Economy, Entertainment
The harsh economic realities in Nigeria, high unemployment rate as well as the rising inflation rates may have helped in opening another revenue stream for the embattled Nigerian youths as Social Media influencers have turned their creative abilities into money spinning ventures through the internet.
By Anthony Isibor.
WHILE many Nigerians are complaining of the prevailing economic realities, several others are taking advantage of the opportunities that the internet provide and turning the internet space into wealth generation through content creation or simply skit making.
The talented youths are carving out niches in the entertainment industry for themselves by creating comedy skits, which they post on their social media accounts and pages.
The industry, which is still very much unregulated, have created a new crop of very influential individuals who garner very large followership running into millions.
They are influential. They are the apostles of the new age. From the child star Kirriku to Taaooma, Kie Kie, Zicsaloma, Broda Shaggi, Mr Macaroni, Sydney Talker, Brain Jotter, Mr Funny, Lasisi Elenu, Emanuella, privileged Son, MC Lively, Sirbalo, Officer Woos, MummyWa, DaSaint, MC Casino, MC Abinocomedy, Mecoyo, Mark Angel and the very vocal Broda Mike are among the talented Nigerians, who have making waves in the new industry.
According to some industry experts, more than 100 of these content creators are engaged in this business, making money from payment by viewers and from advertisements.
Bscholar explained that the typical pay rate for each ad view on YouTube is between $0.01 and $0.03 and that a YouTuber may make as much as $18 for every 1,000 ad views, which is equivalent to around $3 to $5 per 1,000 video views.
According to estimates, a top YouTuber may also make up to $5 for every 1,000 video views. “This amount is determined by a number of factors, including the nature of your material, the audience you’re aiming for, how frequently you publish stuff, and so on. As a result, relying just on CPM estimations to forecast how much money you can generate on YouTube is problematic.
On the other hand, some Nigerian YouTubers like Oga Sabinus, Mark Angel and others make money through sponsored commercials and affiliate marketing. Some of these content creators have a followership of up to 9 million people on their social media handles and make as much as N10 million monthly from adverts on these handles.
During an interview on TV show in, ‘Rubbin’ Minds, ‘Oga Sabinus’ boasted that If Instagram shut down, YouTube, Facebook will pay him. Content creation is a career to me. It has helped so many people.”
Oga Sabinus said that his content generation and influence could earn him up to N10 million each month.
The comedian, who made this disclosure in an interview with popular media personality and BBNaija host, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, admitted that he makes good money. “Right now, Comedy is paying very well, if I am to do advert now, I get to be paid N1.5m to N2m per post.
“In a month, I get like 5 adverts. On a very good month, I get up to N10 million per month,” he said.
Another fast growing content creator, Michael Charles, who is professionally known as OGB Recent, currently has over 500,000 followers across his social media platforms, is worth over $70,000 and he doubles as a comedian and MC.
During this election period, their social media channels have been turned into tools for socio/political sensitization and liberation. They are formidable tools, the voice for the large segment of Nigerian population, who cannot be heard. They have also become a guard of sort, condemning injustice and to a large extent the true standard for measuring public opinions.
The recent recognition of Chukwuemeka Emmanuel Ejekwu, popularly known as Oga Sabinus or Mr funny, an online content creator, a comedian and a Master of Ceremony as the best content creator in 2022 from the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards, AMVA, goes to show how relevant they have become in the entertainment industry.
Vanguard is quoted as saying that the AMVCA incorporated, the online social content creator’s awards shortly after the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw an increase in demand for social media short comic videos.
Known as online content creators, or simply as skit makers, these smart players have created an economic haven for the youths, charting a seemingly new financial liberating rout for themselves and for many others, who may likely follow.
A.I.
Tags: Brain Jotter Broda Shaggi Chukwuemeka Emmanuel Ejekwu DaSaint Emanuella Kie Kie Kirriku Lasisi Elenu Mark Angel MC Abinocomedy MC Casino MC Lively Mecoyo Mr Funny Mr Macaroni MummyWa Officer Woos Oga Sabinus privileged Son Sirbalo Sydney Talker Taaooma Zicsaloma
