LETTER TO UPCOMING ARTIST By Mixta Marquez

There is no definite test that can predict how your career will ultimately work out, but as an up and coming artist, there are three questions you should always ask yourself (1) Do I truly have passion for music? (2) I'm I imitating the styles of establised stars? or do I sincerely have a unique style that would stand me out amongst the crowd and in an obviously competitive  Nigerian music industry? (3)  Can I boldly beat my chest and  say "  regardless, I'm ready to give it all it takes to attain stardom ?

The above outlined questions can save you untold headache down the road. 

Dear upcoming Nigerian artist, while there are no hard and fast rules to becoming a successful artiste. Hard work, staying focused and having a plan is always a good route to take. Here are some basic tips you should follow to ensure that all the hard work you put in the studio pays off.

KNOW YOURSELF AND YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE 

'‘To thine own self be true’'  the saying goes. Know your strengths and focus on them, the truth is that not every one is going to become a superstar but that doesn’t mean you can’t make a career in the music industry. You don’t necessarily need  to have the best voice before you could sing to impact the audience.

Davido understands his audience and gives them the type of music they want,  what he doesn’t have in a good voice, he has in a good team who understands the importance of songwriting and hard work. Same thing with an artist like Brymo, he doesn’t have the numbers but he makes amazing music and understands his audience.

BE PATIENT

Sorry to bust your bubble, you are not going to blow in a day, you are not going to go viral in a week or month. The truth is it’s going to take a lot of hard work and patience. Some artists get it right from the first single and some don’t. You don’t have to get it right with the first single or the first album.

Build a momentum, build a fan base and grow from there. Have a plan and stick to it, be open to new ideas, be open to criticism and grow from there. For example, all you may know about Ed Sheeran is that he is a platinum selling musician with 4 albums, but do you know he has been putting in work since 2005 and has 14 EP’s.

HAVE A TEAM

As the popular Nigeria saying goes, ‘don’t tight the world to your chest’. If you think you can do it alone, I have bad news for you, you can’t!  Definitely need a team of trustworthy people to make it far in the music industry. There is no successful artist that has done it alone.

You need a good lawyer to help you negotiate and go through your contracts, you need a good manager to help you make the smartest decision, a good producer to take your sound to the next level, video-graphers to help you make your brand visible. Surround yourself with highly motivated people and see how far you’ll go.

USE SOCIAL MEDIA

As an artist, you want maximum exposure for your work, and we know social media is the number one way of getting out your product in front of people. Your song  don’t have to be on all the social media sites but whichever popular one you choose, ensure it's well known.

Social media is a big marketing tool if used effectively, it could help you build a brand and build a massive fan base. By having a good looking brand on 1-2 social platforms, your engagement and followers increases. And in this era where everything is social media number, it could translate to cashing out easy for you.

BE PROFESSIONAL

Have you ever stumbled upon an artist and then you google the person and nothing pops up? Annoying right? In 2020, some Nigerian artists don’t even have a website or a Wikipedia page.

It doesn’t cost much  to have a website nowadays, yes you can afford the cost, it's affordable!  In fact having a good website can be everything because you’ll be able to easily monitor and observe ongoing activities, such as how many people checked your biography, who is booking you for an event, among interesting activities.

Nevertheless, as  an up and coming artist, many of you fail to understand one very simple strategy of helping your music career. When you drop your official song, on a blog, what's next?

Of course promoting your song should be next, but many of you only upload your song, you don’t promote it, you think uploading your song on free file sharing websites and bombarding your friends on your social media page will help your career? This is what you are doing instead, roaming on a grass root level thinking you are making progress.

Rather, as you drop your song, this is what you should do; 

Promote your music, rather than just uploading it. If you don't know, search on the internet to know top notch blogs that have the potentials to promote your career effectively, whose always millions of followers are very active doesn't hesitate to  download new songs from the blogs.

 Dear up  and artist, why not show massive audience what you have? that’s a good way to promote your career.

 Moreover, another important part is that, promo that has to do with financial capability is the way up in your music career, but if you can’t spend the little you have, investing in your career, then, I’m sorry, you might remain an upcoming artist forever.

Please note that free promo will take you no where. Now let's examine it together; You upload your song on free file sharing sites, such platforms are good in terms of sharing files with people, but, when it comes to music promotion, then, you need to focus on the brighter side.

Perhaps you are in need of a very good record label to sign you, and you don’t want to promote your music.  Sorry, you won't get a very good label easily, instead the chances will be very slim, because incase you don’t know, no matter how talented you think you are, you are in a perfect competitive music industry, they are so many other up and coming music artists that are also very talented too.

So how do you get the attention of record labels and music lovers in Nigeria?

It’s very simple!!! By promoting your music on the right platforms.  You need to know that the Nigeria music industry is the biggest music industry in Africa as as such, once  you become a very popular music artist in Nigeria, you’ll be known all over Africa, you’ll be very wealthy, and then, you’ll enjoy the fruit of your labour, which can only be achieved through hard work.