Building Your Music Career

There are a lot of upcoming artists in our society today with great talent but it is so sad that these guys with real talent can’t make the big mark because they aren’t known and have no idea how they would build their music career. As a result of the lucrativeness of the music industry, many young individuals have become highly ambitious about becoming the next music star. In this article, I have compiled some simple, yet comprehensive, guides/steps on how to spring up your passion to build a career in music and make it in the Nigerian music industry of today.

It is often said that you need a lot of money to be able to build yourself and your music career, yes that is true to some extent, but this article will help you to know how to build and promote your music career even with little money.

Work On Yourself

First of all, you have to build yourself before you can build your music. As it is said, good music is good for the soul, so before you can make any mark in the music industry, your music needs to be good so it can appeal to the heart. How can you build yourself as a musician? The better you are in music, the more your career gets built indirectly. Take lessons on how to improve yourself. Study the lives of successful artists. Make corrections where necessary and make the right changes.

Electronic Press Kit

In the music industry, professionalism is key. Having a record of who you are, what you've done, pictures, videos, the music you've recorded makes you look serious and focused. An Electronic press kit is like a portfolio for musicians. When someone important wants to know more about you, showing them your EPK is much better than scrambling to show them different things from different places. You have to be prepared for the unseen.

Build A Brand

With practically everyone into music, it takes extra work to be noticed even if you have talent. This is where branding helps. Don't strive to be the same as everyone. Be you. Don't strive to do what everyone else is doing. Do you. "Different" is a breath of fresh air the world is waiting for. The one thing you know makes you different from other artists, capitalise on that and build your career around it.

Find A Recording Studio

This is one way you can build your music career. Recording your songs in a studio once in a  while can go a long way in helping you build your music. There are a lot of musicians today who met producers in recording rooms and were picked up from there and today they are thriving in their career. With things becoming much easier with the advancement of technology, you can easily record songs using apps. Nevertheless, don't forget the importance of physical contact. You can always learn one or two things from people.

Promote Your Music

Remember that building your career depends mainly on you. As much as you want to build your music career, you must also promote your music as well, because you cannot build your career without promoting it. Now let’s see ways you can promote your music as well as build your career.

• Firstly, ensure you share your new songs with friends and families. You have to start with the people you know. As a seed grows into a tree, so your music career will when you start from the grassroots. Your family and friends can go a long way in helping you build your career as they will help you also in promoting your music and can even link you up with other successful musicians.
• Upload your songs on Nigerian music/video sites; sites such as YouTube, Mizik, Soundcloud, iTunes, Audiomack, Spotify, among others. Some are free and some require a token. Millions of people visit these sites daily; successful musicians and producers included. Your music can catch their attention and boom, your career will move to the next level. 
• Using social media. You can use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or even WhatsApp to promote your songs. Reaching out to social media influencers for a shout out is also a strategy for song promotion on social media.

This is why your music must be very good. After writing a beautiful song the next best thing is to practice it all-day-every-day. You must know what you are doing. Deliver this in the most perfect way possible. Bad music will not give you what you want. It is advisable to make a video on these sites instead of uploading only audio.

Grow Your Online Presence

As an aspiring music artist, you need a very strong online presence. Entertain your fans. Post items regularly. This can include behind the scenes clips, record sessions, an upcoming event, a news release etc. Use tags for a wider audience reach. Interact with your fans; besides wanting to promote your music, see how you can also add value to their lives. Grow your online presence and your career follows. 

Participate In Talent Shows

Talent shows are a cool way to show people what you can do. It can help build your career in many ways. For example, Chidnma was made popular when she won the MTN project fame and she won a very grand prize both financially and otherwise. These shows are being watched by top producers and musicians and no doubt they won’t see a real talent there and let it pass them by.  Just imagine winning a show like MTN Project fame or the X-FACTOR show, your music will not only be promoted in Nigeria but also around the globe. When you see an opportunity to be seen presenting itself, grab it with your full chest (lol). Fame will do you good. You might bag endorsement deals or get signed to a label.

Meet With Other Artistes

People help people. Not everything has to be about competition. There are musicians out there who are undoubtedly better than you at what you do. Attend their shows, listen to their music, establish contact where possible. A good opportunity might slip right past you because you didn't know the right person.

Hopefully, everything outlined in this article gives you a better perspective of what you need to do to build your music career. Get better at what you do and build your audience. Do away with the mindset of needing a record deal before you can make it. With hard work and the right tactics, you can make it yourself.