Sarz Berates Nigeria's Economy, Labels It Leading Factor For Low Streaming Revenue

Nigerian music producer, Osabuohien Osaretin, professionally known as Sarz, has bemoaned the poor nature of the Nigerian economy, and how it has greatly affected the streaming revenue of musicians.

Sarz offered insights into the issue, citing examples from other countries as a contrast during a recent interview on the Afropolitan podcast.

According to him, there is a huge disparity in the cost of a million streams in the US, compared to Nigeria, noting how the costs of marketing and promotion are close.

“A million streams from the United States is maybe $3000-$5000..That same 1 million streams from Nigeria is arguably maybe $300-$500 but it will cost you the same amount to market or promote a song in Nigeria as much as it would cost you abroad."

Sarz maintained that despite the economy being the main issue behind the poor streaming revenue, those involved in the Nigerian music scene are still hopeful that things get better, and at the same time are making do with the resources available to keep pushing.

"We [Nigerian entertainers and executives] are waiting for the state of the country to get better so other things can start improving.

“I think we have done very well with the resources that we have and with all the obstacles against us," he said.

Furthermore, he pointed out that Nigerians are making efforts to stream music, albeit on a low; he emphasized that once the economy is fixed, streaming revenue will rapidly improve.

“I mean, people are streaming music, the people that can’t stream, can’t afford it. But people listen to music across the country and if they can’t afford streaming, it just means that they don’t have the money to."

"And how do we empower them? Back to the government. So, we are just waiting till the economy gets better.”