very slim.
Unlike TV, there‘s some exciting stuff going on on radio. A fresh set of DJs and presenters are giving audiences what they want, and expectedly, listenership is soaring. Dozens of new stations kicked off all over the country this year (including Beat, Smooth, Classic etc), and many more are right now setting up, getting ready to go live. In a country where most of the major cities are plagued by traffic, rush-hour radio shows are making life easier; giving many something to fix their minds on, while they wade through the traffic. But, in terms of content and direction, majority of our FM stations are still heavily ‘Americanised‘. Most of the presenters either have accents or fake it, the entertainment news is filled with mostly Hollywood info, and the music, when not Rihanna and Jay Z and Beyonce, is from Nigerian acts who sound like (or want to sound like) them. In Lagos for example, apart from Wazobia, Eko FM and 107.5, most of the stations still do not include Fuji, Juju, Highlife or Afrobeat in their day-to-day playlist. If it‘s not pop music, then it‘s not flying! In fact, even if it‘s pop, and it‘s not fast enough, then no way! And because radio is powerful, the resultant effect is that majority of the acts coming out are now embracing pop music - even the established ones are looking for up tempo bubble gum sounds, to increase their chances of getting radio airplay.
And, because the librarians don‘t properly screen the music, and NBC is, most of the times, asleep, a lot of cuts that should have been labelled NTBB found their way to radio from January to December. You could be riding in the car with your kids around noon, and tune on the radio, only to be confronted by a raw, vulgar, or violent song coming from the speakers. Artistes no longer care about radio edits, the stations don‘t insist on it, and before the NBC notices what‘s happening and forces a ban, the songs would have already been on the air for months.
Sad
The entertainment Media (print and online) is more driven by local content; and practitioners less tolerant to entertainers‘ misdemeanours. But, while celebrity reporters and journalists are up and running, feeding fans with gossip, news and features from a personal, human interest perspective, art reporters appear to be on vacation — leaving actors, directors, musicians and artists to wander and stray — In the absence of regular, well-thought reviews, critiques, analyses and agenda setting.
It was the online community (through iTunes, Amazon, notjustok.com, bellanaija.com, thenetng.com, mytruspot.com, nigerianhiphop.net, youtube.com and others) that emerged the biggest surprise of the year. Well- designed and well-written, the blogs and journals are giving audiences what they want, and they‘re responding with love and attention. Who would have thought a day would come when artistes released their songs (and even albums) first on the internet before taking them to radio and physical stores? Nigeria still has a long way to go in terms of information technology and use of the World Wide Web. But the entertainment industry realised the power of the online tool this year - and we give them thumbs up for exploiting it in ways many would have thought impossible - well, including having Facebook video premieres and adopting the micro blogging service Twitter as an efficient PR tool...
In all, 2009 was not a terrible, wasted year. But it was not a fantastic year - sadly so, because we had an opportunity to spend the year the way we wanted to; we had a choice - to either reap the full benefits and move the industry forward in every ways possible, or to continue the chaos we call an industry.
Source: www.nigeriafilms.com
