Meet Iking Ferry, former mobile phone engineer turned visionary music business expert

Popular American singer, Mary J Blige once said: The music business is not a good place for people who don’t know things”.
Ebonyi-born Nwede Ikechukwu Emmanuel, better known as Iking Ferry has an innate passion for music business and has deep knowledge about how the industry works.

The Los Angeles College of Music graduate of music business and digital marketing is not resting on his oars as a music entrepreneur and technologist.

Ferry is known for his exceptional business ideas, marketing, advertising, and business development skills.

After the completion of his Primary and Secondary education, he moved to Lagos to further his Education. Making a living made him become a mobile phone engineer, but little did he know that life had its own plans.

In 2016/2017 a friend known as Teesmart who was a fast rising rapper in Agege, Lagos recorded his first Single. Ferry made that happen by supporting him financially for his Studio Session. He started going to the Music Studio with him whenever he had leisure time, and that was how his journey into music began.

Iking Ferry took the risk and enrolled at the Los Angeles College of Music in California, where he studied music business and digital marketing. He did a lot of research about music business and had the opportunity to learn all about programming and web development.

A technologist, brand Profiler, Digital marketer and Music Entrepreneur, he has also been lucky to have worked with some great media companies like Audiomack, Spotify, Soundcloud and some of the Major Record Labels in the Entertainment Industry Both Home and Abroad.

Ferry specializes in gaining public traction for his clients and is considered one of the leading Nigerian media experts. Through his Digital Streaming Ads Marketing Campaigns, he has been the brain behind some of the best Known musicians Nigeria ever produced.

He is the founder and CEO of Naijatraffic, a Nigerian music, Podcast sharing and Streaming Platform that was established in 2018. In addition, he is also the founder of Young Boss Empire a subsidiary of Naijatraffic that focuses on Artiste and Brand Management, A&R and PR Services.

Ferry who shared his perception about the music industry, revealed that his journey hasn’t been smooth and rosy, and he definitely loved every part of the journey to date.

Iking Ferry has received several nominations in recognition of his works and has also won several awards.

Asked about his advice for young African artistes, he said: “Well, most Nigerian and African artistes do not know the difference between having a proper label and a label imprint. As a musician you must be ready to carry your cross and make sure you are always original, Music is the only true magic in the world, and it is something we cannot live without. Music isn’t a thing, it’s a lifestyle.

We live by our songs and we all love by our songs. Your music is a product that can potentially meet that need”.