TUFACE IS THE MOST LIKED NIGERIAN MUSICIAN WITH THE HIGHEST FAN BASE

Latest Weekly Poll results released by NOIPolls have revealed that Tuface Idibia, popularly called "Tu Baba", is the most liked Nigerian Musician (13%). 

2Face Idibia

The next top three musicians liked by Nigerians are Davido (7%), Frank Edwards (6%) and Wizkid (5%) among others. 

Davido

Frank Edwards

Wizkid

An assessment of trends in the Nigerian music industry revealed that the vast majority of adult Nigerians (80%) have the culture of listening to the Nigerian music, irrespective of age and geo-political zones. Although Nigerian music has evolved over time, the culture of Nigerian music listenership has been greatly preserved given the fact that the younger generation aged 18-21 years has the highest listenership (83%) to Nigerian music. Further findings revealed that Nigerians are more inclined to listen to Religious music (50%), followed by Hip-Hop (33%), Highlife (21%) and R&B (21%). 

The table 

 An evaluation of how Nigerians access their music revealed that most Nigerians get their music either from supermarkets (29%), hawkers (27%) or from dealers (22%); at times not necessarily licensed music distributors. A considerable proportion of Nigerians admitted to accessing their favorite Nigerian tunes or music library by downloading through mobile devices from family and friends (17%) or from online sources (19%), which may likely be a contributing factor to Nigerian music piracy. More findings revealed that a higher proportion of Nigerians aged 18-21 years get their music free through online downloads (40%) and downloads from the devices of family and friends (29%), thus this age-group is most likely to promote piracy in the industry. These were some of the key findings from the Nigerian Music Industry Poll conducted in the week of October 20th 2014.

Key Findings 

To estimate the proportion of Nigerians that listen to Nigerian music, respondents were asked:Do you listen to Nigerian Music? Findings revealed that the vast majority of adult Nigerians(80%) listen to Nigerian music, irrespective of age and geo-political zones. This finding points out that the culture of Nigerian music listenership has been greatly preserved, though Nigerian music has evolved over time. This is supported by the fact that the younger generation aged 18-21 years has the highest level of listenership (83%) to Nigerian music.  On the other hand, 20% of Nigerians do not listen to Nigerian music. A variety of reasons could be responsible for this low interest in music generally or specifically Nigerian music. Furthermore, the highest proportion of Nigerians that do not listen to Nigerian music are resident in the North-West (35%).

With the aim of gaining insight on current trends in the music industry, respondents who listened to Nigerian music (80% of the total) were asked: What type (genre) of Nigerian music do you listen to? Results show that that half (50%) of the respondents indicated they listen to Religious music and this is higher among female (60%) than male listeners (41%). This finding reveals a huge market and potential for Religious music and artists; and further reflects the fact that Nigerians are most satisfied with the religious aspect of their lives as evidenced by the Monthly NOIPolls Personal Well-Being.

Other music genre’s popularly listened to by Nigerians are Hip-Hop (33%), Highlife and R&B (21% each). Fuji which was popular in the 1960s and ‘70s has a smaller proportion of listeners in current times (13%) when compared to other aforementioned genres.

Further analysis by age reveals variations in listenership across different genre of Nigerian music. Listenership of Religious music is higher among senior citizens aged 46 years & above; while listenership to Hip-Hop and R&B music are higher among teenagers and young adults aged between 18-29 years. Interestingly, a higher proportion of respondents who listen to traditional music are aged 18-21 years (30%) showing the preservation and fusion of Nigerian music even in the present time.

Still in the bid to explore current trends in the music industry, respondents were asked: Who is your favorite Nigerian Musician? Findings revealed that ‘Tuface’ topped the chart as the most liked Musician with 13% fan base. It is interesting to note that though Nigerians are more inclined to Religious music, this has not affected their judgment of favorite musicians. Innocent Ujah Idibia widely known as Tuface is a Nigerian songwriter, actor and record producer known for his passion in R&B/Hip-Hop music.

Results are not surprising when considering Tuface’s talent and hard work as evidenced by several national (Nigerian Music Awards) and international awards (MTV Europe Music Award, World Music Award, etc.) that he has received. His most recent award nomination was for the Best Live Act at the 2014 MTV Music Africa Awards.[6]

The next three musicians liked by Nigerians are

·        ‘Davido’ (7%) who is mostly liked by Nigerians aged 18-21 years (10%);

·        ‘Frank Edwards’ (6%) mostly liked by Nigerians aged 22-29 years (10%) and

·        'Wizkid’ (5%) who is mostly liked by respondents aged 18-21 years (20%).

The survey was conducted by NOI Polls.

Photo Credits: Google