Top 10 Nigerian Artistes With The Biggest Endorsements

Nigerian is known as the capital of music in Africa. With many talented and creative singers and upcoming music artistes seeking desperately for recognition in this industry, the country can boast of a handful of talented singers from different genre representing Nigeria just like our sporting prowess.

For a secular artiste, endorsement from corporate bodies is a big advantage. The cash involved is a symbol of stability and having arrived.

So, when the telecom companies courted artistes branding them as ambassadors, it was a welcomed development sought by both big and small artistes.

MTN, Globacom, Etisalat and Airtel have all unveiled artistes as their ambassadors while existing ones have been renewed this year.

Airtel endorsed five artistes so far in 2015 and they are 2face Idibia, Phyno, Patoranking as well as fast rising comedian Akpororo and Big Brother Africa (BBA) host, IK Osakioduwa. MTN also renewed its contracts with its brand ambassadors, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Don Jazzy and Iyanya.

Olamide’s deal was also renewed with Etisalat with the likes of Seyi Shay coming on board. Burna Boy, Omawumi, MI, Bez, Flavour also had their endorsements renewed with Globacom.

Most times, the sums of money involved are hidden and shrouded in secrecy as no one really knows who got what. Other corporate firms have lined up to reach out to the younger generation via this endorsement strategy. The following is an estimate of who’s got the biggest endorsement among our musicians.

P SQUARE – N180M
The pop duo have been in the frontline of entertainment in Africa. The star singers, Peter and Paul Okoya known as P Square have been dominant Globacom ambassadors and their deals have been a subject of envy among colleagues. The Alingo crooners are a hardworking set of dancers and singers. P Square’s deal with the same outfit goes for N140 million. One of them, Peter Okoye is the face of Olympic Milk deals swelling their endorsement status. The singers definitely have other deals but these are what is known so far.
 D’BANJ- N160M
D’Banj’s Globacom deal is close to N100 million according to findings.
In October 2014, D’banj signed a lucrative endorsement deal with Apple/Beats By Dre. The amount of his deal is undisclosed but should be nothing less than N50 million. The Kokomaster also got his own customised headphones which will be launched in December. He also became ambassador for Cîroc drink in Nigeria along with Banky W. ‘The Feeling the Nigga’ crooner posted a bottle of Ciroc and Banky W posting a picture with his best friend, Tunde Demuren and captioned it ‘Showtime’.

WIZKID- N128.6M
With his N45 million MTN deal almost doubled by rival telecom giant, Globacom, Wizkid is a man that knows his onions. According to a source, Globacom doubled the amount MTN paid Wizkid last year to land him on their side. Wizkid shared several photos of him and Glo Bounce logo with “200% and $$$” as tags. The superstar is a major coup for the Mike Adenuga-led company which doesn’t have many A-List artistes on its brand ambassador list. Wizkid reportedly got N120 million from Glo on a two-year deal which means he will be paid N60 million every year. His 25th birthday last June was marked with a renewal of his contract with Soda giants ‘Pepsi.’ He shared the good news via his Instagram page. He captioned the post – “3years with one of the biggest brands in the world, Pepsi! Looking forward to another 2 years! Done deal! $$ Proud Pepsi ambassador!! ”
For the last three years, Wizzy was worth about $350,000 in the Pepsi deal and now a renewal of the contract. No wonder the Jaiye Jaiye crooner could afford to replace his crashed N25 million Porsche Panamera last year with a brand new one just two weeks after the bash.

IYANYA – N125M
Iyanya has a N60 million MTN deal. Since he dropped Kukere, the Ibibio hiphop singer who won the maiden MTN Project Fame Contest in 2008, has made a lot of money from his jaw-dropping endorsement deals with top brands. His endorsement deal with MTN is worth N60 million and also has a $350,000 endorsement deal with Zinox Computers and a N35 million deal with a phone manufacturing company, Solo Mobile, where he also received a 2014 Prado SUV.

DON JAZZY- N100M
Don Jazzy has become the face of hiphop music in Nigeria, even making Forbes’ List as one of the richest artistes in Nigeria. The CEO of Mavin Records isn’t only making money from his star-studded record label, he also has very lucrative endorsement deals including one with Loya Milk where he got nothing less than N50 million. His N25 million deal with MTN has been renewed upwardly. Not much is known whether his endorsement with Samsung Africa has been renewed. So, his endorsement deal is in the region of N100 million.

BANKY W – N100M
R & B Singer Banky Wellington popularly known as Banky W is smiling to the banks with his whopping N100 million endorsement deal with Samsung Mobile as well as his endorsement with MTN.

TIWA SAVAGE – N90M
The singing bird and mother of one has an MTN deal worth N30 million and must have gotten it reviewed upwards.
Apart from her very successful music career, the first lady of Mavin Records also has a number of juicy endorsement deals worth several millions of naira. Her MTN deal is reportedly worth N30 million. Other endorsement deals include contracts with Pepsi, Forte Oil and Maggi which has made Tiwa the richest female singer in Nigeria.

OMAWUMI – N75M
The Bottom Belle crooner has a Glo deal worth more than N25 million. Omawumi shot into limelight after becoming the first runner up at the 2007 West African Idols. She is now one of the highest paid female artistes charging up to N5 million per show. She is also one of the singers with the highest number of endorsement deals. Glo deal is said to worth N25 million. Others include including Konga worth between N5–10 million, Mortein and Malta Guinness.

DAVIDO – N50M
HKN artiste, Davido has a N30 million MTN Pulse deal. The Gobe and Aye crooner has deals with MTN Pulse and Guinness Nigeria. While the Guinness deal’s amount is not known, his MTN contract is reported to have made the Omo Baba Olowo N30 million plus richer.
Considering that Davido has a billionaire father, he may not rely on endorsement deals except for a status symbol. The artiste however has done much good for himself by working hard to become a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.

OLAMIDE – N50M
The rapper has his contract with Etisalat renewed. He got a mouth-watering deal two years ago. Other deals are on line for the indigenous rapper who has created the niche and become a success story in Nigeria’s hiphop music industry.
The incredible rapper and now CEO of Chocolate City, MI and his VP, Ice Prince are also in the class of the biggest Nigerian artistes with great endorsements. MI is a Globacom ambassador while Ice Prince pitched his tent with Etisalat.