“I Had the Money. I Had the Plan. And Still Got Scammed.”

Editor’s Note: 
This is a firsthand account from an artist 
and creative professional. It reflects recurring
patterns within the Nigerian music industry. 
Names and identifying details have been altered 
to protect the individual.

In this entry, Linda* shared her story with 69. The story tells us of her experience with Lekan*—a popular A&R professional working with an A-list Afrobeats artists. Lekan promised, collected money, then put Linda in a chokehold she didn't prepare for while he failed to deliver all she asked. To avoid being blacklisted by industry cabals, she chose to handle things quietly until she found her way out of the mess. She learned an important lesson from the brouhaha.

Let’s start from the moment you thought you were finally ready. You had the money this time, right?

Yes. That’s the painful part. I wasn’t broke. I wasn’t begging. I wasn't even new in the game, relatively. I had planned. I had saved. I thought, okay, this time I’ll do things properly.

I had music ready. I just needed the right people to help push it.

And that’s when you met Lekan*?

Yes. And let me be clear, this wasn’t some random guy online. This person is very big. Like, very big. He has direct access to one of the biggest Afrobeats artists right now. Not just access, he’s a core team member. Someone people respect. Someone whose name opens doors. So when he spoke, I listened.

What was the promise this time?

That he’d handle the rollout. Distribution, marketing, promo, strategy—the backend things artists struggle with. You can't but trust him, he has the results. You cannot be associated with such a calibre of people and not sound confident. So, I paid.

And then?

Nothing. At first, it was small delays. “Oh, we’re setting things up.” “The team is aligning.” “You’ll see results soon.” Then, halfway into the project, I noticed something strange.

I couldn’t access certain backends anymore.

Backends like…?

Accounts and DSP dashboards that I was supposed to have full visibility over. Suddenly, my logins stopped working. When I asked questions, the responses became cold. He’d been traveling with this artist I mentioned. “It's the tour we're on that's causing the delay. I'll hit you up when we get back.” They got back and it was still radio silence. That’s when it hit me.

Did you confront him?

I did. And you need to know this, I didn’t just keep quiet and move on. There were arguments. Threats. Back and forth. I eventually got a small part of my money back. Not even close to what I paid a new team to handle the project, but it was something.

But that fight came with consequences.

What kind of consequences?

This industry works in cabals. That’s the honest truth. Once you cross certain people, especially people with power, it’s like you get marked. Things that were moving suddenly stop moving.

Your sound doesn’t hit the same anymore. Opportunities dry up. People stop responding to messages.

And the crazy thing is, nobody will tell you why. It just feels like you’re pushing a car with no fuel.

So why not make noise publicly? Call him out?

Because I’ve seen what happens to people who do. You can be right. You can be cheated. And still lose everything. Blacklisting in this industry isn’t official, but it’s very real. And very effective.

Very few people survive it. You don't need to be told. I had to choose between being loud and being alive creatively.

What did you do next?

I went back to the drawing board. I found another agency, one of the growing ones. Still upcoming, but serious. And to be honest, they delivered. I was on a couple of Radio tours even in the UK and there were no stories.

But here’s the irony. Just like with the scammer, I didn’t have a proper legal contract with them either.

That sounds risky.

It is. And I won’t sugarcoat it, that was a mistake. The difference this time was intention and professionalism. But intention doesn’t replace protection. That’s the lesson I learned the hard way.

What’s the biggest lesson from all this?

Always have a contract. Always. Outline what you’re paying for. What’s expected. Timelines. Deliverables. Exit clauses.These people are not doing you a favour. It is a service. The moment you treat it like a favour, you start worshipping people who are just supposed to do their jobs. And when worship enters business, exploitation follows.

Where are you now?

Wiser. More cautious. Still hopeful, but no longer naive. Not like I was before, but you get what I mean. I ask questions now. I have proper management. I read documents. I don’t let proximity to power blind me. The industry will not protect you. So you have to protect yourself.

If you're open to sharing your own story, reach out to shomade.a@69agency.co.uk