Stanley Okorie, the renowned Nollywood soundtrack star and singer, recently shared an interesting anecdote about his early days in the movie industry. During his appearance on the Osikoya Speaks audiovisual podcast hosted by Wonu Osikoya, Okorie revealed that for his first-ever movie soundtrack, he was paid with a bottle of Sprite.
He explained that when he entered the movie industry, Nollywood was facing financial constraints and was underfunded. Recalling his initial experience, Okorie said, “The first soundtrack I ever did, guess what I was paid? I was paid a bottle of Sprite. And it was three songs. And I didn’t drink the Sprite alone, I drank it with one guy called JT Tom West. So, it was still half payment even with the bottle of Sprite.”
He further narrated that the filmmaker even considered himself doing Okorie a favor. Interestingly, when Okorie later met the filmmaker and expressed his disappointment at not seeing his music in the film, the filmmaker admitted that the music had indeed been used. This incident led to a meeting with JT Tom West, who was also involved, and the promise of a job referral. Eventually, Okorie received his first significant payment for a film called ‘Compromise,’ which opened doors for subsequent projects.
He mentioned that it wasn’t until later in his career that he began charging filmmakers for his services, emphasizing the financial struggles faced in the early days of Nollywood.