Everyday brand new music is released worldwide. Every single
country in the world has armies of artists releasing brand new
"hits". Think about it for a second, that's every single country in
the world. Each country has both aspiring and established
musicians. That's millions of artists with even more millions of
brand new songs every single day. There are 195 countries in
the world today, this total comprises 193 countries that are
member states of the United Nations and 2 countries that are
non-member observer states: the Holy See and the State of
Palestine. With the current world population estimated at over 7
billion it is estimated that there are at least 700 000 musicians
working professionally, this number excludes aspiring musicians
or artists who are not signed to an established record label or
distribution company. So let's put our ducks in a row. There are
at least 700 000 professional musicians in the world with the
ability to not only make a hit song but the capacity and corporate
backing to market and distribute that "hit song" globally.
That said you must now look at your current situation objectively.
You do not have a global foot print of marketing capital and
influence to make a global debut so how do you get noticed?
Truth be told, without the muscle of big labels it's near impossible
to breakthrough and become a formidable force in any music
environment, be it local or international.
Take for example you have a wildly infectious song, everyone
who hears it loves it. What is your reach if you are literally
passing the song from one WhatsApp group to another? That
distribution format is limited and in most cases it's near impossible to monetise. Let's say again you also manage to
produce a very entertaining video for your "WhatsApp hit song"
– everyone who sees this video loves it again and your
WhatsApp groups are full of your praises – what now?
Remember here that you have deliberately arrested your ability
to reach beyond your WhatsApp groups. Meanwhile, that odd
700 000 professionals are not only releasing marvellously catchy
tunes but they are also making sure through their record labels
and distribution companies that the music and music videos can
reach a worldwide audience.
So what am I saying here? At the beginning I said "being you
matters" it does, but I'm sure the title may have been misleading.
I'm not saying "being you" means doing things by yourself, being
true and committed to limited means of distribution, being
stubborn and refusing to consider any ideas other than your own.
No! "Being you" means be honest about who you truly are. You
are just an aspiring musician. It matters to acknowledge that
early on so that you do not end up needlessly frustrated and
angry in the end. It matters that you quickly become aware of
how far you can "push" your music without any assistance from
others. If all you can do with your hit song or video is share it on
WhatsApp then perhaps involving other platforms in a
professional way to take your content further is ideal.
Recently I saw an advert on MTV Base asking for music video
submissions, when I saw it I immediately thought of all the
WhatsApp kings trending in WhatsApp groups. Artists whose
incredible talent should be exposed to the world. The
requirements were clear as far as the quality of the video is
concerned and one need only Google Drive or attach a link to
their video to be considered for playlisting. When I saw this I
immediately realised how much it matters to know who you are!
I watch music channels to hear what the latest trends in music
are, which artists or music video is trending. I know I can't get
that information solely from my WhatsApp groups. It matters that I appreciate the limits of those platforms and look elsewhere for
the information I seek. I wondered how many Zimbabwean
artists had seen the MTV Base video promo. How many aspiring
artists were watching MTV Base, Channel O, Trace etc? In that
precise moment I think it mattered. You are remarkable in your
own right and can perhaps justify why you don't need to look
anywhere for guidance with your music career. Think about it for
a second, if you truly appreciated who you are in the much bigger
global music landscape, how small your current foot print is with
your own initiatives, you wouldn't hesitate to get other team
players on board and perhaps open some proverbially closed
doors.
Locally you cannot make a big footprint with your music if you do
not liaise with local stakeholders like music reporters, bloggers,
social influencers, deejays, radio and TV stations. Give those
local players unlimited access to your "hit songs". Everybody in
the music business loves an exclusive. Offer to give them your
music first as this will help build a good professional relationship.
Imagine being able to confidently say that my music will come
out this Friday and be played during this show by this Deejay.
not only will that give you a little bit of peace of mind, knowing
that at least this once your music will be playlisted but such an
arrangements communicates volumes to not only your fans but
to other stakeholders like music promoters (who by the way are
always in the market to spot who is trending next). Having
confidence that there are some stakeholders who you have
already informed and given your project in advance of release
date is the one thing a lot of artists miss out on. A lot of artists
release music today and hope and pray that somehow that music
will spontaneously find itself on playlists on radio or TV. This is
real life. As I said in the beginning, you need to do the ground
work first before releasing your music. Prepare a good quality
Electronic Press Kit (PDF Format), CD artwork, clean MP3 and
a distribution list, then submit your music!