By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Federal Government has said the nation’s music industry is projected to generate $86 million (about N26.3 billion at an exchange rate of N306/$1) in revenue in 2021.
Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, said this on Thursday at the 11th Tourism Investment and Business Forum for Africa (Investour), which was held on the sidelines of the ongoing International Tourism Trade Fair (FITUR) in Madrid, Spain.
Mr Mohammed, who served as a panellist at the event, said Nigeria also boasts of a very vibrant and popular music industry which not only reflects her cultural richness, but has over the years translated into international recognition and acceptance.
”The Nigeria music revenue grew from about $36 million in 2014 to $53 million in 2018 and is projected to hit $86 million in 2021, making it the biggest in the region,” he said, noting that a chunk of the figure comes from digital music consumption, an area of the market which significantly boosted the industry in Nigeria and paved the way for local artists to thrive,” the Minister said.
He called on foreign investors to take advantage of the burgeoning opportunities in the nation’s Creative Industry, which he described as the fastest growing sector of the nation’s economy, in terms of business opportunities, employment, earnings and entertainment.
According to him, the sector currently employs about one million people, directly and indirectly, and has the potential to employ millions more, with the much-needed investment.
”Nollywood, for example, is not just about entertainment. It is also a major driver of economic growth and job creation, especially for youths and women,” Mr Mohammed said, noting that, ”With over 2,000 movies produced annually, the opportunities are immense for wealth and job creation.”
He said though the growth in the area of cinemas, for example, has been impressive, it is yet a tip of the iceberg.
”In 2014, Nigeria had just 23 cinemas, 100 screens and three digital platforms. By 2018-2019, the cinemas have grown to 51, the screens to 184 and the digital platforms to five. Now, this is just a tip of the iceberg, considering that 6,000 screens and 1,000 cinemas are required to serve the Nigerian population of about 200 million people,” the Minister said.
He said the potential impact of such growth includes the creation of additional one million jobs and a GDP growth contribution of 3 to 5 percent.
Mr Mohammed stated that the earnings from the country’s fashion sector were over N4 trillion of Nigeria’s re-based GDP (National Bureau of Statistics, 2018), describing arts and crafts as another growing area of the Creative Industry.
He said with a rich food diversity, Nigeria could also leverage on gastronomy to grow its tourism and create job, especially for women who, he said, dominate the sector.
”It offers opportunities for communities to integrate tourism and local food systems in order to promote economic activities. Gastronomy tourism contributes positively to many levels of the tourism value chain, such as agriculture and local food manufacturing and provides a platform for the promotion of cultures through their cuisine,” the Minister said.
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