Entertainment entrepreneur and television executive, Ayo Animashaun, discusses the struggles and battles he has faced in becoming a leading curator of the Nigerian sound and a big voice in the entertainment industry.
Starting out his career writing the entertainment segment for the defunct Fame Magazine, he disclosed in an interview #WithChude that the reception the segment received made him realize that there was a market he could explore in the entertainment industry.
According to Animashaun, this realization led him to branch out and start a magazine of his own. However, the numerous fan mails he received while writing for Fame Magazine did not prepare him for the setbacks ahead.
“It took a year to get the magazine out because nobody believed in it,” he said.
Publishing the magazine and riding on the warm reception it got from Nigerians did not put an end to the troubles. Animashaun revealed that even though his magazine was in demand across the country, haughty magazine agents still frustrated him.
“I ran into problems with the agents. I was barely 25 at the time and I was printing a lot of copies and selling the magazines across the country. Then, it was tedious dealing with the agents in Lagos. When I go to collect my money, they would be like, ‘small pikin like you, wetin you wan do with money? Go and print another edition.’ I got really frustrated dealing with these agents. They were very troublesome and in those days they could make or mar a publisher. I got really frustrated, I wasn’t getting my money, plus I wanted to print more copies. At some point I just felt, ‘you know what? this isn’t working for me and I stopped.”
After that development, Animashaun continued contributing to other magazines. However, the people in his inner circle didn’t let him quit. He revealed that the Publisher of Ovation magazine, Chief Dele Momodu, called a meeting where he was tongue-lashed by other publishers and people in his industry for giving up. The tongue-lashing worked because after that meeting, he decided to fight.
This decision to fight led him to resuscitate his magazine and, many years later, he has kept hosting the Headies awards despite only breaking even once in the fm15 years the initiative has existed.
Speaking on the reason for his tenacity with the Headies, Animashaun told Chude, “In 2015, I spoke to myself a lot. I said to myself, ‘in another 15 years, when my children ask me what I did with my youth and how I spent my money, would I be showing them videos of the Awards? Would I be showing them videos of the awards when my friends are showing properties and houses?’ So, I said I am not going back.
There is nothing as good as being consistent. The excuse I gave myself was – if I stop right now and somebody steps in the room, all the hard work I have put in, it’s the new guy that will get the credit. And if there is money to be made, it’s the new guy that will make the money,” he continued.
Animashaun’s doggedness and fighting spirit have kept him going in the most adverse conditions, including the fight against Heritage Bank which tried to foreclose his businesses, Hip Tv and Smooth Productions.
Despite the daunting battles he has faced in over 27 years in the entertainment industry, Ayo Animashaun continues to push forward, establishing himself as a media mogul in Nigeria and one who, at 51, bridges the gap between the youthful and young adults generation.