Nigerian comedian AY has revealed that some Nigerian artistes now charge as much as N200 million to perform at his AY Live comedy show, with even upcoming acts demanding fees as high as N80 million.

AY made the disclosure while discussing how the cost of booking Nigerian music stars for AY Live has changed over the years.

He noted that stars like Wizkid, Davido, Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage and Olamide have all performed at the show in the past, with their appearances often made possible through personal relationships rather than large fees.

"For many years, since the beginning of AY Live, Wizkid, Davido, Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Olamide have all performed at AY Live," he said.

"In those days, many appearances were made possible through friendship. An artiste would accept any reasonable amount to cover their logistics, but today, the Nigerian musicians charge N200 million, N120 million, N80 million to appear on my show," he added.

AY attributed the sharp rise in fees to the growth of the Nigerian music industry, noting that artistes now earn significantly from streaming, international endorsements and other foreign-currency-paying opportunities, reducing their reliance on shows like his for visibility.

"The industry has changed that today the Nigerian musicians are global stars, they earn from streaming, international endorsements, several other opportunities that come in foreign currencies. So they no longer depend on comedy shows for visibility," he said.

He further revealed that even artistes yet to achieve major stardom are now charging steep fees.

"Even the upcoming artistes wey never blow dey ask for N80 million," AY said.

According to the comedian, having a strong personal relationship with an artiste remains one of the few ways to make booking them more affordable.

"The reality is that if you don't have a strong personal relationship with any of these artistes, bringing them to a comedy show can really be expensive," he said.



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