Records act, Magixx has opened up about financial struggles of Artistes signed to record label.
Speaking on Afrobeats Intelligence podcast with Joey Akan, Magixx said signing to Mavin didn’t mean money instantly “Even when you get signed to a big record label as an artist, you first have to drop a song with international appeal before you start making serious money. It took 2-3 months after Don Jazzy signed me before I started earning from music.”
Magixx was signed in September 2021 during those 2-3 months, he was struggling with bills and family responsibilities – and the worst part was nobody believed him: “If I ask people for financial assistance, they would say I am signed to a big label, and money shouldn’t be my problem.”
Despite this, he said he had to maintain the image – expensive designer clothes, looking fresh every time – even when the money wasn’t there yet. He couldn’t repeat outfits on social media, had to think about what to wear daily, all while broke.
According to him, no serious money can be made from music without an international hit “Nigerian artistes can’t make serious money from music unless they’ve [got an] international hit.”
And one hit is not enough. You need back-to-back hits to stay financially stable.
He broke down show fees- 1 hit song ₦500,000 – ₦700,000 per show
another hit added, and the fee jumps to ₦1.5 million per show.
So your fee is literally tied to your catalogue.
In the same interview, Magixx added: “I cannot relax. I’ve seen people who had money still go broke. I haven’t even bought my own house yet.”
He said he’s grateful for how far he’s come, but he’s still chasing – he doesn’t want past achievements or difficult days to distract him.
This comes days after Crayon accused Mavin of “killing the old Crayon” – so now two Mavin artistes in one week are painting a very different picture of life inside the biggest label in Nigeria.
