Dare Art Alade, popularly known as Darey, a celebrated cultural architect, award-winning artist, and visionary executive, set the virtual stage alight at the 2025 MARKETING EDGE National Marketing Stakeholders’ Summit.

The singer challenged Nigeria’s creative industry to stop chasing validation abroad and start building ownership, talent pipelines, and tech-driven systems that secure its future.

Speaking with depth, conviction, and passion about Nigeria’s creative future, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Livespot360, joined other industry leaders on a panel themed “New Creator Value: A Reassessment of the Traditional Creative Industry.”

The summit was held via Zoom on Thursday, 25, 2025, ahead of the Edge Award the next day.

An Industry at a Crossroads

With the clarity of someone who has walked both sides of the stage performer and builder Dare painted a vivid picture of an industry at a crossroads.

He declared that the Nigerian creative economy must move beyond vanity metrics, fleeting spotlights, and dependence on external validation to a new era of cultural ownership, sustainability, and legacy building.

The Rise of the Narrative Economy

“We are shifting from a content economy to a narrative economy,” he explained.

Also, he stressed  that the power of storytelling now lies in how creators shape culture, build communities

Meanwhile, he urged them to connect emotionally with audiences.

For him, success is no longer measured by chart positions or ticket sales but by influence, intellectual property ownership, and the strength of local equity.

Confronting Brain Drain

He  spoke passionately about the dangers of brain drain, warning that without the right structures policy support, funding models, and robust pipelines, that Nigeria risks losing its brightest creative talents to global markets.

With so much passion, he urged stakeholders to build strong ecosystems where music, entertainment, technology, and brands intersect, creating platforms that can retain value at home.

From Spotlight to Legacy

Using his own evolution as a case study, he reflected on his transition from chasing the spotlight as a performer to building systems and platforms designed to empower the next generation of creatives.

“True creative value is legacy,” he said. “The spotlight fades, but what we build for others endures.”

Embracing Technology and AI

He also emphasised the importance of embracing technology, particularly artificial intelligence, not as a threat but as a tool to safeguard culture.

Patriotically, Dare challenged cultural custodians to train AI with local languages, histories, and narratives, ensuring that Nigeria’s identity is preserved in the digital age.

In addition, he called for AI integration in education, urging policymakers to embed it into school curricula so that young Nigerians grow up fluent in the tools shaping tomorrow.

A Call to Action

At the heart of his message was a powerful call to action: the Nigerian creative industry must reclaim its narrative, protect its intellectual property, and prioritize authenticity.

“We cannot afford to keep sacrificing cultural value on the altar of global validation,” Darey said.

“Our stories, our voices, our legacies must remain rooted at home, even as they resonate worldwide.”

Igniting a New Wave

Dare’s  voice at the MARKETING EDGE 2025 Summit was not just reflective but  catalytic igniting hope that a new wave of creators can rise, equipped with infrastructure, cultural pride, and digital mastery to define Nigeria’s future on the global stage