Zlatan Ibile has opened up about his reluctance to invest in up-and-coming musical talent, citing the prohibitively high cost of promotion in the current industry.
In an interview on Afrobeats Podcast, the ‘Shaku Shaku’ hitmaker contrasted today’s climate with the past.
He recalled a time when marketing budgets were not as “outrageous,” which encouraged investors — even those outside of music — to fund labels and support young artistes.
“When the marketing budget wasn’t serious, you still get people that are not into music but invest in labels and help young artistes,” he said.
“They put money into their music to support them, they set up labels for artistes to right. But right now, the budget is outrageous, so I had rather buy a house rather than put money on an artiste I’m not sure will blow up.”
The artiste, born Omoniyi Raphael, also shared that his primary motivation for making music is to achieve “financial stability”.
He revealed that the start of his career was a difficult period marked by significant “pressure and anxiety”.
“The reason I make music is for financial stability. My goal is to be responsible and financially secure. At the beginning of my career, I wasn’t balanced and suffered from pressure and anxiety,” he added.
Zlatan rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album in 2019. He is known for hit songs like ‘Zanku’, ‘Shotan’, ‘Lagos Anthem,’ and the 2022 singles ‘Omo Ologo‘ and ‘Let There Be Light‘.
His path to stardom was paved with hardship, having previously worked as a bricklayer before finding fame.
In 2020, he announced the launch of his label Zanku Records and signed a number of artistes including Papisnoop, Oberz, and Jamopyper.
Copyright 2025 TheCable. All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from TheCable.
Follow us on twitter @Thecablestyle