In this article, we are going to answer the question: what is the Nigerian music industry? and after reading it you are definitely going to understand how the Nigerian music industry works.
Most people think that the Nigerian music industry consists of only artists, and this is because these are the only people they can physically behold.
But when you go behind the scenes, you will discover that there are lots of people who are working hand in hand to make the artist what we see.
And without these kinds of, there is no way we will ever have the artist.
This article will aim to give us the definition of the Nigerian music industry and also reveal how the industry works.
What is the Nigerian music industry?
The Nigerian music industry is a group of musically talented and devoted individuals working cohesively to deliver music that is consumable to the masses.
This industry usually comprises the following people and institutions.
- Artist.
- Record companies
- Artist management.
- Distributors/marketers
- Music publishers.
- Music promoters
- Media outlets.
- Fans.
Let’s try to explain the above points one after the other.
1. Artist.
The artist is usually mistaken for the music industry itself. And this is because it is the artist that people tend to see and connect with the most.
He is the music maker and performer, we simply call it the brand since he is the one people are celebrating everywhere.
Often times the music the artist is performing might have been composed by someone else, but because he is the one who does all the singing; or say the main singing, people tend to draw a conclusion that he is the one who owns the music.
Even while the artist is singing about someone else’s life and experience, we will always conclude that what he relates did happen to him.
When he performs on stage, no one will have the slightest idea that there was someone who booked and organized that show. But because he is the one who gives the people the vibes, they are not wrong to conclude that he is the music industry itself.
2. Record companies.
The artist needs a place to make his music, without which there will never be the artist.
And it is the record companies that usually take care of that.
Whether it is a big label that signs the artist or just a recording studio that enables him to make his music; the duty of a record company is to ensure the artist records his music.
The most important person in this music institution is the music producer because he is the one who assembles the beats, and after the artist sings on it, he mixes and masters the beats and vocals to sit comfortably together to make the music pleasurable to the ears.
3. Artist management.
It is not the artist who is going to interact directly with people. From the booking of shows, tours, endorsement deals, etc, the artist must have someone who is always out there to ensure this hustle flows in.
This is what we refer to in the Nigerian music industry as artist management.
Every artist that wants to become successful must have one. Though the legal aspect is often downplayed, this can as well come under the artist’s management.
Because when it comes to the signing of papers, there sure must be legal representation.
4. Distributors/marketers.
After the music is recorded and packaged, there has to be a body that ensures the music reaches the masses for final consumption.
This institution is what we know as the distributors and marketers.
Way back music used to be packaged in tapes and CDs and packed in record stores for sale.
However, in this digital era, artists can also distribute and market their music online in digital streaming stores like Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer, etc.
In this case, the aggregators, for example, CD Baby, Tunecore, etc are the distributors, while the digital streaming stores act as the marketers.
What happens is that you simply sign up for an account with an aggregator who will help to distribute your music to the digital streaming stores.
And it is the aggregators who will track the streams across the whole web and collect your revenue appropriately.
5. Music publishers.
Though there is not too much difference between this kind and the distributors/ marketers.
However, the duty of a music publisher is to collect royalties from anywhere the artist’s music is being streamed or played.
6. Music promoters.
For the music to sell effectively, it must be able to reach a wider audience. And this workload is always done by the music promoters.
Another name for music promotion is marketing. And in this case, it is the process of ensuring the music of an artist reaches a wider audience.
There are countless sources and ways to achieve music promotion.
7. Media outlets.
The work of the media outlets is to write about what’s going on in the life of the artist.
Nowadays information is not far-fetched as media outlets can easily follow an artist on their social media platforms and gather news from what they are posting every now and then.
Sometimes, media outlets go to the extent of cooking up stories in a bid to get traffic to their platforms.
Some of the media outlets are news blogs, radio/TV stations, newspapers, magazines, cables, etc.
8. Fans.
Without the fans, there would be no Nigerian music industry. It is the fans that finally consume the music the artist has made and help him to make ends meet.
The artist needs fans who would stream, listen and download his music.
Dedicated fans will even go to the extent of promoting the artist by sharing their music; especially on music promotion sites, and getting hold of every opportunity to tell people about the artist.
Some fans have even gone as far as getting a tattoo of the artist they love.
They are the pillar of the Nigerian music industry, I mean the fans.
