On Patoranking's Harvard Business School Degree and the Nigerian Music Industry

“I'm not a businessman. I'm a business, man” - Jay Z

Last week pictures circulated on Twitter showing Patoranking with his course mates from Harvard Business School celebrating the completion of their programme.

Source: x.com

The first post I actually saw was a post congratulating Juan Mata on getting his Harvard Business School Degree. Juan Mata is a Spanish world class footballer who played for Chelsea football club and Manchester United. It was when I scrolled further that I saw a quote that Patoranking is actually of the same set with Mata.

It caught my interest and I was pleasantly impressed as if the achievement was mine. I'm not a crazy type of fan of Patoranking, I just happen to love his sound, his fashion sense, I don't know, but I actually started paying great attention to him after his music video of Another Level which was one of his earlier videos, he had on a 3 piece suit and you could see the swagger. I have seen him rock slacks and a bow tie in a reggae music video. This, plus I could feel his aura and charisma, as well as the fact that he's an Arsenal Football Club fan.

Plus that I used his single's title “My Woman, My Everything” as the heading of my tribute to my mum in her funeral in 2016.

Yea, yea, you caught me, I’m a fan.

What was my excitement about then? It was about something I had hoped for so long to see - a Nigerian musician moving his interest in music to accommodate other positively life changing and world changing interests. I mean, the transitioning from music to something fulfilling and impactful.

Patoranking, Mr. Patrick Okorie, has taken the road less traveled.

Harvard Business School (HBS) is one of the best business schools in the world, and as such, one of the most difficult to get into. It boasts a large and prominent alumni network. The school is very expensive to attend, only accepting those with excellent academic and non-academic profiles. The school is so exclusive that only 4.59 people in an applicant group of 100 can get it. Even the 5th person couldn’t get in completely. After all, Harvard is the World's best school and Patoranking's the “World best”.

I saw that Patoranking's HBS class had prominent people from across sectors as seen in the photo with some members of his class - there were some recognisable faces like comedian Roywood Jr and MMA fighter Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

When you divide that class by all the professional paths that group will follow, and the connections they will make, you’re getting access to a larger, more influential set of future leaders across almost every sphere of professional life.

Let’s not throw away this achievement and prestige that easily. It is something that Patoranking has earned after years of quality hard work to make himself an ambitious individual who is ready to take on the world.

Patoranking started from the streets of Ebute Metta, Lagos, selling and trading from the age of 13 with his father. They sold anything at all ranging from calendars to rat poison.

From there he began singing, dancing and playing football before deciding to focus mainly on music. Since then he has had several hit songs, chart toppers, a few albums and a couple of awards to show for it.

Patoranking is more than a content or marketing machine like some musicians, who fans only like for their songs and not their personality; like an ordinary song maker. It’s great to be an artiste who doesn't just have a million streams, but is consistent with your craft and supremely respected not only by your peers but fans as well. And the best thing is Patoranking's got them both.

Patoranking has spoken about how much he knew he was always going to make it and that's why he is not carried away by the wealth and fame. He once said artistes who misbehave after hitting it big didn't know they were going to make it and that's why they get carried away.

It takes an incredibly grounded person to survive the impact of fame.

I suggest that when people become famous, they should get right into therapy so that they know how to tolerate the fame experience and how to cope with what they’re bringing to it.

I've always thought about this. How are most artistes able to compose and release songs and albums year after year even when they are famous? Fireboy DML once spoke about how he's amused that people still expect him to come up with an album like Laughter, Tears and Goosebumps (LTG), his debut album. He said he's not the same person as he was then, and that even though he has changed in a positive way, he can't come up with such an exact piece of work.

It’s a very difficult level to navigate - there are now so many hype men, yes-men and sycophants that any chance of actually knowing or being able to do ‘the right thing’ is a very difficult thing because once a person becomes famous everything is available to them. They have access to everything they want. This leaves celebrities to their own devices without help or guidance.

To me, being a true artiste isn't defined by the first five, seven, or even ten years of your career. It's about what you're doing after that period. The greatest challenge is to stay grounded and continue caring about your craft, even when you achieve success.

In music, this is especially tricky because as you become more successful, people often perceive that you care less about the art, especially if you start showcasing the symbols of success. In music, current success can sometimes cannibalise future success; the strategies or actions that bring immediate achievements can potentially harm or limit longer-term opportunities and growth. For example, a musician might release a series of hit singles in quick succession to capitalise on current trends. While this can generate immediate attention and revenue, it leads to oversaturation and fatigue among fans. Over time, the artiste might struggle to maintain relevance if they haven't built a diverse and sustainable catalogue of music.

This is why I have the ultimate respect for P Square, Flavour, Olamide, Phyno, Davido, Don Jazzy, MI.

These guys have done a good job of staying close to what they are and what they believe in. Over the years, they have made creative choices as musicians, ventured outside their base but always find a way to circle back.

They've had the normal ups and downs of any post-honeymoon phase performer and come out fine. They're still doing big shows and touring the World, trusted for their own creative voice and vision.

Then there's you coming up as a struggling artiste, you get that break and become a successful entertainer that you’re so popular and the public is so in love with you that you can bounce a fan who's not dancing out of your show and everybody will love it. That is the honeymoon phase. Enjoy that, because after the honeymoon is over, you actually have to stand up and make something that is really worthwhile.

Every artiste must reach a creative plateau of sorts and perhaps a natural stopping point. Economists call it the point of diminishing returns.

For the first time in their lives, most artistes with no hurdles ahead of them become unsure of what to write in the next chapter of their story. This is the true test, and Patoranking just passed it.

The moment an artiste closes the door on personal evolution is the moment they need to hang up the mic. For artistes like Patoranking and Mr Eazi, I don’t see anything hanging up soon. The discussion on what Mr Eazi has done musically with Empawa Africa as well as business wise is a topic for another day. This is also to mention that Mr Eazi is an alumnus of Harvard Business School as well.

Source: x.com

Many artistes make a fatal mistake by refusing to accept the pattern of their career trajectory. They still see themselves as the same person who broke into the stage, raw and hungry. Perceptive artistes accept this reality and evolve; those who don't, keep fighting the inevitable and fade into obscurity.

For example, consider the hip hop rappers of 2 decades ago when we were younger—who among them are still relevant today? It's maybe only Kanye West, Jay Z, 50 Cent, Dr Dre. And it's not primarily because of their music; times change, and the public's tastes move on. Their enduring relevance comes from recognising that their time as top hip hop artistes wouldn't last forever and transitioning into other pursuits. Kanye West has his fashion enterprise, 50 Cent ventured into acting and movie production, Dre struck gold with Beats by Dre and Apple. These artistes were wise and humble enough to understand that the public's reception is never wrong. When people stop responding to your work, they're clearly indicating they've moved on. If you as an artiste don't heed this, then you're simply not listening.

This is why I'm happy that Nigerian musicians like, Don Jazzy, Mr Eazi and now Patoranking do not wait for it to get to that point before making their moves.

All over the World, the wealthiest musicians are among the richest celebrities across all industries. Interestingly, this wealth is rarely primarily generated from their music. The narrative often involves artists gaining massive cultural significance through their music, then leveraging that fame in different industries. For instance, Rihanna, now worth $1.7 billion, attributes 82 percent of her wealth to her Fenty Beauty brand. Dr. Dre earned over $350 million from his stake in Beats, Kanye West's fortune largely comes from his Yeezy brand and fashion ventures, and Diddy’s partnership with Ciroc has been a significant factor in his inclusion on Forbes’ Highest Net Worth lists.

I'm sure Patoranking is still passionate about making music but I know there'll come a time it won't be part of his defining identity.

If one generation knew Patoranking as a reggae dancehall artiste, there’s going to be another that knows him as a consummate business mogul in the music business and other ventures. But only because he was willing to change with the times and his audience.

He might go into the studio one night and capture the magic behind every great song—the energy perfect, the beats on point, and he lays down some of his best hooks. By morning, he would be sitting on hits. He has admitted this much in an interview I read or watched of him. Even then, he probably wouldn’t release those songs.

What most great musicians like Olamide of YBNL do, instead, is to give them to a talented newcomer, someone who fits the current image: dreads, on loud or colos, looking perpetually zoned out and hyped. Someone who seems genuinely hungry.

Why? Because someone like Olamide knows the public would be more receptive to it coming from them than from him. Why not give that promising young artiste a boost? They can retain a share of the song, and they can experience success. It's a win-win. He has accepted that his role in the culture has changed, but that doesn't mean he can't still make an impact. He just needs to use different methods.

This constant evolution is what opens the door for you as an entertainer. It is typical after a few years to get comfortable and develop habits. If you're good, you might make your label a lot of money. You might even start to feel like the label owes you, not just for your current work, but for your past contributions as well.

Maybe you relax a bit, believing your track record will secure your spot forever. Unfortunately, the world doesn't work that way. The same change that gave you an opportunity can also sweep you out if you stop pushing yourself. No matter how many promotions you’ve received, how many world tours and top charts you've been on, or how often you've seen your name in the headlines, as an entertainer you can never settle. You have to keep finding new ways to challenge yourself.

I give it up for those artistes who draw so much from their own depths. This applies to almost all Nigerian musicians because to even exist in the industry, you must be self-driven, self-funded, self-inspired, and self-aware. They sacrifice a lot for their art - whether it's dedicating the proverbial ten thousand hours of studio practice or securing a record deal for One Hundred Thousand Dollars, Nigerian artistes do a lot to succeed. The reality is that fulfilling dreams doesn’t happen by accident. There must be a constant mentality of problem-solving, viewing challenges as mysteries to uncover and riddles to solve rather than barriers to success.

I am sure the lessons from HBS will make Patoranking push outside of his comfort zone and force him to question assumptions about music, business and himself. I can't imagine a more valuable expenditure and return.

I’d love to see him spread his wings. He’s such an incredible person. He has given over 40 scholarships since 2020 at the African Leadership University, one of Africa's leading institutions founded by Fred Swaniker, a member of Time's 100 most influential persons, one of Africa's most impactful entrepreneurs who shares Patoranking's passion for education.

Apart from these, I believe he has a lot of other interests we don’t even know about that I’d love to see him bring into the light.

Patoranking has said how much he loves football and I truly believe that if he was not Patoranking The Musician, he would have been Patrick Okorie, the World class footballer.

Hopefully, he uses the networking opportunity HBS gives, to network with Juan Mata so that we should be seeing a football franchise soon.

There are things that will come out later, I hope, that will make people realise that he’s not just Patoranking the dancehall artiste but also Mr. Patrick Okorie, the maestro and boardroom titan. From his interviews to his impressions, he’s a super intelligent dude. Even his political views, they’re so subtle but his song ‘Abobi’ shows that he’d be the perfect guy to be a social commentator and leader.

Building the Future of Nigerian Music: The Case for Innovation, Modularisation and Monetisation

One of the main reasons why most musicians—not just the top 0.01 percent—must seek income outside of recorded music is due to the challenging economics of streaming.

It's incredibly difficult to earn a sustainable living, let alone build wealth, solely from streaming revenue, unless you are Kizz Daniel, the hit making maverick who can keep releasing hits back to back for centuries. This situation underscores the need for the music industry to fundamentally rethink possibilities.

However, it doesn't mean that a musician can not relax and enjoy the fruits of their labour in the form of royalties and compensations from intellectual property use especially in this era of streaming.

Traditional methods of fan engagement and branding, such as music videos, have seen a decline in their artistic impact over the years. For instance, I mentioned above that I became interested in Patoranking's music after watching his ‘Another Level’ music video. Nowadays, however, this might not have been the case, as my initial exposure to his work would likely come through a third-party creator.

Most times users might not even know the original name of the song, for example, if you just input “Ah-ah-ah-ah song” into a search bar, CKay's ‘Love Nwantiti’ instantly pops up. Most times songs take years after they are released and this shows there is a noticeable lack of compelling content that engages consumers around major releases.

For many industry people, this seems to be a huge copyright, credit and infringement problem and they would prefer the system where if someone uploads a video on Instagram with a song without mentioning the artist in the caption, the video gets flagged. Or if someone uploads a reel with an artiste’s song, the reel automatically recognises the sound, updates itself, and credits the artist who made the song.

This is why I am advocating for the industry to invest in developing any technological and legal infrastructure—the “copyright rails”—that will facilitate limitless remixing, and reinterpretation of any commercial work, while ensuring that the original rights holders receive appropriate compensation.

No analysis of the music industry since 2021 would be complete without mentioning TikTok, which has become the single most important platform for breaking new artists and records. TikTok's success and the willingness of major labels to license music to the platform, might seem to show that the industry needs to rethink copyrights.

TikTok stands out from other platforms where users create their own content. Its main feature allows users to sync licensed music with short video clips. This is a more specific and limited function compared to other platforms that offer broader ways for users to create and monetise content.

Tik Tok represents an incremental evolution in how the industry handles copyrights and licensing, rather than a transformational change, its success actually supports the need for innovation. The platform has demonstrated the immense potential benefits when the industry embraces new technologies. TikTok has single-handedly propelled number-one records, launched musicians to stardom overnight, and even revived old school songs, sending them back to the top of the charts.

Over the past few decades, the music industry has struggled to fully grasp how technological advancements have transformed the emergence of cultural trends and the implications for copyright. Reflecting on the emergence of musicians in the early to mid 2000s provides a stark contrast to today's landscape: back then, artists typically built local followings through live shows and radio exposure, attracted attention from labels, signed deals, and were promoted to the mass market through top-down strategies such as label-driven promotional tours, radio interviews, and MTV, Trace, Soundcity, HipTV, etc. appearances.

In stark contrast, today's dynamics are the other way around: artists often gain viral followings driven by fans on platforms like TikTok before securing deals, leveraging their established fanbase to monetise effectively with or without label support. The 2000s witnessed talent emerging largely from within the industry, guided by executives and listener preferences. In contrast, the 2020s are characterised by a bottom-up approach, where fan engagement significantly influences decision-making in corporate boardrooms.

This shift highlights a profound evolution in how musical careers are launched and sustained, underscoring the need for the music industry to adapt copyright strategies that reflect these new changes. Understanding and embracing these changes will be crucial for the industry's ability to effectively navigate and thrive in the digital age.

There is already a global push for universal copyright frameworks to allow for things like the concept of unbundling songs—modularising their individual components through innovative copyright practices— like separating a song into its constituent parts, such as vocals, instruments, beats, and effects. Each of these components could be treated as individual modules that can be remixed, rearranged, or reused in different contexts. For example: isolating the vocal track so it can be used in different remixes or mashups; separating the instrumental parts (guitar, drums, etc.) for use in other compositions or allowing the beat to be used as a standalone component or in combination with other elements.

There’s an argument that it could significantly boost engagement and growth. This approach would allow creators to remix and rework different parts of songs easily, sparking a new wave of creativity and interaction. After all, we do usually say that the remix is sweeter than the original and CKay's ‘Love Nwantiti’ remix featuring Joeboy & Kuami Eugene is a testimony to that.

I do advocate for a significant broadening of the industry's focus, overcoming the narrow marketing perspective that currently dominates artiste promotion strategies, and embracing the economic advantages of expanding their vision.

Author: Francis Eluaka, @MrEluaka on X

Francis is an intellectual property and technology lawyer. He is your guy if you have any question about copyrights, piracy or intellectual property. He understands intellectual property field like the back of his hand.

He's also the guy if you want a 3rd eye view into that contract of yours.

Disclosure: Author is famzing Patoranking so that he can get his attention and provide his assistance in creating awareness to help the Author who has sickle cell anaemia get double hip replacements and a bone marrow transplant which he has been trying to get for many years now but can't due to lack of funds.