It will not be amiss to liken Dare Art Alade to Joseph in the bible; known for his coat of many colours! Dare has metamorphosed into a multiple award-winning, multi-platinum selling urban R&B singer and also an avid businessman. So what is business like for this multi talented soul music crooner? “Behind the glitz and glamour are the real numbers. For every show or performance or endorsement or studio recording among others, numbers must be crunched. There are figures involved in showbiz and that is probably the most important aspect that most talents overlook”, he says.
In show business, Dare is involved in various ventures such as event production, consulting, label management, interior design, property among others. He also set up ‘The Art’ Foundation, to keep music education alive for kids in primary and secondary schools in Africa as a way to empower African youth. Prior to that, he has been a number of things; disc jockey, TV presenter, master of ceremonies, an entertainment consultant, a voice-over-artiste and a performing/recording artiste, which all attest to his versatility.
In 2011, Dare released his twin albums, Double Dare, on his Soul Muzik imprint and followed it up with smash hit singles and music videos for Sisi Eko Remix featuring Flavour and Asiko featuring South African group Jozi and Nigeria’s Ice Prince.
In May 2013, Dare released a new single, Special Fever, a unique R&B/highlife track, which describes the art of love as Dare pours out his heart to a young woman who he says gives him a special kind of fever. It was produced by Harmony, an internationally acclaimed producer who is known to have produced international award-winning hit songs for Chris Brown, Kelly Rowland, Maroon5, among many others.
His independent record label currently has three artistes on its roster; Zaina, Moeazy and Dare. “We take our time to achieve desired results and groom our acts properly. The label is managed by professionals with almost 40 years combined experience and our work ethic is quite thorough”, he adds.
Dare is no stranger to the international entertainment scene. The Nigerian afrobeats seems to have caught the world by surprise but Darey is careful with the distinction and tagging of ‘afrobeats’ as he explains: “Firstly, Afrobeat is Fela, Orlando Julius, Femi Kuti, Seun Kuti and others. Fela pioneered afrobeat as a genre. I do not quite understand why the western world refers to African pop music as afrobeats. I would say afropop is what has taken the world by surprise. It is high time that we took centre stage as our music, vibe and culture are rich through and through. I am quite happy by the attention it is receiving today”.
In 2013, Dare and his Soul Muzik team produced Nigeria’s biggest and best love concert to date (according to rave reviews) titled Love Like A Movie, which had a special red carpet section hosted by Kim Kardashian as well as the highly successful release of the music video to his monster track, “Asiko” featuring Jozi and Ice Prince.
Given the need to break the norm; to push the envelope and also to raise the bar Dare started his super project “Love like a movie”, a yearly showcase of the productions from his company ‘Livespot’.
According to Dare, it is proudly a Nigerian company with affiliates and partners from across the world. “Love like a movie is an art form for expression and has grown rapidly. Critics have named it the most amazing concert production/experience in Nigeria’s history. So we are quite happy about these achievements”, says Dare excitedly.
Without a doubt, a project such as ‘Love like a movie’ require mega investment from inception to completion and Darey pulled it off, not just that he also got sponsors. So, how did he achieve such a feat? “It is always difficult to achieve groundbreaking results without going through some tough situations. Of course, it costs a lot to put such a project together but what matters most is the commitment and work ethics of the team behind it. We are really grateful to our sponsors and partners who believed in us because initially it was a hard sell. But after delivering the first edition with such quality and standard, a few more sponsors came on board. Now we are working on the third edition. I believe more corporate bodies will come on board as the value of the brand keeps increasing which, of course, gives more value for their investment”, he discloses.
In the midst of the huge market operated by pirates, most artistes are exploiting the online platforms, scrambling for endorsements from major organisations and hosting live performances to make their bottom-line. Dare believes it is smart to diversify in order to maximize income. According to him, “Piracy is bad but sadly it has eaten deep into our system and culture. Also, it seems nobody realizes that copying and sharing music freely is illegal”.
With that being the case, one cannot but wonder if being endorsed by companies is a more lucrative business than dividends received from their music. Dare says the question is a tough one to answer because it all depends on negotiating abilities of the artistes. “Sometimes an endorsement can entrap you and sometimes it may not. Everything and everyone has their season so both elements are important. When music does not pay then an endorsement goes a long way and vice versa. The best scenario, of course, is to have all at the same time.”
Listening to Dare’s current tracks vis-a-vis his previous ones, there is a marked difference in the beats and sounds. He attributes it to change which he knows is a constant. But irrespective of changing times, he pledges to always strive to maintain his Soul music which is his trademark. “As I evolve, I will keep expressing myself musically using different elements, sounds among other forms” he stresses.
For one who has set a benchmark with his internationally acclaimed project, ‘Love like a movie’, Dare does not believe Nigerian artiste actually needs the international stage. He reiterates his point by stating that “With the number of people in the country, most of our acts can be successful without selling outside our shores. We are making a huge impact still on the world stage.”
Big businesses are about mergers and acquisition, but the trend in the music industry seems the opposite. But Dare is optimistic. He however assures that: “Maybe this will change when people start to see the big picture. Slowly but steadily we will get there.”
A noticeable trend by most artistes seems to be the preferential shooting and producing of movie and music trailers abroad. Is it a trend or a matter of being more cost effective? “Sometimes it is actually cost effective but sometimes it is a trend that people follow blindly. I would not say most artistes do this though” Dare says.
In 2006, he released his debut Album From Me 2 U on Storm Records and early 2009; he dropped his second album, called unDAREYted, on his newly founded Record Label, SoulMuzik. This album produced the biggest R&B song in Africa that year titled Not the Girl.
Besides his accomplishments as an entertainer, Dare is a philanthropist, supporting several causes such as cancer charities, community and sports development.
When Darey is not in the studio recording ground breaking music, or turning up concert stages, he can be found playing basketball, mixing drinks, or playing video games.
MABEL DIMMA
