Ugandan singer Bebe Cool is questioning whether the massive crowds at Uganda’s biggest concerts are actually translating into serious profits for the artists behind them.
The veteran musician says packed venues, particularly at Kololo Airstrip, can create the appearance of major financial success while the enormous costs of staging such events eat heavily into the money collected from ticket sales.
Bebe Cool used a simple example to illustrate his point: an artist attracting 20,000 people who each pay Shs20,000 would bring in about Shs400 million at the gate. But after spending hundreds of millions on venue hire, advertising, production and other logistics, the artist could be left with very little.
“I know they don’t make money, surely. Because it doesn’t make any sense having 20,000 people paying Shs20k and you’re getting Shs400m–Shs500m after spending Shs200m–Shs300m. They don’t make money.”
His argument comes from personal experience. Bebe Cool said he was among the early artists to stage shows at Kololo before changing his approach and moving to Serena Hotel, where he experimented with a more financially targeted concert model.
The contrast, according to the singer, was striking.
He recalled attracting between 10,000 and 15,000 people at Kyadondo Rugby Grounds but ending up with surprisingly little money after the shows.
“I was getting 10k to 15k people at Kyadondo that time, but after one week, I was always broke.”
Then came the table-based model at Serena. Bebe Cool said he hosted about 2,000 people there but managed to save Shs150 million after the show.
At Kyadondo, despite drawing as many as 15,000 people, he said the most he saved was Shs28 million.
The numbers form the heart of his message: a smaller audience can sometimes be more valuable than a massive crowd if the business model is stronger.
Bebe Cool is therefore urging younger musicians to stop treating venue size and crowd numbers as the ultimate measure of success.
“There is no need for them to go for these venues. There is no need for them to prove.”
His criticism also extends to ticket pricing. The singer questioned why artists continue charging as little as Shs20,000 for major concerts despite the substantial investments required to stage them.
“I’ve never done a show of Shs30k or Shs50k and guys are still holding shows of Shs20k. When will you ever make money?”
For Bebe Cool, the bigger issue is how Ugandan musicians approach their careers as businesses. He challenged artists to embrace the economic transformation agenda and think beyond the visual impact of filling a huge venue.
The comments are likely to fuel an ongoing conversation in Uganda’s music industry: is a packed concert really a financial victory if the artist walks away with little profit?
For Bebe Cool, the answer appears to be clear — 20,000 people at a show may look impressive, but the real measure is what remains after everyone else has been paid.