Music Industry Resource Rundown

Hey, I trust you’re well and keeping safe.

I’ll tell you one thing, every day, endeavor to consume at least one thing intellectually stimulating, whether or not you need it then. You never know when/how it’ll come in handy. This is a surefire way to remain invaluable in your career, at work, socially etc. I’ve been able to garner goodwill and opportunities by mere habit of staying informed. You can’t go wrong with it - that, I’ll tell you for free.

I get inquiries from music industry enthusiasts, some proposing to be my mentee, many wanting to know how I’m knowledgeable. Of course, I do have personal secrets – that works for me anyway but what also works is keeping my ears to the ground about whatever information.

Truth is, you can't become all that in a day, or even a year. It takes months and years of immersing yourself with happenings in your field of interest. So, if you typically have a difficult time finding resources to consume, I’ll be making a compilation of some resources I enjoy periodically.

Diving right in, lockdown is easing in bit; physical activities are slowly returning but COVID cases have maintained a steady rise. While we’re still unsure what the future holds for live music, notably for festivals like Gidi Fest that have since been postponed to October. Speaking with Gidi Fest’s co-founder, Chin Okeke, this Okay Africa feature examines what this change in climate spells for the Nigerian live music scene. If it does hold in October, Gidi Fest might no longer be a three-day festival as initially planned.

Here’s a weekly Zikoko series that explores the working-class struggles of Nigerians, capturing the very spirit of what it means to hustle in Nigeria and putting you in the shoes of the subject for a week and this week’s episode has one of the most driven artists we probably know. Blaqbonez’s hustle spirit is contagious and I think that has been established over time but hasn't been as pronounced as it is now especially in the wake of this pandemic where a major chunk of artist income has been severed by, courtesy of social distancing and now artists have just streaming revenue to latch on. Have a glimpse of a week in the life of Haba crooner, Blaqbonez. Stream Haba here!

This week on Joey Akan’s Afrobeats Intelligence, he interviews one of the best to ever do it in the Nigerian music industry, D’Banj in a two-part interview. This interview divulges the mystery behind D’Banj as an entertainer. Long read but totally worth it.

Ire is doing his bit for the culture by simplifying complex subject matters about the music business through his newsletter, Keed Culture already in it's third issue. For the next issue, he’s opened the floor for inquiries about the topic “1M Streams: What Next”. You can drop your questions here, you might still be in luck.

Oyinda Olukanni has just released his book entitled, Guide for A Successful Emerging Artist. You actually don’t have to be an artist before purchasing this book. It does serve burgeoning managers and music business enthusiasts alike, as it gives an inkling of some of prerequisite for artists’ trajectory. Interestingly, the book also features insights from some music industry thought leaders like Godwin Tom, Foza, Dolapo Amusat, Motolani Alake and of course, yours truly.

Did you catch Beyoncé’s speech at Youtube’s Dear Class of 2020 last Sunday. It’s a monumental nine minutes of the singer celebrating graduates with powerful words. “Yes, I’ve been blessed to have 24 Grammys but I’ve lost 46 times. That makes rejection 46 times.” – Beyoncé.

“Every year, Black music generates hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars. Black Music has been responsible for and the driving force of increasing value of these companies in the financial markets.” I totally enjoyed this thought piece by music business veteran, Ronald Sweeney where he talks about record labels addressing the discrimination of Black folks in the music industry. He further suggested 12 ways how record labels can actually make changes by addressing the elephant in the room.

I spent yesterday morning listening to The Shade Non Conform podcast by Folashade Anozie, with entertainment lawyer and music business exec, Foza as guest and I really don’t have to convince you to listen even. Pass on this at your own peril. Totally one of the most illuminating listens you’ll hear this week. 

Let me know if you found this helpful and if any of these resources did resonate with you.

If you dig this, you might as well share.

...Until next time!