Comedian Ayo Makun, popularly known as AY Comedian, has lamented that he can't afford to invite musicians to his AT Live show anymore.
In a social media video, the comedian revealed that he used to feature top-tier artistes in his shows based on friendship.
He lamented that the fees they charge for an appearance no longer align with today's economic realities.
AY Comedian then urged Nigerians to expect a new kind of comedy show, one without musicians.
"Dear Nigerians, if you buy a ticket to a comedy show, the primary promise is laughter. In the same way, nobody attends a music concert and demands that comedians must perform. For years I have committed myself for free to anchor numerous concerts for Nigerian artists. I have also made financial commitments to artists to perform at AY Live in reasonable figures. Yes! Our musicians deserve to charge what their craft commands, but comedians and comedy promoters must also be allowed to build sustainable shows around comedy. We can have them if their numbers add up to our new economic realities... Maybe it is time we stopped measuring the value of a comedy show by the number of musicians on the bill. Let comedy be enough," he said.
He then revealed the amount charged by singers to appear on his show.
"For many years, since the beginning of AY Live, artists like Wizkid, Davido, Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Olamide, 9ice and Portable have all performed at the show. Those days, many appearances were made possible through friendship. An artiste would accept any reasonable amount to cover their logistics, but today, the Nigerian musicians charge ₦200 million, ₦120 million, ₦80 million to appear on my show," he said.
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