Business

Will Mary J. Blige’s Upcoming Nigerian Music Performance Set her Back on the Road to Financial Success?

AML People, once again, happy new week! We are halfway through the month. I wish you all a disciplined focus on your goals and that you achieve all that you set out to achieve this month. I wish the same for myself. 🙂

I saw the news below shared on Maestro Media’s Blog and I could not help but wonder if this performance will be a huge step towards the direction of financial freedom, once again, for Mary J. Blige. The event is allegedly to be produced by Kilimanjaro Events and sponsored by Etisalat. We have seen prior events by the same group including the last Chris Brown event in Lagos where he was allegedly paid ($1Million) for his performance. The group has a reputation for paying American artists way above the market value both for the USA and Nigeria.

I’ll leave you all with a great article by Minority Fortune that discusses Mary’s financial issues and how we all can avoid such situations. I also hope with the money earned from this performance/trip, it goes a long way to getting her out of her financial woes.

Have a beautiful week ahead and stay blessed.

Cheers,
Uduak

Mary J Blige to Perform in Lagos Sept 27th

Concert Information

“Lagos, Nigeria come Friday, September 27, 2013 at the expansive hall of the Eko Hotel on Victoria Island, Lagos would be playing host to the Queen of Nu Soul in the person of Singer/Songwriter, sometimes rapper, record producer & actress, the one and only Mary J. Blige.

The American entertainer would be headlining an all female concert on that date. The show itself is tagged as ”Sisters with Soul” and set to feature on the night on the same stage as the award winning American are the following- the sonorously blessed Seyi Shay of the ‘Irawo’ fame, from the EME stable would come their first lady in the person of Niyiola, also set to perform are Jodie, Zaina, Emma Nyra, Ms. Jaie, petite dynamite Nikki Laoye, Eva, the gorgeous Lola Rae & last but not the least DJ Cuppy who would be manning the wheel of steel, controlling proceedings.

The show is a Kilimanjaro Entertainment production and major support is coming from one of Nigeria’s top communication’s giants Etisalat. . .” –Maestro Media Blogspot

Mary J Blige Possibly Going Broke with $900,000 Tax Lien by MinorityFortune.com

Mary J. Blige’s gross financial negligence has gained her elite access into the Grade F Behavior Gold Membership Program. With debt adding up and surpassing the $3 million mark, what did Mary basically do about it? Pretend that it didn’t exist. Horrible, horrible idea! It didn’t help that as a well-known musician, your debtors have the media as an additional method to shame you into paying your debts. And shaming they did, as media outlets have released a series of articles detailing the serious financial woes of the singer.

Mary must have been experiencing a rough previous couple of years. The State of New Jersey has just issued a $901,769.65 tax lien against the singer according to the Huffington Post. As massive as that is, it isn’t the only debt that has been forgotten. In November of 2012, Mary and her husband were sued by Signature Bank for defaulting on a $2.2 million dollar loan. Additionally, the couple stopped paying on a $500,000 loan from Bank of America. After long periods of non-compliance and avoiding the bank’s phone calls, lawsuits have been filed by Bank of America as well. An additional lawsuit was filed against Mary’s charity, as a $250,000 loan has also been neglected. Basically, Mary may end up in court more often than Chris Brown.

Avoiding Drama

At this point in Mary’s career, there should be “no more drama”. Smart entertainers manage their own finances, leverage their earnings, and diversify their investments. While it’s not an easy task by any means, it’s the only way to go if you’re going to avoid the Lindsay Lohan Retirement Plan.

With Mary’s earning power, there was really no need to take out multiple loans if she had lived within her means. Loans are available to people of all income levels. However, the wealthy elite have a different relationship with debt.

Rule 1: No massive debt in your name: If the debt was necessary for business purposes, she should have created a LLC or corporations and placed the debt under a business entity’s name, not her own.

Rule 2: Payment Plans: Never borrow any money that you don’t have a strategic, long-term plan for paying back.

Rule 3: Restructuring but never ignoring: Don’t ignore the debt should you encounter difficulty paying it back. Consider restructuring it or doing what is necessary. Ignoring it further ruins your credit. . .”

Full story on MinorityFortune.com

Just FineNo More Drama

Africa Music Law™

AFRICA MUSIC LAW™ (AML) is a pioneering music business and entertainment law website, livestream and podcast show empowering the African artist and Africa's rapidly evolving entertainment industry through its brilliant music business and entertainment law commentary and analysis, industry news, and exclusive interviews.

For general inquiries, advertising, licensing, or to appear on the show as a guest, please email ([email protected]). Thank you for visiting.

ABOUT THE FOUNDER

Credited for several firsts in the fashion and entertainment industry, Uduak Oduok (Ms. Uduak) is a fashion and entertainment lawyer, speaker, visionary, gamechanger, trailblazer, and recognized thought leader, for her work on Africa’s emerging global fashion and entertainment markets, and the niche practice of fashion law in the United States. She is also the founder of ‘Africa Music Law,’ an industry go-to music business and law blog and podcast show empowering African artists. Her work in the creative and legal industries has earned her numerous awards and recognitions, including an award from the American University Washington College of Law for her “legal impact in the field of intellectual property in Africa." She has also taught as an Adjunct Professor at several institutions in the United States. For more information, visit her at https://msuduak.com.

You may also like...