The 29 steps you must do in order to become a successful musician in Nigeria are listed and explained in this post. I’m writing it to encourage aspiring musicians in Nigeria to take advantage of the growing number of opportunities the music business is giving them to succeed.
But first, let’s define success in the Nigerian music industry and discuss why it’s important to do so before going on to list and explain the 29 things you must do to become a successful musician in Nigeria.
What Nigeria’s music business considers to be success.
Some people might believe that having a successful song is necessary for success in the Nigerian music industry, not realizing that there are other ways your song can succeed while giving you nothing in return.
I’ve seen a lot of Nigerian musicians have hit songs that quickly lose popularity.
In Nigeria, a song called “my baby” by an artist named Sky B used to be played nonstop, but these days we hardly ever hear of him. We cannot even begin to count the number of different artists who have had hit songs but quickly returned to the underground.
From this perspective, everyone needs to recognize that being successful in the music business requires more than just having a hit song; it also requires remaining current and earning a living wage from your music.
Artists like 2Baba, P-Square, Wizkid, Davido, and others might be regarded as successful musicians in Nigeria because they continue to release hit songs on occasion and support themselves financially with their music.
Why you ought to succeed in Nigeria as a musician.
Without a doubt, based on the state of the Nigerian music market today, musicians are living extravagant lives and earning enormous sums of money. Nigerian artists have made a name for themselves through international partnerships and performances. Burna Boy and Davido recently sold out Madison Square while Davido sold out the 02 Arena.
Nigerian artists have made a lot of money thanks to performances, endorsements, record deals, business opportunities, etc. We can see this from the homes, vehicles, investments, and other possessions they regularly display to us.
Because of this, pursuing a career in the Nigerian music industry is a great choice for anyone with musical skill.
The success you see every day from successful artists in Nigeria should inspire you to work hard and become a successful musician in Nigeria as long as you have the potential.
Let’s now examine the 29 strategies for becoming a popular artist in Nigeria.
1. Ascertain your musical talent.
If you lack musical talent, there is no miracle that can make you a successful artist in Nigeria.
Every musician’s musical talent serves as their foundation.
If you call yourself an artist, you must demonstrate it in both the way you sing over beats in the studio and the confidence you project when performing in front of a large crowd.
Making a demo recording of their own singing is one tip I like to give aspiring musicians to see if they have the talent.
You may accomplish that by singing and recording into your Android phone while listening to a downloaded rhythm on an mp3 player.
After you’ve finished recording, show your demo to your friends, family members, and industry professionals and ask them if they think you’re ready to break into the music business.
2. Raise funds to support your musical endeavors.
You need to have that business-minded attitude if you want to succeed as a musician in Nigeria.
This is so because music is a business unto itself. Being a musician entails creating music that others can purchase, listen to, or play.
Your song essentially represents the products and services you are advertising to the public in the hopes that they would support you by purchasing them.
3. Adhere to a specific genre.
You will become a Jack of all trades and master of none if you attempt to blend two or more genres.
No matter how talented you are in each genre, attempting to carry them all at once will prevent you from concentrating on creating the best work possible in that particular genre.
Additionally, it will be challenging for people to identify your genre of choice.
4. Improve your musical abilities.
Even though you have the talent, you could not always be an expert in everything.
To improve your musical abilities, you need learn, train, and practice.
If you have the funds, you can enroll in a music program at a college or, even better, sign up for an online master class.
Vocal training will be a crucial area of focus for you as you learn to regulate your voice and identify the notes and keys that work best for you vocally.
5. Discover how to play an instrument or create music.
Numerous popular musicians in Nigeria today are excellent players of one or more instruments.
Davido is a highly good drummer, as I just witnessed when I watched him play.
Additionally, some Nigerian artists have found success as music producers.
6. Establish your personal brand.
The one thing that will help people quickly recognize you in the huge crowd is your brand.
It may be your name, your hairstyle, a well-known tattoo, your theme music, a word or phrase you use frequently, the entrance and outro to all of your tracks, etc.
Naira Marley’s fanbase became known as Marlians thanks to him.
Davido’s crew name 30BG and moniker OBO have made him the most well-known musician.
African Giant was Burna Boy’s stage moniker, and it helped him establish himself as a global figure in the music business.
Create and use it into your music career if you believe it will help you stand out to others.
7. Sign up for social media platforms for musicians.
There are social media platforms that will provide you the chance to produce content for individuals who are likely to become followers and devoted fans over time.
Instagram and YouTube are the two social media platforms that are most effective for artists.
You can publish quick viral videos to Instagram and tag influential people in the music industry as well as famous people.
While YouTube will assist you in uploading samples, freestyle, and viral videos for your music, you can monetize it if you can reach their 1,000 subscriber and 4,000 view hour thresholds.
If you want to be a successful musician in Nigeria, you must learn about the finest social networking sites for artists and join them.
8. Participate in music forums.
Because they allow you to communicate with other members of the music industry, music forums are another wonderful approach to succeed as a musician in Nigeria.
An avid fanbase can also be developed through a music forum.
When you first join this forum, you need to be very active. Instead of concentrating on using it to promote your music, try to help people out by answering their questions. Once you have earned their trust, you can then play their music for them.
You’ll be able to gain fans and get others to listen to your songs that way.
9. Write your first three songs or buy them.
You should prepare your first three songs right away.
It is ideal to start with a love song and dancing track, and each of the three tracks needs to have a distinct concept.
Avoid the error of starting your musical career with a braggadocious tune. That is bragging about your wealth while you are not yet well-known.
Don’t make this the subject of your song when you’re just getting started, despite the influential people you might seem to connect with. Find songs that relate to what people experience on a daily basis instead, and you will be able to reach them where you need to.
10. Feature other artists.
One excellent technique for an artist to get popularity in the Nigerian music market is through collaboration or music featured.
Along with assisting you in establishing contacts in the music industry, it will also enable you to comprehend the skills that other musicians are utilizing in their musical careers.
However, working with famous artists will cost you a lot of money because some of them have very hefty fees.
However, if you can afford it, you should take advantage of the chance to quickly establish oneself in the music business.
11. Select a reputable producer and studio for your audio recording.
Your music is what you sell; it’s what you offer as goods and services, and if the quality is poor, it will swiftly kill your career as a musician.
For this reason, be essential to hire a reputable studio and producer to record your audio.
I frequently suggest that up-and-coming musicians hire a well-known music producer to turn their songs into albums since the producer has a wealth of knowledge in the music business and has worked with numerous artists in the past.
He will be aware of the current selling point and provide you with the kind of high-quality production that will meet the standard of music that people are listening to in the nation.
12. Create the artwork.
Consider your music to be a product that is hidden within a cartoon or package; since people cannot see this thing, it is the label or packaging that will draw them in.
It is regrettable that so many musicians make the error of promoting their music via album covers or other artwork in any case.
No matter how good the quality of your music may be, if your artwork is not appealing and of excellent quality, people will assume the same about your music.
And to acquire a fantastic piece of art, you need to think about the theme of your music—that is, the title of your song—and come up with an idea that would work.
Utilize that idea now by going to a reputable photography studio to take your rad photo session.
After the photo session, seek for a qualified graphic designer who will build your graphics in accordance with the concept you came up with.
When your artwork is excellent, people will be drawn to it and want to hear the music that is contained there.
13. Create your promotional package.
Don’t just post your audio track and artwork online and hope that people will immediately download it. Regardless of how wonderful your song or piece of art may be.
You must incorporate additional side attractions into your advertising of your music.
It may be something like a trending video, a freestyle cover of the music track, or a brief bio of the musician.
14. Start promoting your music.
The most crucial element in any music career is music promotion.
People won’t ever get to perform the crucial activities that will make you a successful musician in Nigeria if you don’t advertise your tunes.
In fact, your song should be played everywhere, including on phones, in bars, hospitals, and jail yards.
However, it’s terrible that many up-and-coming musicians take music promotion for granted.
They believe that the key is to provide the links for people to go and stream their songs after they have been uploaded to Audiomack.
Some of them believe that because online music promotion has absorbed offline music promotion, it is no longer important.
But I’m here to tell you that if you want to be a successful musician in Nigeria, you must master both online and offline music promotion.
There isn’t, however, a single, proven method for successful music promotion.
Since finances play a significant part, you must understand the cost of music advertising in Nigeria in order to choose your budget.
After putting everything in place, you can choose where to actually start and work your way up the ladder to successfully promote your music.
15. Participate in gigs.
Many artists have found success while appearing in various shows. Because participating in a gig will provide you the chance to interact with and meet members of the music business.
Record label owners and sponsors frequently attend concerts with the intention of meeting a talented up-and-coming musician they can collaborate with, aside from having to share the stage with top artists and possibly becoming linked if you wow them.
And as you can see, if you perform in more performances, your chances of landing a record deal or a sponsor for your music career will increase.
16. Take part in music competitions or contests
Many artists in the music industry have found success thanks to song competitions.
MTN Project Fame, one of the biggest musical competitions in Nigeria and all of Africa, produced Inyanya and Chidinma.
A record deal is typically one of the top prizes offered in the majority of these music competitions.
And you can image where it will put you in the music industry if you win.
Therefore, be sure to sign up for any ongoing music competitions and auditions.
17. Increase and expand your fan base.
Without a dedicated fan base, no musician can ever find success in the music business.
To help you gain more fans, your fans are the ones who will stream, download, play, and most importantly, share, your music.
You can give your fan base a distinctive name; for instance, Naira Marley’s fan base is referred to as the Marlians.
Simply by sharing that name, so many individuals will genuinely want to associate themselves with your fan base.
18. Request media reviews of blogs and news organizations.
Press review simply refers to the process of having your life and work discussed on blogs and other media outlets.
As a rising artist, you should approach them and ask for a newspaper review rather than waiting for them to find you.
You may easily find their contact information by visiting their official website or social media pages.
19. Distribute your music to online retailers
You must make your music available on digital streaming services if you want to ensure that it gets heard everywhere.
The benefit of doing this is that it will allow you to monetize your music when it is being streamed.
20. Establish connections with key figures in the Nigerian music industry.
People who matter in the music industry include online and offline music promoters, marketers, record label executives and agents, established artists, and even the gateman and cleaner who work in a record label.
Your chances of succeeding in the music business will rise if you connect with one or more of these people.
And they’re everywhere, particularly on LinkedIn.
21. Make a cool music video
People frequently become distracted by or drawn to things they can see.
People have also been shown to watch rather than listen more often.
because there are more side attractions for visual productions than for audio ones.
Therefore, if you want to be a successful singer in Nigeria, you must produce a music video and market it.
22. Create music samples
Sometimes, all you need to do to draw listeners in is cut out a portion of your musical composition that is particularly compelling. This is your “snippet.”
You can use video content, such as sports highlights, stunts, or even memes, as visuals while your audio track is playing in the background if it is from your audio track.
In order for individuals who are interested to follow the link and listen to the entire track, upload and share this across multiple media networks with a link back to the main track.
23. Host a listening event.
You will have the chance to invite guests to a listening party where you can introduce them to your music.
The listening party will allow you to ask friends and well-wishers for money, which is the most remarkable aspect.
The key is to get a really talented DJ who has the ability to speak and inspire people to contribute significantly so that you can advance your musical career.
24. Perform a musical launch.
Similar to a listening party, a musical launch will enable you to get out to people who will financially support your musical endeavors.
Don’t wait till your album is complete to debut your music; you can launch even a single.
To accomplish this, look for a location that will be simple to find, choose a date, and print enough invitation envelopes to go around.
As chairman, vice chairman, chief launcher, special visitor, etc., you can choose a few powerful or wealthy persons and print their names on the envelope.
The names of these people will inspire so many people to attend the launch.
The turn up can then be used as a source of funding to advance your musical career.
25. Be online.
As a music promoter with years of expertise, I’ve seen dozens of artists who are rarely online.
And I always think of these kind of artists as amateurs.
Therefore, you must maintain consistency online if you want to become a successful artist in Nigeria.
Be active in the forums to which you belong and occasionally post on social media.
26. Do giveaways.
You can give away items like recharge cards for 500 Naira as well as larger prizes like cars and thousands of Naira.
You never know when someone could need a 500 recharge card to make calls or buy a data package.
People will be more likely to follow your platforms and stay up to speed on your updates as a result, increasing their chances of winning in the future.
Then you can plan how you’ll use the freebie to get people to check back for your updates sometimes.
27. Sell products.
As a musician, you have the option to present one or more goods for purchase, which will serve as your merchandise.
You can customize hats, t-shirts, badges, and other items and sell them on your official website if you have the money.
One benefit of doing this is that it will enable you to personalize your award and generate large sales revenues.
The product’s strongest aspect is that people will think it is great because an artist has recommended it.
28. Create a personal official website.
Nigerian artists are still unaware of the benefits of establishing a personal website.
And perhaps most importantly, how it can actually assist with musical achievement.
There are several benefits, one of which is that your website will enable you to gather all of your musical materials in one one where visitors can easily navigate and find out everything they require to know about you.
For instance, through your official website, people can easily access your mp3s, viral videos, freestyle videos, official music videos, and other contents. They can also easily find your contact information on your contact page.
Our web service can help you get a fully optimized website for as little as 10,000 Naira, despite the fact that building a responsive and optimized website is expensive.
Therefore, never pass up the chance to take advantage of it.
29. Pray and put your faith in God.
Regardless of your religious affiliation, I think you trust the same God that everyone else does.
And in your religion, there is a way to approach God.
As Christians, we think that we can approach or consult God for anything we need in life by praying and fasting.
I really believe that the spiritual affects the material world. To achieve success in the physical realm, one must first achieve success in the spiritual realm.