With only seven years on the music scene, David Adeleke aka Davido has won a place among Nigeria’s and Africa’s music stars.
Davido rakes in thousands of dollars and millions of naira recording music and performing at gigs, spreading the tentacles of his music business and melodies to other regions of Africa and the world at large.
Business Insider is a publication that publishes news about The 25-year-old pop musician, who describes himself as the affluent son of a billionaire, discusses how he makes and spends his money in Sub Saharan Africa.
What he does for a living
Despite his father’s enormous fortune – Davido’s father is a Nigerian business magnate with interests in real estate, oil, and manufacturing – the singer has been able to work hard to earn his spot in the Nigerian music scene. Davido launched his entirely owned record label, Davido Music Worldwide, in 2016 after five years on a co-owned company, HKN, and signed Dremo, Dammy Krane, and Mayorkun, followed by music producers on the same label.
Davido’s record label makes millions of Naira from album sales and performance fees for the artists signed to his label.
Album sales and revenue from the internet
Without a doubt, Davido makes a lot of money from his albums and singles. His revenues for his musical works don’t stop with record sales; he also makes money from the views his videos receive on YouTube and Vevo.
Davido only confirmed in 2018 that his smash songs “If” and “Fall” had gone platinum and diamond in sales, respectively.
Davido, who signed with Sony’s RCA Records in 2016, made the news in February 2018 while visiting the Sony Music Entertainment office in the United States of America. While “If” sold more than 2 million copies as a single from his album, “Fall” sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.
Shows and live performances
According to the Vanguard, after the release of his hit single, ‘Aye,’ Davido was earning between N3 million and N3.5 million each gig in 2014.
Industry insiders estimate that Davido charges between N6 million and N10 million for gigs within Nigeria, and between $20,000 and $35,000 for shows outside the country.
Endorsement agreements
Davido’s initial endorsement arrangement was with MTN Pulse, and he went on to become one of the company’s top ambassadors. Years later, he inked a new deal with Guinness Nigeria, which was also worth tens of millions of Naira.
