Every year during the festive season one sees hundreds of flyers
and posters for LIVE shows. This is quite normal because it is
during this time that artists make most of their revenue
throughout the year. Put simply, artists get paid in a big way
during the festive season with numerous shows booked back to
back. Corporate sponsors get on board during this season
paying top dollar for artists they believe best represent their
brand. That said it is alarming that there is very little
representation from the local hip-hop community when it comes
to these "Big dollar" gigs. Corporates don't seem keen to sign on
a hip-hop artist for a live gig. That is not the million dollar
question. In my opinion the private sector is profit-driven, if it is
not worth their while then they won't touch it.
This immediately leads me to another monster question, do local
hip-hop artists know their worth? Do we undervalue or overvalue
ourselves? This is a very subjective question. Saying that all
local hip-hop artists have the same value would be misleading.
Artists are different and by default based on their accumulated
success in their careers have a different value system.
A quick simple way to know your worth is to go through this
hypothetical exercise. Let's say the owner of a small venue
wanted to give you a contract to perform for 4 Saturdays
throughout the festive season. It's a small venue which can
accommodate 200 patrons with adequate social distancing. It
costs 600USD to run this event with the band and advertising.
Tickets are 5USD each. It's projected that at full capacity the
event will generate close to 1000USD every Saturday. 1000USDminus 600USD running costs leaves a projected profit of
400USD. The owner of this venue offers to pay you 200USD per
show, that's 50-50 on profits. They will pay you in advance, that's
800USD to perform for four Saturdays. 800USD! And now the
mammoth question, do you really feel confident that 200 people
will attend your live show paying 5USD each for four weekends
in a row. Be honest and know your worth. How many patrons will
really come to see you perform? Be honest. It's important to stop
putting our ambitions and sometimes very emotional "I can do it"
ahead of the brutal truth. Stop putting the cart before the horse.
The horse in this instance is the engine that drives your career
forward, anything that raises awareness about your brand is your
horse. Anything you can forward as proof that other stakeholders
have assigned you value is your horse and you are the cart. If
you are nominated for awards, that's worth something. If you
have performed on any platform where it can be followed up,
that's your horse. Videos trending online, social media platforms
brimming with followers that's your horse. Collaborations with
artists who already have recognised "horses" that's your horse.
Getting airplay or better yet featuring on chart shows can all
contribute to your ability to convince prospective sponsors that
you can reel in 200 patrons to watch you perform at a private
venue for four Saturdays in a row. By now the cold truth must be
dawning on you, your current worth is exposed by the number of
shows you have been booked to perform at during the festive
season. A season when business persons and promoters are
keen to make a killing by signing up the right artist and betting
on the right horse.