Before you start dreaming of making those bucks and aspiring to go out into the spotlight, you must understand that music has a price. The icons and greats of the music world paid certain prices and you must understand that the standard has not fallen, neither has it reduced. Music is obviously challenging and it is not something to be rushed into. For upcoming acts who have dreamt of making it big in the overhauled music industry, here are a few tips to know:

Do NOT put money first: An average Nigerian artiste readily dreams of the spotlight before he heads to the studio to make his first recording. Just like every occupation, a proper set up is required before the money comes flowing in. The implication of putting money first could result to early frustration and bailing out easily. This has affected and ruined many potential ‘stars’ as they have been disappointed first hand. Some who were privileged to attend shows as ‘small’ as street “jamz” and street carnivals ended up killing their once promising career as they charged 30-50k. I could remember interviewing the late Da Gin (RIP) and he mentioned to me that he attended a lot of shows for free just because he needed to make himself known. Money is good and needed, but let it come later.

Create your target audience: Unfortunately, MOST artistes, upcoming and the established don’t have this. Music is much of a brand as well as an art, and as such, creating a target is paramount. The big questions one must ask before making any recording should be

Whom is this track/song/piece for?
Who should listen to this and who should not?
Why should they listen to this piece? And
When should they listen to this piece?
By putting these questions into consideration, you’re unconsciously building a target audience for each of your tracks. Don’t just walk into that booth because the beat seems nice.

Do a market survey of your genre: Don’t just take to the booth for singing sake. The need to do a survey of how marketable your genre would be is crucial. Sample the opinions of people around you, get that of people whom you’re not familiar with as well and do a background check on artistes who have walked that path. How did they fare? How are they faring? These two questions should be well analysed, lest you make a horrible mistake.

Strive to make your song timeless: Timelessness is critical to recording. I have heard several upcoming artistes tell me they stumbled on a song by ‘inspiration’. As much as inspiration is crucial to recording, critical thinking is also required to ‘cooking’ a hit. Inspiration will not cause your audience to listen to you. Hence, the need to put certain considerations into place. When recording avoid placing emphasis on trending words/slangs and beats/instrumentals breeding trending dance moves. The eventual implication for this would mean your song would fade even as the trend fades. The goal of every artiste is to leave an ever green that would speak for them even when they are no longer around.

Put your vocal strength to use: One annoying thing about some local artistes is that they lack vocal prowess, and as such, the need to pitch becomes “Mission Impossible III”. This best explains why some of them adopt ‘auto tune’ and heavy instrumentals. Songs should not be recorded in a hurry. If you lack strong vocals, suspend your recording, look for a vocal trainer who would help you hit the right notes and give more appeal to your piece.

Avoid using musical clichés: The saddest, most pitiable and most used lines of upcoming acts bothers on ‘Champagne’, ‘Bentley’, ‘Girls’, ‘Cash’, ‘Fresh’, ‘Balling’, etc. Nobody cares if you’re fresh, if you’re popping Champagne or if you have a Bentley. You want to become a star, do so without using repetitive lines and give us reasons to listen to your piece.

Put quality first, not quantity: I have seen and I know upcoming artistes who would prefer to spend 100k on 6 tracks (20k per track plus extra), than spend the same amount on one track and collect the ‘change’ left. What most upcoming acts do not understand is that your moment is not in the number of tracks you have recorded but the quality of your piece. Your goal as an upcoming act is to get a good producer, preferably a reputable one who is well versed in your chosen genre. While this is a good idea, remember that the more reputable they are, the more expensive they would be.

Keep your instrumentals simple and beatable: This is perhaps the greatest reason why Nigerian artistes don’t welcome live beats during shows. A typical Nigerian artiste will lip sync and walk to-and-fro the stage like an American charismatic pastor in church. Problem is, most artistes have no prior musical background other than “I started singing at the age nine in my father’s living room.” Perhaps our artistes, if not all, would struggle without going off-beat. Complicated beats may be impossible to put together during a live performance. Take note.

Humility is key: Last but not the least, the greatest gift any man can possess amidst fame and power is staying humble! I have lived to see several ‘bedroom super stars’ disgrace themselves and ‘ordinary’ people for one reason – I’m a star! Ordinarily, lyrics and good looks could cause you to rise to stardom but humility is a main ingredient to keeping you there. What you must understand is that stardom is a row call; today it belongs to you, another day it belongs to that hustler trying to get his songs on the radio. This is perhaps the reason artistes are long forgotten when they fall off from stardom. Some go as far as isolating themselves from long term friends, partners and other upcoming acts. Remember, today’s rag was yesterday’s best attire.

Source: http://www.fctpost.com/2015/06/02/what-every-upcoming-act-must-know/

@Op, you are 100% on point, all the points are very valid, but I would like to talk on that 100k for 5tracks, artists need to stop wasting money on whack producers, they are too much in Nigeria but I guess its a phase nearly every struggling upcoming artist must pass through, after wasting you money on them twice, them no go teach you before you pick race.

Chanchit:
@Op, you are 100% on point, all the points are very valid, but I would like to talk on that 100k for 5tracks, artists need to stop wasting money on whack producers, they are too much in Nigeria but I guess its a phase nearly every struggling upcoming artist must pass through, after wasting you money on them twice, them no go teach you before you pick race.

Lolz...

cc
Lalasticlala
Ishilove

True but tell these things to olamide, davido, wizkid, reminisce now

@sanchez01, would be releasing my first official single in two weeks time with a world class producer, would. Give you a mention when. Link is ready.

Chanchit:
@sanchez01, would be releasing my first official single in two weeks time with a world class producer, would. Give you a mention when. Link is ready.

Alright... Thanks for the honour