First of all, I want to advise you about something important before you continue reading this article right now: If music is not a passion for you, stop reading.
I can guarantee that you will make more money from music when you take it as a passion instead of just a business. If you are just in it for the money, you won’t get far here.
Music is just not worth doing if you are not passionate about it. That is just it.
Let us move on though… I am sure you are passionate about music, that is the only reason you should be here.
Nigerians are versed (no pun intended) and adept in the art of song-making and musical arrangements today. It is therefore no wonder that more and more Nigerians are going into music as a profession.
Nigeria is definitely one of the biggest and best markets for good music in the world. If you can make it as a musician here in Nigeria, you can make it big as a musician everywhere you go.
If you have come to learn how to make money from music in Nigeria, welcome. You are in the right place for sure.
I am so passionate about music. Do you know how I feel? I feel so proud of how Nigerian music has evolved totally, over the years, to fresher sounds that the whole world wants to vibe to.
We already have Nigerian music stars like Wizkid, Burna Boy, Davido, Rema, Tems etc. who are highly sought-after by fans all over the world.
Their music is just that good… Yes
You too can be a top music star today, revered for your craft all over the world, if you truly want to make this journey a worthwhile success for you.
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, I felt so proud to see the whole stadium light up – at one of the matches – when Rema’s hit song “Calm Down” came on the stereo.
And it so helps that Rema also did a very good remix to “Calm Down” with no other than the beautiful and talented Selena Gomez herself in the feature.
The crowd of fans at the World Cup basically sang Rema’s hit word for word, lyric for lyric, and rhythm for rhythm, as the young man watched on in awe and happiness.
I think that should show you the intercontinental value of the music that Nigerians are making these days. Are you really ready to do this?
If you put good efforts into your craft, with all seriousness, you are bound to be successful in your music career as well.
To make money from music in Nigeria, you first have to develop a strong passion for your musical talents. You have to be passionate about expressing your type of music. Stay true to yourself and shine.
To shine, growth has to always be at the forefront of your mind. You should be ready to constantly evolve for good if you want to be a successful musician straight outta Nigeria.
You need a portfolio.
Before any record label or private/public investor can put money or resources in your music, you must first invest all you can on your own.
To make money from music in Nigeria, check the following steps –
Invest In Developing Your Talents
Before even stepping into the studio to record your first song, you must already be tired of turning your bathroom and bedroom into makeshift recording booths. The development of your talents for music should start in earnest before you ever even touch a mic.
Does your passion not develop from your mind and heart? Process your music with discipline, diligence, determination, direction, and duty.
At least know and understand the fundamentals of music before you begin your musical career right now.
Write Original Songs
You have to be unique if you want to stand out in music right now. There is not much that is more unique than a musician who can write his/her own hit songs.
Practise writing songs in your free time and you will love the results you see. It will inevitably make you a more passionate music star as you go on.
Right now, you can start writing your own songs by modelling your lyrics according to the words and cadences of your favourite songs. This way, you can easily find your songwriting style as you play around.
Play like this is very essential: It is what the work depends on.
Make Good Music
Show off more of your creativity by not only writing your songs, but also arranging the lyrics into instrumentals, sounds, and samples that make them the hit songs everyone wants to hear.
Making music is different from writing songs. Keep that in mind.
Step into the music studio and make some good music for your fans to cheer for. They are waiting for this.
Shoot And Release Nice Music Videos
After recording your desired music, you need to have budgets for nice music videos to go along with the songs. A great song may not always blow up, but nice music videos really do have the actual propensity for attracting more attention to your talents and crafts.
A really good music video will get you more recognition than you ever imagined. People will relate to you more when they can see the face behind the music.
Or you can be a Sia or a Lagbaja… Just let them see the visuals though. The world loves TikTok and Youtube videos right now, make them see yours in the Timeline too.
Become A Great Live-Show Performer
Learn how to perform your music on stage. There are people who may never be your fans, or stay your fans if you don’t have the stage presence to perform your own songs and wow the audience in the best ways possible.
No filter. No autotune.
You should be able to kill off any doubts about your talents when you get on the stage and get the whole place rocking. Learn to be a great music performer like Michael Jackson, Fela, Jimi Hendrix, Burna Boy, Asa, Adele, and the rest.
Do you know why people love Asake so much these days? My main opinion about that fact is that Asake makes a lot of stage-worthy songs and performances. He knows how to make and perform music.
Learn how to perform well.
Utilize The Good of Social Media
Your social media platforms should be effectively utilized if you want to promote your music once it is made. Your songs and music videos should be uploaded and monetized on social media as best as they can be.
Social media is an opportunity for you to get your music across to people all over the world. Rema got signed to Mavins Records, by Don Jazzy, when his freestyles on Instagram got recognized by D’Prince.
It took just about four viral freestyles for Rema to get his multimillionaire status as a musician today. He later even compiled those freestyles into an E.P (Extended Playlist), releasing them as proper songs. Leveraging on Social media is one of the proven ways of how to make money from music in Nigeria.
There really are no limits asides from the ones we set for ourselves.
Earn Social Proof and Recognition From Awesome Musicians
When awesome musicians, considered awesome by millions of awesome fans, shout you out for good, your music gets a higher rating immediately.
Imagine Drake posting an IG video of him vibing to your jams as he cruises in the city with the cool peeps? That’s good promotion for you.
Try your best to get features and respect from the giants in the music industry today. You will go farther when you do this.
Get Investments To Make More Material
Get investors to invest in your music as you go on. You need money for making music, booking flights, organizing shows, shooting and releasing music videos, paying team members, buying supplies, featuring music stars etc. At some point, you are going to need more money than just your own.
It will be easy to convince people to invest in your talents when you have the fanbase and portfolio we talked about.
To get investments for your music, your fanbase is your most important portfolio. The investor wants to make as much Return-On-Investment (ROI) as possible. How many people are actively listening to your music?
Do people truly care about the music you are making? Find out by trying to get investments in your music career.
Get Proper Management For Your Music Career
Once the funds and financial aspects have been settled, you need to employ proper management for your music. Effective music management will help you to organize, release, store, and monetize your music with ease.
Good management will bring you more opportunities to do better in your music career as you progress. At this point, your songs should already be going places and you just need to stay on your grind.
Before getting management for your music, you need to learn to manage your music yourself. Be careful of the sharks in the industry, they will try to rip you off.
Stick only to proper music management techniques.
Conclusion
The world is actually looking for more good music from Nigerian musicians today. You have all the chance to win high at all the stakes and more right now.
You need to make money from music? Make your music to be as valuable as should be. Once your music has inherent value, people will naturally pay money to hear you sing.
Make your talents work for you by working on them first.
I wish you all the goodness and joy that you can get from the art of music today. I hope this piece on how to make money from music in Nigeria is useful to you.
I am confident that you will be a great music star once you make great music and promote it greatly.
Make money from your music today!
Written by Richard Henry
