Booking Nigeria’s biggest music stars has become a major financial hurdle for comedy organisers, according to comedian and filmmaker Ayo Makun, popularly known as AY.
The entertainer revealed that some Nigerian artistes now demand fees running into hundreds of millions of naira to make appearances at his AY Live comedy show. He said one artiste asked for ₦200 million, while another demanded ₦120 million. Even an upcoming artiste, he claimed, requested ₦80 million.
AY recalled that several leading artistes, including Wizkid, Davido, Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage and Olamide, have performed at AY Live over the years.
According to him, securing musicians was considerably easier during the early years of the show, when personal relationships, friendship and mutual support often influenced appearances.
He explained that Nigerian musicians have since become global stars with multiple sources of income, including streaming, international endorsements and opportunities that pay in foreign currencies. As a result, they are less dependent on comedy shows for exposure.
AY also stressed that musicians’ fees are only one part of the expenses involved in staging a major comedy event. Organisers must also cover venue costs, production, sound, screens, security, publicity and staff expenses.
He noted that in some cases, the fee demanded by a single artiste could equal the entire production budget for a comedy show.
While acknowledging that musicians deserve to charge fees that reflect the value of their work, AY said comedy promoters also need room to build financially sustainable shows.
He therefore urged fans to focus on the primary purpose of comedy events — to enjoy comedy — rather than judging such shows by the number of music stars on the bill.
