MsBawoni| Customer Experience Consultant retweetledi
Scene 1.
A new finance staff resumes at a record label.
She opens the books.
Scrolls. Stops. Scrolls back again.
“What exactly is going on here?”
First week on the job.
Scene Background
Finance has received an email requesting for 60m for tiktok influencers. She is stunned at the request Vs the ROI. She proceeds to respond to the email with the new financial system she put in place. She decides to call a meeting to explain this.
Finance: I need the invoice for that promo payment.
Plugger: We don’t do invoices in this industry, who be this JJC. Abeg make una no waste my time. Do you know who i am?
Finance: Then I cannot release the money.
Plugger: 😂😂😂, na so una go spoil the life of the artise.
Finance is confused.
Because in every normal business, if money is going out, there should be paperwork.
But in music, people will look at you like you are the problem for asking for proof.
Then the artist hears about it.
Artist: So the label is holding my promo money? What kind of useless label is this? You know how this industry works. Nobody does invoice. Una wan frustrate my life.
Artiste mops around and threatens social media outburst. Label ignores the finance staff and releases the money to keep the artist happy.
No invoice. No receipt. No trail.
Just vibes to keep the artiste happy and bad governance.
Finance girl is sitting there quietly like:
So all of you want to go to jail together? I am not one of them. She resigns.
Fast forward.
Relationship breaks down.
Artist sues label.
Everybody now wears suit.
Everybody now speaks grammar.
Everybody now remembers the law.
Courtroom scene.
Lawyer: You said you spent ₦300 million on promotion?
Label owner: Yes. We promoted heavily.
Lawyer: Great. Show the court the documents.
Silence.
Label owner: The artist knew the plugger. He introduced him to us. He said he wanted 40 tiktokers and thats what will blow the song.
Lawyer: I asked for the invoice.
Label owner: He approved the campaign.
Lawyer: I asked for proof of payment and supporting documents.
Label owner: Everybody in the industry knows how these things work.
Lawyer: Court does not run on “everybody knows.”
Camera cuts to the artist.
He is seated like he has never heard the word plugger in his life. He denies approving anything; he is stone cold poker face.
And just like that, we spend another 3 years arguing to prove ₦300 million. Not because it was not spent.
But because it could not be proved
If you run a label, behave like a business.
If you manage an artist, behave like a business.
If money leaves your account, there must be paper behind it.
Every single time.
Hire a proper finance and legal person.
Because the industry runs on trust until the relationship breaks down.
Then it runs to court.
And when it gets to court, nobody will be arguing with tweets, friendship, phone calls, or “he was there" or "he is my brother."
Bring your documents or prepare for embarrassment.
English
