From years of experience working as a talent manager and AR executive i have continually met with so many promising artistes. I always prefer to call them fast rising act cos they have everything required to become a star. They just need some sort of push and boom! they are way up there. While trying to find that push they need some of them always come across my path.

However, during the course of my engagement and conversation with some of them. One slogan is very common which is "Boss i dont have money, just help me , i just need someone to help me".

Now some of these artistes have done so well for themselves already to the extent that at the time they approach me , they already have at least a very good song/ EP, properly mixed and mastered, some of them have even gone the extra length of shooting a video already. So all they need is very good promotion that will put their music out there so they can get the exposure and recognition they deserve.

Unfortunately, when i engage with an these up and coming artistes, remember i always choose to call them "Fast rising artistes" i am always waiting for our conversation to get to that point of "boss how can you help me, i dont have money"

Now lets face the truth, majority of very promising upcoming artistes out there most times are the real ones working against themselves although most of them dont know this simply because they just have the talent but dont understand the business. Some actually think they know but trust me they dont know jackshit. I always advise people venturing into businesses to always ensure they have at least basic knowledge of any business they are venturing into. As this saves so many headaches and the rest. Same applies to the music business.

Most of our upcoming artistes dont really look at music from the business perspective the way a label executive , manager, AR or distribution agency looks at it. Rather they just see it as something they enjoy doing or have passion for but also know they can make a living from the talent they have. Hence most of these upcoming artistes dabble into the business without a well laid down plan or structure in place which always lead to no where at the end of the day.

Music is not just all about money although money plays a major role in determining how fast an artiste will grow. But its simple, If you have the talent you have it. Its there no one can take it from you. Then when that talent is well harnessed it lives up to its full potential.

Over the years i have seen guys who came into this industry with a whole lot of money but some of them didnt last up to 2 years before fading off. Why? its simple, they had all the money to push but couldn't provide what the audience want to hear.

Before i digress from the main point of this write up, i always ask those artistes that tell me "boss i dont have money, how can you help me "[i][/i] , you paid your producer, studio engineer, music video director and even graphics artistes and at the stage where you have a finished product waiting to be explored and you cant push at least initially to a reasonable extent even if you are looking for an investor in form of a label to assist you with the cost of promotions as time goes on .

Truth must be said here music promotions doesnt come cheap everywhere in the world thats why artistes and labels who understand the music business dont joke with their promotions. It is one of the most critical part of the project.

One of the mistakes up and coming artistes makes is that majority of them dont even want to start small. They just want to be up there in a jiffy which is very possible if you have all the necessary funding and backing. But for an artiste who has limited resources and just hustling to get things done, you need to be strategic. Thats where the business mindset and strategic planning comes in.

Look at it from this angle, How can you spend close to a million naira or over a million naira to shoot a music video when you know you dont have the necessary funding to push this video? Does that make sense or how can you spend tons of thousands to produce a song and you cant even put it out there for people? Absolutely makes no sense. As a music entreprenuer or businessman which music artistes are you should be looking at how you can spend some money on your music and in the next 3-4 months get back time 10 of that money and reinvest it in your craft.

So many artistes keeps making this mistake over and over again.

These days the global acceptance of digital streaming platforms has made music monetization very easy and seemless.

Dont be fooled dear artistes, gone are the days where you need a record label for you to quickly blow up in the music industry. The emergence of digital streaming platforms has shown us that independent unsigned artistes can rake in 6 figures quaterly via dsp's if you are able to drive massive traffic to your song in stores, then you can reinvest your profit in mainstream media.

in 2020 Omah Lay and Tems showed us how an artiste without any major financial backing can break through, rise to prominence and even make a whole lot of money even without playing shows. In 2020 majority of artistes world wide relied heavily on the income they generated from their streams and you are still waiting for a label to sign you ?

Believe it or not if you can hit 1 million streams across major streaming platforms, you are there already. Thats platinum !!!

In conclusion, dear artiste before recording or releasing any song or EP make sure you ready to promote by yourself at least to some reasonable extent before you get discovered. Emerging streaming technology has already made music distribution, promotions and monetization very easy.

Ace World Music International is a brain child of Frontline Digital. For the past few years, we have helped independent unsigned artistes create strong brand presence and achieve their goals.

Our process is designed to empower talents with the marketing tools needed to succeed. Talk to us today about how we can support your growth, increase your streams and download sales. Lets put you on a solid track to success and profit. All of our services are guaranteed and affordable.

What are your needs as an artiste : Massive YouTube views and subscribers, millions of streams and download of your song in digital stores, Celebrity social media page design and management, Management and AR Services, promotions on TV, Radio, print media, blog syndication, Mixtape promotions just name it we got you covered 100%

To learn more about our services, visit www.aceworldmusic.com.ng

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Thanks for this lovely piece very insightful. Even though you were trying to sell your services you still addressed some of the real issues faced by upcoming artiste. I am a music producers, produced some couple of hit records in Nigeria so i totally understand what you are saying. Imagine Omah Lay making 22 Million Naira from his first EP in 2020. He made this money before he started dropping videos. His team understood the streaming business which i am seeeing you understand too. Good luck

Hmm makes sense though. Messaged you already. Will love to work with you. You sound like someone who has an indepth knowledge of the music business

Very insightful