INTERVIEW
The president of silverbird ,GUY MURRAY BRUCE ,a down-to -earth Yenegoa man bold paths in the year. with opportunity-seemingly at every turn of the entertainment industry he gives an expert opinion in an interview held in his office at the Silverbird`s studios.
LEADIAHA:Sir, how did you get started in the entertainment industry?
BRUCE:First of all, the company is 26 years old, I joined the company in 1992 January, it has gone through a phase in the entertainment industry where Silverbird used to bring in foreign Acts from the U.S. in the early eighties. Silverbird was involved in Nightclub then got involved in Beauty Pageants when I joined in the nineties , we were involved also in the beauty pageants industry but now we are in the syndication of Television shows. In 1997,we were granted a radio license which started radio staions,Rhythm93.7 Lagos and we got two more licenses in Port-Harcourt 2000 and 2001 respectively and 2003 we applied for a TV license .We have been running our beauty pageants,2001 we sent delegates to Miss World Pageant to represent this part of the world which was won by Agbani Darego. Ever since then, I think that would probably be the turning point in our business, we got the recognition, we got the support and 2004 we came up with the Cinemas “Silverbird Cinamas” Victoria Island as well as “Silverbird galleria” which is one of its Kind in the country. We have expanded ever since, then in the last five years in the business immensely. The entertainment industry for us is not all about beauty pageants or glamour it has become a sort of fun, entertainment for kids too, education for the kids, the mixture of the cinemas, the pageants recently had a “MISTER NIGERIA” successfully to face the contest for the “ MISTER WORLD “china February 2007.Basically uplifting Young people and saying Heh! We got talents in this country. We are going to take it further to the outside the world. And we are also promoting family values. Parents are shown ways to promote family values, is the only place parents go in the country for two hours and relax. In the past, parents go to social affairs while the kids stay at home to play Nintendo games, but now today they go to the movies together and which create family bond for some people and we are happy to be part of that. We obviously don`t intend to stay where we are, we are expanding, we are building more malls in Abuja and yenegoa. We are doing more TV stations and we also going into serious entertainment, we have gained the rights to various international events like ”WORLD MUSIC AWARDS” as you see right here(shows a catalogue),we already have contributed as you know to “MISS TOURISM INTERNATIONAL”,”MISS ECOWAS”. There are a whole lot we can do .What we do is promoting the country at the same time entertain people.
LEADIAHA:Don`t you think you are more into the higher and middle class your content and events are not for the ordinary man on the street?
BRUCE:What you see in showbiz, people have to idolize an icon, would you idolize an average looking person or someone who is good looking? If it was a beyonce that goes on stage people would look, stare at her, imagine it wasn`t Beyonce, imagine it was someone who does. it does not work like that. Anything goes on stage would effect self probably not? I don`t think so. the person must have a sort of appeal which people in the lower sector can look up to.
LEADIAHA:How often do you surf the web? How do you see this form of the media being utilized, which is not properly used in this part of the world, am wondering how you plan to bring young people unto the internet, get them to upload videos or whatever, to participate one way or the other in your designed programmes through cyber cafés, home and so on. Using this medium people can make good use of this platform. So how are you in your little way to bring radio and television on the internet and the mobile phone?
BRUCE:Well we have just started a deal with jumptv where we would have our local content on the internet and so our videos would be streamed in the internet, you can watch silverbird tv anywhere in the world just like we have our radio stations on jumptv that is the next level we on.
LEADIAHA:What about the mobile phone, especially with mobile social networking happening in the world?
BRUCE:We need 3G to get on board ,we can’t do much about it.
LEADIAHA:What efforts are you making with our local service providers?
BRUCE:NO! NO! the telecom companies must have the 3G band for us to work with, they don`t have it.
LEADIAHA:I thought globacom has got something close to that?
BRUCE:Oh! we would talk to them and till it happens, the infrastructure has to be in place.
LEADIAHA:Basically what is your goal ten years from now, what do you see silverbird becoming?
BRUCE:Waoh! Since the world has become a global village we can not be isolated too, we have to be in all media platforms, we have to go beyond the shores of the country and explore other places globally.
LEADIAHA:What brought about the concept of “danceathon” of Nokia Guinness records?
BRUCE:It is just an event, its just like any other event you think about.
LEADIAHA;How did you plan and organized everything?
BRUCE:It is just an event, you think about and then we had to get Guinness records people involved. We wanted to set a new record .So we wanted to set the longest world records which was 72 hours and to rest for two minutes. We spoke to them, organized it then they came here and monitored us and we set a new world record .it just shows we have a lot of talents in this country.
LEADIAHA:So what is the next plan?
BRUCE:We are going to do another “Danceathon” but this would be the longest for a single person.
LEADIAHA:A single person?
BRUCE:Yes! Not group, the last one we had was for group where we had a lot of people standing and all that.
LEADIAHA:What is the age limit?
BRUCE:There is no age limit. This is just going to be on individual basis.
LEADIAHA:Is there room for an old woman?
BRUCE:No age limit, anybody can come, for the world record is a 100 hours, we want to beat 100hours and that is where we are.
LEADIAHA:Sir, what has been the challenges you have faced operating an entertainment empire in Nigeria, what efforts have you made on your part to build the industry?
BRUCE:The biggest one s the telecommunication industry, mean the telephone lines, the traffic, if you want to have an event, you can’t move, you are in a hurry because you are stuck in traffic, those are state problems, those are the country’s problems. Another would be sponsorship, sponsorship to small companies from the big companies is limited, everybody is chasing to catch on investors which more focus on same companies such as Nigerian Breweries, wapco and so on.
LEADIAHA:Sir, what do you think are ways small business can be encouraged in the entertainment industry, especially tourism players? how do they sell our local resources to people outside Nigeria or get other Africans to come patronize us as Africans, especially tourist areas we have in Nigeria?
BRUCE:First of all, we have natural beaches, right now the coastlines which you know is untapped ,if people were investing in hotels in the shorelines of Nigeria sure make money for us ,what that means is that the guy in Europe can come to Nigeria during the winter, leave in the winter and come for the summertime and face the ocean, softly you create tourism, you are making the local taxi driver happy, the entertainer, the fisherman, you make the guy that sells food in the market happy, business going to boom, the guy that sells transport could help mobility increase, we could generate a lot of funds that way outside the country that would put Nigeria in the world for tourist attraction .Take care of the security, water, electricity and roads, put the hotels there let us start marketing this place as an haven, people should not be running to the Bahamas they should come to Lagos in this country Nigeria will start to see the shorelines doing great. Why is Ghana doing well in Tourism? Because they are planning ahead.
LEADIAHA:Sir,what do you think of Football, since is a form of entertainment?
BRUCE:Football is just an aspect of entertainment.
LEADIAHA:In this part of the world we know how crazy we are about football how can we fulfill that vault to promote team patroticism since we are into Arensnal, Manutd, Chelsea and so on. Don’t you think there is an Hunger to be met? How do we develop our soccer culture, since is an aspect of Entertainment which has not been properly utilized? What set should young people contribute to build the industry?
BRUCE:First of all, let us develop our football leagues here than screaming Arsenal, Chelsea and all that you could be fans but we should have premiership of Local clubs, Glo company have been there in terms of prompting football in the country and if we had such companies promoting local clubs in the country, then focus would be on Nigeria, and all its premiership games, if we had clubs don’t see why there can not be Nigeria’s premierships .
LEADIAHA:How can we do this without waiting on the Government, we as local people?
BRUCE:Well is for the local people to have the initiatives to take their ideas to your big sponsors say to them look I have a great idea want to form a football club is going so much money I plan to do xyz and they buy into it they sponsor it that is how you form a great club and from that you have gate tokens from the stadiums, you have endorsements, potentials from the players. Let’s say you go to yaba ,you get from yaba whatever you want to call it ,you get a celebrity player there, who is endorsed by Pepsi, Coca cola whatever that is how one of the great teams are formed.
LEADIAHA:What advice would you give a young person that wants to be like you, want to come into the industry?
BRUCE:That wants to be like me? Wants to be succeed ?You got to be persistent in whatever you do, got be very patient, good things don’t come overnight ,you take your time, is not an overnight thing, if you want quick business there is 419,of course it has a lifespan like a fly. Flies, fall, they fall around all the place and head no way, but if you want a real business it takes time, takes planning, takes strategy, good marketing and with persistence and determination, hard work you should succeed.
LEADIAHA:Sir, for an ideas person who wants to start a business,how do I convince a bank to loan me money to fund my lofty ideas?
BRUCE:Talking of banks that is a different topic entirely, I have no control , CBN has to deal with those business because is a fact that is a problem that has to be addressed but that is a CBN problem, I only go by what I know, leave the banking issue out. They would not help, banks are know to only help big people, they can only help these big people because of the large collateral they can get.
LEADIAHA:How do i go about on my own ,I can’t rely on a bank ,got no rich relative, whatever?
BRUCE:Put your idea on paper, go to a company, you say could you sponsor this event or this project for me? And take it from there, and you slowly build an empire.
LEADIAHA:So I should start small without the help of a Bank?
BRUCE:Exactly, go with those that already been to the banks,(All laugh)that is very my suggestion for now unless you have large collateral you want to give the banks.
LEADIAHA:On the last note what is the last word to the aspiring young entrepreneur out there?
BRUCE:Determination and hard work, nothing else, you believe in what you do.
LEADIAHA:THank you for granting us your Time.BRUCE:You are welcome.
