Custodian Interview: Fade Ogunro

Fade Ogunro is the co-owner of Film Factory. A  TV and Radio presenter, her brother Sesan, is a famous Nigerian music video director.

Hello Fade, how are you doing this evening?

I am good thank you. Happy Sunday!

Happy Sunday to you too. First off, how did you get started off in the entertainment industry?

It’s a bit of a long winded story. It’s not really straight forward. In the UK, my brother started off a production company and he’s a director. I started off helping him out on set, not really knowing that there was actually a term called production. I was just helping Sesan out like I was his PA; getting him models for a shoot and what not. I’d run around for a while, then afterwards, I got into the business side of it and realized that there is a legitimate job called production and that I’m quite good at it and like it. However, I never thought of it as my career path. Prior to that, I’d kind of say it’s in the family because my dad owns an advertising agency.

If we become a bit more specific to my production company here in Nigeria. After I moved from London to Lagos in 2010, the following year my brother and I set up Film Factory and started getting quite popular with the name. I was more focused on the corporate side. I liked to speak to all the advertising agencies to shoot videos, TV commercials. So that’s the part I keep really private.

The more public part of my media personality is Beat FM and I do a bit of presenting too. I never knew that I was going to be good at Radio. When I moved to Nigeria, I was just trying to get as much money as I could. There was a radio station called Radio Continental that wasn’t too far from where I lived. My dad knew somebody there he’d worked with years ago and got me an audition there. I went there thinking I could work in their TV department and thinking of how I could help with the content production. I was amazed by the equipment they had. I started speaking with my dad’s friend, who was the head of programming and he was like “Well, you’ve got a really nice voice, and you’re articulate. Have you thought of being on radio?” I was like “No, I can’t even listen to my own voice mail, let alone speak to people.” 

Regardless of my complaining, he gave me a quick slot on Friday’s and Saturday’s, and within 3 months it was the most popular show on that station. I interviewed people that they had never gotten on the station before. I interviewed Tuface; I had heard of his music and looked at the back of one of his albums which had his contact info. So everyday I’d call and email him until it finally happened. That day, everyone was shocked and in awe that the legendary TuBaba was at our station. The jockey said to me “After 2 years of trying to contact him, he never came, and you came and within 3 months he is here.” This just goes to show if you work hard, and you want something you will get it. Beat FM called me up not too long after saying they had heard about my show and they liked it. Because I was so focused on my production company, Radio was not really my focus.  The more I did it, the more I realized that there is actually a talent here, and I was pleasing the audience, modestly speaking. So that’s how I got into radio, and now I only do weekends (Saturday & Sundays) because I work with my own company Monday through Fridays.

Do you remember your first time on air with Beat 99.9?

Here it was kind of normal surprisingly  but then that’s when I realized I talk a lot because you time yourself. I’m like “Wait a minute yo! I talked for like 9 minutes straight.” Obviously you get extensive training beforehand, I did 3 months of shadowing people, so by the time I got on radio for the first time by myself, I knew exactly what to say and what not. When I got my own sole show, it was just as I expected and very normal. That was about 4 years ago, time is flying by. 

Where do you hope to see yourself in the next few years?

I want to call myself a creative entrepeneur- so a mediapreneur. I’ve got a few other business ventures that i am trying to to fulfil, but definitely a lot of focus is going to be on Film Factory. This year has been great-  we’ve shot a lot of videos and commercials and i just want that to expand even more. Hopefully try and move into some more documented style projects. I am also looking for more projects that will expand my creativity, especially in the fashion field. Not going to say too much about that, but I’m looking forward to it.

What have been your highs and lows in your career so far?

Meeting people and interviewing high profile people are certainly the highs. I remember when Brandy called my show, I was so in awe. I have interviewed French Montana over the phone as well. Boris Kodjoe, Amber Rose. Interviewing Amber is the first time I was officially star struck. She sat exactly where your sister is seating. I’ve got pictures with her. I asked her “What skin products do you use? Your skin is flawless! Forgot all this Wiz Khalifa, Kanye business. What do you use?” She was like “I use pure organic African Shea butter. Do you know where I can get some?” I was like “Yes o, there are one or two stores down Falomo!”

Since becoming a heavyweight in your field, how has your social life been?

I am really kind of oblivious to fame and all that. I still don’t think I am famous,  especially because it’s Lagos. You see the same faces all the time, so there is no gingering feeling about the celebs here. As much as they see me, I see them as well. You go to Lekki and see everybody like Davido, Wizkid, D’banj, PSquare. Just go into one bar, and you’ll see everyone. They are just more like friends and clients, so it has not affected me one bit. I haven’t been mobbed and all that. I haven’t quite attained that level of fame. I know to little girls, I have a responsibility- a good amount of them look up to me, so I have to be on my best behavior and continue to positively influence them, especially on social media. 

I guess like I said the platform of radio has exposed another talent that I have. Initially I was not good at live speaking. My first live show I was so confident then I got up on stage and was like “Whoa! There are a lot of people here.” I knew it was something i was passionate about but had to put in a lot of work to get good at it. So I practiced, and finetuned it, and now I am a lot better, and confident. Sometimes, in media, because it’s a creative medium, as long as you are hardworking and focused, you will naturally grow at your own pace. I know that in five years I will have achieved certain things, but maybe I would have learned to operate a camera within that time, or edit, and learn 3D visuals for recordings. I am so open to learning more things as it would only better myself as a person in my respective fields. You never know where your thirst for creativity might land you.

What is the beat 99.9 doing differently from other radio stations?

Beat 99.9 are great! What it is it? We are the first station in Nigeria to identify a target market of 15 to 30 year olds. If you listen to other stations, you might hear a Celeine Dion track, then a Wizkid song, then a Chris Brown song, then Bobby Brown song. That doesn’t happen in our station. Whenever we take requests, you can’t ask for a Meek Mill song from his first mix-tape, We make sure all our songs are max, a year old. We focus on new music and only play it. We have identified that, and it’s been our threshold. 

We also identified ourselves by bringing in the UK sound as we’re aware that a lot of youths school abroad, or at least travel to the UK once a year and are familiar with the top tracks there. That was our niche, of course when one person does something well, everyone starts to copy it. But they know it’s our sound. It’s good, it shows that we have an influence on the sound of the city. Then we have the personalities that will keep you engaged. We have people that are very bubbly and vibrant like Gbemi and Toolz. They have information on current events, music and gist. We call ourselves on air personalities; on air you need to be able to project and constantly be engaging to our listeners.

What’s the Beat’s vision going forward?

The Beat, first of all are very well known in West Africa. I know we are trying to take over Africa. I can’t reveal everything but we are going to beyond a radio show; Beat FM’s around the world, tie in TV as well,  so you will be able to see us, there will be shows, Some of our radio presenters might have TV shows as well. There is a lot of promise in the works. The good thing about this, is the owner and management are very hands on, so they speak a lot with us in our frequent meetings. They give their ideas, we give ours, collaborate and then we execute. It’s a great Beat FM family relationship we have going on. I think it’s our personalities that also makes us stand out; anybody can play music but it’s the personalities here that mak us so special.

How have you managed yourself in working with a large group of people? 

Stay out of conflicts! Not adding any positive influence in my life. Can’t be getting heated here, when i have bills and other staff to pay! Gbemiga as you are here on the weekend, you can see it’s quite quiet; no admin staff and all that. Unless there’s a general meeting or event, I am never in the same vicinity as all our staff. I tend to just get the emails, If I have anything to say, i’ll respond, if not, keep on scrolling. I do the least hours of all the presenters, I love it a lot, but it’s like 30 percent of what I do in my life. However, it’s the skillset that I adore so much, I get to relax and listen to music after a hectic week of work. It’s fun.

What tips do you have for youths looking to get into the entertainment industry?

I say to people,  depending on what you want to do, you actually have to do it first of all. So if you want to be a radio presenter, have you actually recorded yourself to hear what you sound like? Most people who I ask that question reply that they haven’t. If you want to be a TV presenter have you recorded yourself talking about current events? You have to put yourself in that scenario so you can be your own critic. It’s very unrealistic to have no experience whatsoever, and want to be something like this. Also, be realisti. If you have speech impediments like H-Factor, you might not get that job, unless you’re into the comedic, satirical aspect of media. As a whole, practice whatever field you are interested in, pray and network.

Alright Fade, thank you very much

You are welcome! Have a good week!