Posted by Samuel on Wed 11th Mar, 2026 - tori.ng
Speaking in a recent episode of the Afropolitan podcast, Jalade-Ekeinde cited funding as the main factor driving the difference.
Veteran Nollywood actress Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde has revealed that Nigerian music, especially Afrobeats, gained international recognition more quickly than Nollywood films.
Speaking in a recent episode of the Afropolitan podcast, Jalade-Ekeinde cited funding as the main factor driving the difference.
The actress, who is also a singer and a former record label owner, explained that making music requires less funding than movie production.
“What is holding Nollywood back is mostly funding. With music, it is not really as expensive to create. Except if you want to shoot lavish music videos which are rare these days.
“Because easy viral ideas make more impact than packaged billion-dollar budget videos.
“So you notice that a lot of artists and now just having fun in their house or with friends and they record it and people like it because it is organic.
“But you can’t do that with film, unfortunately. The cheapest movie would probably still have like 30 cast and crew,” she explained.