Entrepreneurial tips for up and coming Naija music stars

Found in Channel : Business Talks, Music — Damilare @ 2:26 pm

I have learnt over time to apply entrepreneurial approaches towards all endeavors, and I learnt the hard way. More often than not, we become so blinded by what we have passion for that we fail to see reasons to be shrewdly smart about them. This makes us almost a loser at the long run. While some becomes used and dumped, some just lose touch of reality!

Music is becoming a serious business in Nigeria lately; thousands of young people are making demo tapes of songs made from fruityloops or cakewalk, while they roam the streets of Lagos, looking for a record labels to float on. Some of theses dudes (or gals) are as bad as a humming mosquito, while some rocks like a gangan drum on steroids!

A close study of these two, the bad and good, shows that the bad ones come to limelight because they have been able to apply basic entrepreneurial tips. Tune to a typical local Nigerian TV to get more gists. I hope the good ones, can find this piece and turn the table around.

If you are the good one, below are the tips you need to apply.

SWOT Analysis (Know thyself)

Can you rap like Mode Nine, or Sing like Asa? Can you chant Ewi like Akeem Lasisi or Perform Juju like Sunny Ade? Which ever you choose, be prepared to try various samples and let your friends and families choose the best. You need to be extremely good at what you do to sell a copy, this you can only be at your core competence.

Remember, you are not just singing, you are building a huge fan base! Get a loyal fan base now, and can convert them to your favorite genre later. I followed Lagbaja for a long time before he proclaimed Africano.

Market Research I (Know thy Fan)

The last thing you want is an album that does not sell, believe me, your Label’s CEO wouldn’t like this at all, that means you are bad business! Now let me give you a hint, why do you think songs like Do Me by pSquare, Lorile by xProject, or Gongon Aso by 9ice are making hits? It is because they know what we are, sorry who we are, or which ever!

These BusinesSingers have duly done their market research. You need to study the elements in the songs that drive us crazy. Evaluate the top-ten count downs judiciously, visit the best clubs in Lagos and note the song that makes the crowd jeer for more. Or better still, make DJ friends and always ask them what makes people tick at their gigs. Follow same patterns and you are bound to reach the top!

Market Research II (Know thy Competitors)

Now you have two kinds of competitors; the dead legends and the living ones. If you want to be the next Baba 70, you need to study his songs and evaluate the most relevant patterns. On the other hand, if you want to overthrow Asa, the living legend, get her patterns, emulate her strengths and play on her weaknesses (I am yet to find one tho!). This will position you for stardom.

Promotion! Promotion!! Promotion!!!

So many stars have died unknown, and so much more will, simply because they have failed to promote their music. Don’t wait for your Label’s marketing department. Start the promotion now. Use all media at your disposal, the Internet, Mobile Phones, School Concerts, Friends Parties, DJs, Radio-Presenter-Friends and more. More importantly have a structured marketing plan and measure performance.

I first heard of Banky W’s Ebutte Meta on YouTube! And I know of a friend who became a professional Comedian-Rapper from a funny ring tone he did while in school. Start promoting aggressively now, there are just so many to compete with.

Remain Original

Despite the survival copy-cat attitude, you still need to remain very original, compare your works with so many others and ensure there are no striking similarities. It’s all about being smart.

Get a large chunk of the Fan Market share now, and experiment with them as you move to the top. Most importantly, get a fan base website. We fans do a lot of viral marketing for you so don’t underestimate our input. You can start with a MySpace profile or better still get a well managed Music Blog, if need help, just send me an email.

Hope you will give me a free pass to your show once you become the next naija’s biggest thing!

7 Responses to “Entrepreneurial tips for up and coming Naija music stars”

  1. exschoolnerd Says:

    good tips bro..here’s hoping some aspiring musician stumbles on this and it helps him to get where he wants to be….nice to see ur back blogging…i still hate u though..just thot id remind u.

  2. Jay Says:

    Man, I co-sign with you on this one. keep repping positive.

    www.myspace.com/megajayonline

    Da M in Music.

  3. c drill Says:

    first off, i have to start by commending your effort in educating upcoming artists who are in dear need of your kind advice. I’ve been an advocate of self promotion without waiting for labels or big promo companies do it for you. One thing that’s for certain is creating a proximity effect with your stimuli-call it merchandise,product or anything. this has helped a lot of mainstream artists, those who have unlimited access to the media. in one psychology test book i read, the author stated that when you’re exposed to a novel stimuli for a long period, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll like it, be it sound of a bee or truck horn. creating a fan base no matter how small it is, is effective in enhancing an artists career. this day’s media collect payola to air songs, this has discouraged most upcoming acts in taking their came to the next level. my advice is not to wait for the media hype, but to create this hype with your own effort. creating street team with loyal friends and peops who like what you offer can also help. organizing local gigs is another good tip. you can organize a tour, you don’t necessarily need huge amount of money to carry it out. holla at you boy and check out my myspace site (www.myspace.com/blackvillainz) and i’ll give you full detail on organizing tour. thanx people. it’s ya bouy C-drill representing blackworld

  4. D’Klicks Says:

    Sometimes i just listen to instrumentals been squenced by some folks calling them selfs producers.. someone I dread is COLBAMS well he is tight I like him so much.. You might not understand, but i have been in music doing my own thing for some years now as a in-house Keyboardist i just like playing with REASON, CUBASE, FRUITLOOPS, but as far as am concern, i don’t hear some fusions in their beats. I took my time to study Production very well ! Watch out for D’KLICK STUDIO..

    Producer is different from Mixing Engineer.. A producer who just layed someone’s voice and his trying to mix as well. why can’t he/she give it to someone who study mixing alone. ? when the job is done, you find out that the instrumentals are not heavy enough ! low quality.. noisy instrumentals.!

  5. deeblux Says:

    nice piece

  6. TomasKell Says:

    Hello webmaster, very nice site here, great work!
    TomasKell

  7. ME45 Says:

    Thank you sir, I love your advice. Infact this is what i have been looking for all these while. I will love to meet you in person at your office or else where. I am a young artiste with mission to become the king of RnB music in Nigeria in future. So sir, pls endeavour to email me ur phone number or contact address, so that we can talk more on this issue. my number 08085832397 or 08034762346, anybody can call me for a deal, i am waiting to hearing from you soon.

    Elisha.

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