Davido: From Afro Pop Icon To Business Mogul
David Adeleke popularly known as Davido has earned himself a spot on the list of top Nigerian and African music heavyweights with just seven years on the music scene. It’s no wonder that he’s become an Afro pop icon and a role model to aspiring Nigerian and African musicians.
Expanding the tentacles of his music business and tunes to different parts of Africa and the international market, Davido earns thousands of dollars and millions of naira from making music and performing at shows.
How He Rakes In Money
Regardless of his father’s immense wealth –Davido’s father is a Nigerian business magnate with interest in real estate, oil and manufacturing – the singer has worked hard to win over fans and earn his place on the Nigerian music scene.
After teaming up with his brother to co-own music label, HKN; five years after, the “Dami Duro” crooner established his solely owned record label, Davido Music Worldwide (DMW) in 2016 and signed up fast-rising and established artistes like Dammy Krane, Dremo and Mayorkun after which he had signed on music producers on the same label.
From this venture, Davido rakes in millions of Naira from the proceeds of album sales and performance fees of the music artistes signed on to his record label.
Album Sales And Online Income Generation
Without much explanation, Davido earns cool millions of Naira and thousands of dollars per week (millions per year) from sales of his albums and singles. And as we all know, his singles and albums are smashing hits. His earnings from his musical projects aren’t just limited to album sales. He also earns money from proceed of the views garnered by his videos on YouTube and Vevo.
This year, Davido announced that his hit songs “If” and “Fall” had officially been certified as diamond and platinum in sales respectively.
Davido, who also signed to Sony’s RCA Records in 2016, made this big announcement while visiting the Sony Music Entertainment office in the U.S in February 2018. While “If” recorded over 2 million in sales from copies as a single from his album, “Fall” on the other hand sold for over 10 million units worldwide. Let’s not forget his music is played globally especially on iTunes, raking in a lot of money for the singer.
Live Performances And Shows
In 2014, the Vanguard reports that Davido earns between N3million to N3.5 million per show after the release of his monster hit song, “Aye.”
Currently, industry experts claim that Davido charges between N6 million and N10 million for shows within Nigeria, and between $20,000 to $35,000 for shows outside Nigeria.
Endorsement Deals
Davido landed his first endorsement deal with MTN pulse after which we went on to land a deal with Telco; becoming one of their leading ambassadors. He lands another deal with Guinness Nigeria years after which was also valued at tens of millions of Naira.
While the specific figures for the Guinness Nigeria deal is unknown, Davido’s contract with MTN is valued to be N30 million Naira. Not someone to chill while the game is still hot, the “If” hitmaker joined Tiwa Savage and Wizkid on the Pepsi Ambassadors team, making him smile to the bank with a whopping N100 million.
Fast forward to February 2018, he landed another deal with international brand AXE, explaining that it’s his “biggest endorsement yet.”
Four days ago, Davido announced his endorsement with leading mobile phone giants –Infinix Mobile.
When Davido isn’t making back to back smashing songs these days, he is currently expanding his music business with the recent acquisition of a private jet he names Air OBO, and plans to venture into aviation and movies production.
The singer is also giving his girlfriend, Chioma, a top-notch mentoring as regards business. It would be recalled that earlier this month, the singer announced that Chioma was approached with a N60 million deal by a company which he refused. The hitmaker also went on to demand N100 million for her before a deal could be made. While many might see that as an act of greediness, he was teaching her to know her worth since she’s knows her onions.
No ain’t he right? Days later, the singer announced on Instagram that Chioma landed with Dunes, an Abuja-based company to launch her cooking show –raking in N100 million Naira for her.