It seems you are really passionate about this music thing and you’re worried about finding your place in the industry, you’re asking yourself if you’ll ever blow and if you do, for how long?
New artists get into the Nigerian music industry every day and the competition becomes more fierce. This makes the upcoming artists worry about breaking into the music industry.
Truth be told, it’s getting easier than before to break into the music industry. In this age of the internet, you can easily reach your audience if you have a good strategy.
Even blowing isn’t as hard as before. Take a look at the likes of Fireboy, Liya, Mayorkun, Ayra Starr, Zinoleesky and Bella Shmurda. This set of people didn’t have to wait for too long to blow. You might argue that these people had the right connection. But first, what they did was to put themselves out there.
Despite the ease of things a lot of artists still find it hard to blow. Some even break it into the music industry but they find it hard to remain there. So they fade away quickly. The likes of Chuddy K, Temmie Ovwasa, Humblesmith and a lot more.
Why?
Most of the time, it’s because they have no strategy for their career. No plan. The wrong team. Just vibes and inshaaAllah.
In this article, we’ll show you simple strategies you should follow if you want to blow and stay relevant in the music industry.
1. Develop An Action Plan
I remember when my uncle started out his first fashion business. He didn’t have knowledge about the industry. He just had money and an idea about designing. He thought that was enough. He started without a plan. Without knowing the kind of customers he wanted to have. No projections for his business. Basically, he jumped into the waters without a life vest and he didn’t know how to swim.
You already know what happened to him. He failed, woefully. Music is like business too. You need a plan to make it work.
Ideally, you want to plan your career in stages. The stages are like short term and long term goals. At the first stage, you are finding your unique sound and trying out new things. You’re building a foundation. Then, you’re expanding on that foundation.
Ask yourself questions like:
- Which audience do I want to sing for?
- What type of song do I want to sing?
- What do I want to collaborate with?
- The producers, managers, videographers you want to work with?
- When do you want to work with them?
- How many albums do I want to release?
- How many years do I want to take to release these albums?
- How much do I need to have?
Don’t get scared. These questions might seem overwhelming. You don’t need to have answers to them immediately. Just have a general idea of what you want for yourself.
Why most people fade out quickly is because they don’t know what they want to achieve in the industry. They just found themselves there.
Look at Olamide for example. He knew he wanted to sing street songs. He knew he wanted to rap. He had a plan for his label— helping out young talents. And amazingly, he also had an idea of what he wanted to do when he had spent 10 years in the industry. This has kept him moving.
2. Have A Good Artist Manager/Management
A good manager/management is important to your success as an artist. If your manager is not aligning with your goals and pushing you, forget, you will remain to be upcoming till Jesus comes.
Choosing the right manager is important and can be hard. An artist manager can be a family member like Bose Ogulu is to Burna Boy. Or a spouse, like Jada Pollock is for Wizkid. But the importance of a manager is to handle the business side of music for you, improve you as an artist, help you plan your goals and execute those plans. So find that person who understands where you’re coming from and where you’re going.
Part of the things your manager does for you is that:
- Your manager gives you relevance in the industry.
- Your manager helps you stay focused on your goals.
- Your manager helps you build connections with those that matter.
- With a manager you can get endorsement deals or ambassadorships even without a label.
3. Build A Strong Brand
What does that even mean?
Simply put, it means to be unique. People naturally like new things. Bringing uniqueness to the music industry can make you blow and stay relevant in the music industry.
When you hear things like “Riddim-ah-cool-a-yoo, kappaichumarrimarichupako, gege, imole”, you already know which artist it is. That’s a type of uniqueness.
When you want to listen to politically conscious songs, would you be looking for Wizkid’s songs? No, chances are you are skimming through Burna Boy’s or Falz’s discography. Also when you’re looking for songs with explicit lyrics, you would be looking for Naira Marley’s songs. 2baba comes to mind when you’re looking for songs with depth.
Your brand might not even be obvious things. It could be in your voice, like Buju and Bella Shmurda. It could be in how you appear in your videos like Tems. It could be your style.
Look at Adekunle Gold for example. Aside from his music style as an alté artist, he also indulges in alté fashion.
When you have a strong brand, you can easily grow a large fanbase of people who are loyal to you like FC, YBNLMafias, Outsiders, Marlians, Republikans and 30BG.
Building a brand requires recognizing your unique strength, what you can offer and what your fans want. And a strong brand keeps you relevant in the music industry.
4. Sell Your Song Like Your Life Depends On It
Does your life not depend on your song? I bet it does. So why are you not hyping the hell out of it?
Look at the songs that are making rave. They’re blowing because of promotion. You can’t keep your song on a low and expect it to blow like banger with some kind of abracadabra. Kolewerk.
Reach out to promoters, DJs, A-list artists, influencers. Do online promotions, radio tours, TV promotions, promotions on platforms like Spotify. Thank God for the internet and a platform like Tik Tok, your songs can blow faster if you know how to use it.
If there’s anything that’s making the likes of Wizkid, Davido, Olamide, Don Jazzy sell more, it’s because they spend a lot on promoting their songs.
You might want to say they have more money to throw around. But look at Blaqbonez, he develops his own crazy music marketing strategies to get his songs to blow. So make a plan for yourself and start promoting your songs.
In conclusion, these strategies are proven strategies that have worked for people who you consider successful in the industry. However, it didn’t work the same day they started. So the last strategy that would make you blow and stay relevant in the music industry is to:
5. Be Patient And Hardworking
You might not get it right when you start. But with patience, hard work and consistency, you’ll get there.
Follow these strategies wholeheartedly. Focus on the strategies that are working, invest in them more and cut out or tweak the ones that aren’t working. Make more connections. Don’t be afraid to reach out. The worst anyone can do is ignore you. Do everything you need to do to get results.
Good luck with your career.
Need any further help?
Reach out to 69entertainmentbrand@gmail.com or @69entertainmentofficial on Instagram
