After reading this interesting article, I feel I shouldn’t be a stingy guy so I decided to share with you guys and most especially upcoming artists. Please read and share your thoughts
Written By Olukorede Oyewoga.
So you are an aspiring/upcoming artiste hoping to reach the top of your game in the Music industry and also rub shoulders with the likes of 2face, Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, Banky W, D’Banj , Olamide, Vector, Bez, M.I, Ice Prince, P-Square, Sheyi Shay, Emma Nyra, Iyanya, Davido and the likes, well here are the very important points you should take note of if you really want to grow and become a star someday (in Nigeria particularly).
Consider these;
Great Content
Having a good content is one of the most important things that can help you get noticed. Most editors of music blogs will actually listen to your song before publishing it. And if it’s not good enough, then it ends up in the trash. You should remember that they all have audiences that they are trying to appeal to; hence anything that is short of quality will not be considered.
Consider doing the cover of a hit track
One of the fastest ways of getting noticed is doing the cover-song of a popular artiste better than the artsite… or at least as good as the artiste. It’s just like featuring in MTN project fame or Nigerian Idol, the only difference is that you will be producing a beat of your own.
Justin Bieber did a lot of covers and posted the videos on Youtube, so Usher didn’t have to be surprised for too long after giving him a chance to start off. You can do the same.
Take a look at Trybes records upcoming act, Sojay, as he covers the hit track “Beneath your Beautiful” originally sung by Emeli Sande and Labrinth via this link http://broadstreetng.com/?p=5116
Feature a renowned act even he/she is a producer or DJ
Have you considered featuring artistes that are already known by the public? Well, you might be scared of their charges but the returns on investment would be worth it after all. Remember Skuki’s first single “Banger” ft DJ Zeez? That track may have gone unnoticed if not for the influence of DJ Zeez in the track, and to cap it up, the track didn’t only launch Skuki into the music scene, it also won them an award at the HipHop Awards.
Mind you, you don’t have to feature only artistes, you can as well seek the services of a renowned producer to mix your beat and use his name as leverage or even a renowned DJ…as long as he/she is renowned!
Amazing artworks can also do the trick
So now you have your track in place and you are about sending it to every blog, prints or media outfit you know, has it occurred to you that your artwork (graphics design) might help boost your publicity? I am personally a sucker for amazing artworks and I feel it’s one of the key selling point of an artiste. It portrays you as a serious minded artiste. PAY a good graphic designer to get you something good. Besides ensure that you go for photoshoots regularly and update your photos online. You don’t want a blogger to be searching up and down for a quality picture to represent your story!
Good Distribution Network
Hire a GOOD publicist to help you send out your content to relevant bloggers far and wide. Publicist have built good rapport with bloggers and the media overtime and they will help you get your songs out there faster. You don’t have to do it all by yourself because you don’t want to pay. What’s important is doing it right.
For example, a GOOD publicist can make your songs trend on twitter. This can only be achieved if your song is being published on blogs at the same time. A GOOD publicist knows exactly what material to send out to the press and knows how to write a good press release that would contain all necessary information and yet will not be re-edited. It’s not by chance or luck that some songs get used at blogs like 360Nobs, Jaguda, Bellanaija, Notjustok, TooXclusive, BroadstreetNG etc faster than others.
The media loves good stories that are complete (Good Press release, Good Artwork, Good Photos) to be sent to the APPROPRAITE channel (most blogs have specific emails for music only). Get that right!
Have you tried posting your songs on free song sharing sites (Hulkshare, Soundcloud, MP3 skull, 4shared, Reverbnation etc)?
Why don’t you simply get all your tracks uploaded on free song sharing sites as listed above? Afterall uploading your tracks is for FREE isn’t it? This is at your own advantage as it helps you get noticed easily online. You can also easily share your links to anyone you might be pitching to. The best part is that it helps to boost your presence online. You can imagine someone typing your stage name on Google and nothing relevant appears. That spoils your brand.
Be a grateful artiste
Being grateful for a favour only helps you get into people’s favorite list. Once your release is used, it is very important that you at least send a thank you note or mention via email or twitter respectively. This will help the editor remember your name and always give you some preference.
Stay Creative
The most important of all is this part. If you want to last long and stay relevant in the game, you honestly need to stay creative. Keep doing great singles and not just shabby ones. This is the only means in which you can stay in people’s minds. Am sure you don’t want to be quickly forgotten after one or two singles. Take a cue from Wizkid, DBanj, Olamide and M.I by dropping mixtapes once in a while when your commercial singles are not ready. It’s very important to stay in people’s mind so that their attention is not diverted. Olamide in particular is currently performing some signs and wonders in the music scene and I am sure his name is still in your head as I speak. Stay creative
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