In Nigeria, it is important to understand how to become a successful musician. It’s no wonder that music is the most popular form of entertainment in the world. Every day, new musicians emerge, while some older ones fade away with the passage of time. A successful musician is required to become and stay relevant in the
music industry, and only a small percentage of the numerous musicians succeed.
A-list musicians in Nigeria are now earning six figures on a daily and monthly basis. So, to a significant extent, financial affluence is the fuel that propels those without musical talent to enter the album release space, only to fall off due to a lack of understanding of how the market works.
Certainly, not all musicians will stay ahead of the competition, and it’s not because they can’t sing; it’s because other important factors for success were or aren’t taken into account. With this, I want you to know and believe that you can be a successful artist in Nigeria.
There are already many successful Nigerian musicians that are well-known around the world, and you may be one of them in the coming months. All you have to do now is be prepared and strategic in your music career, and you’ll be the next big music star in no time. Whatever the case may be, becoming a successful musician in Nigeria is a distinct possibility. Any musician with such ambitions only needs to be strategic about it.
Here’s how to make your way up the Nigerian music industry:
1. Choose and Know Your Genre
What musical genres catch your interest? Is it
Fuji,
Gospel,
Rap,
Afrobeat,
Hip Hop,
R&B, or something else entirely? As an aspiring artist, you must first search inward and discover yourself if you want to pursue a profession in music.
You must first identify your favorite musical style, which must be compatible with your talent and skill set, then build on it and master it. Patoranking, for example, began with and is known for Reggae Dancehall. He’s so well-liked in Jamaica that he’s even adored by the locals. He sometimes switches between Reggae, Afro Pop, and other genres after becoming more consistent with his genre.
Chike and Simi’s R&B music is also well-known. They’re putting out hit songs, making money, signing sponsorship deals, while receiving a lot of love from their fans. As a result, stick to a genre you appreciate. Stop being so adaptive that you cause yourself harm. After you’ve established yourself as a trustworthy and successful performer, branch out into new genres.
2. Perfect Your Music Skills
After you’ve settled on a genre of music to pursue, you should practice it on a regular basis as practice makes perfect. You can always modify your songs later if the creative spirit leads you to do so. I recommend that you practice singing and playing whatever musical instrument you like. Find a quiet place to practice your voice presentation. Play your chosen musical instrument as much as you can. Always work on your voice since you never know when you’ll be called to sing on stage.
Hang out in the studios as much as possible, read musical books, study and learn from your music mentors, and do everything you can to sing wonderful tunes. When someone can listen to your music and love it, you’ve successfully crossed the first hurdle on your way to being a successful artist in Nigeria.
3. Have a Good Job, Side Hustle or Profitable Business
This is where some upcoming Nigerian artists probably fail. They don’t budget, and as a result, they struggle every day to pay their bills and promote their music. In Nigeria, becoming a musician is not easy.
You’ll put money into:
• Hiring music producer
• Music banners/designs
• Feeding and transportation
• Internet subscriptions
• Studio sessions
• Song promotion
• Social media management
As an aspiring artist in Nigeria, it is advisable to expand your sources of income in order to fund your music career. You could strive to obtain an education and a degree that will assist you in better understanding the music industry.
Also, obtain a solid job or start a profitable business so that you don’t have to continually ask friends and family for money to record songs and pay for studio sessions, which can cause exhaustion, frequent rejections, and/or depression.
4. Be Unique
Too many artists are creating strange songs with shockingly bad lyrics and the same beats in Nigeria’s music world. You’ll be popular and successful if you can become unique and carve out a niche for yourself.
Patoranking, Omah Lay, Bella Shmurda, as well as Adekunle Gold can all be heard with their distinct sounds. Check out Phyno’s rapping in “Igbo.” Check out Umu Obiligbo and their Igbo musical style. Rema has developed his own style, thanks to his distinct voice and sound.
You can obtain beats and styles ideas from other countries, then return to your home country and incorporate them into your music, such as Amapiano from South Africa. You can sing about the positive aspects of your state or people, as Duncan Mighty did with “Port Harcourt Boy,” MC Galaxy did with “Nek Unek” ft Davido, as well as how Mish did with “Akwa Ibom Ayaya.”
Your song will indeed be played all around your state using this strategy. You’ll also get booked to perform at the state house, political meetings, premier nightclubs, parties, as well as events in your area.
5. Try Doing Good Music Covers
Making a good cover or remix (your own version) of any popular hit song by a great singer (from Nigeria or elsewhere) can be a huge step toward projecting you into the spotlight.
Mayorkun’s piano cover of
Davido’s “Money” ft Olamide is an example of a fantastic music cover (which fortunately got the artist signed).
Everything was in shape, and everyone enjoyed his musical cover. If you do a fantastic cover, it may be your own testimony as well. So, have fun with it and be sure to share it on social media — you can even tag the artist (song owner).
6. Write and Record Your First Quality Songs
You must have an excellent understanding of quality music creation as an upcoming musician. Any record label will want to see that you have done some personal initiative to advance your music career before they will deal with you. One of the most obvious ways to demonstrate this is to release a song or an EP (Extended Play). When a record label discovers that you’ve already published a polished piece, they’ll take you more seriously as a potential contributor.
Get yourself a standard recording studio with a quality microphone, solid beats, a better sound card, and find someone to mix and master your tracks at least semi-professionally once you’ve finished writing your song.
Your lyrics, mixing, and mastering, as well as the entire tone of your music, should be professional. If you don’t have enough money to invest in a studio or recording sessions, you can get free beats and instrumentals from a variety of sources. You’ll also have to buy from the artists who created the instrumentals or beats to get some beats on various sites. If you’re a producer, you can save money by generating your own tracks.
You can download various application softwares to make your own beats; the apps are usually supplied with the ability to make track beats from lots of instruments. Victor AD,
Peruzzi, Mayorkun, Rema, Ayra Starr, and others have all been signed to good record labels after creating and recording some outstanding songs.
7. Create a Brand
You comprehend that you have stopped to be just an individual the moment you make music to sell to an audience. Your audience perceives you as a brand, and everything you do as a product.
You must create a brand identity and image that is consistent with the type of music you produce and how you want to be recognized as an artist. Adekunle Gold is an example of a fantastic musician who has built a strong brand image. A label wants to see that you’re the whole package and that you’re determined to take over the world. No record label wants to sign a clone of another band; they want something unique.
In Review
In our society today, we hear a lot of music, both difficult to comprehend and music that we like just because of the beat. There is a lot more competition in the music industry these days, with the type of complex lyrics we hear from many Nigerian artists and the number of new artists we see every day, it is usually tough for exceptional artists to break through.
A musical artist is someone who can produce music on their own, record it in a studio, and release it to the public; with the influx of classical and
jazz music in the industry, this business is becoming profitable in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
Music has been the latest trend in Nigeria for the past five years, regardless of the genre. We now have young Nigerians who wish to take the place of veteran Nigerian artists, despite the fact that some have already done so and changed the face of music in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
Most African countries, including Nigeria, have previously relied on Western music. However, as time passed, people became more interested in our music industry. Being an artist is difficult because it encompasses several processes, and Nigerians who wish to pursue a career in music should endeavor to follow the proven steps we’ve detailed.