Why the Nigeria music industry is not for you

You turn on the TV and the colours hit you. Another riveting music video is in play, and it has all the trappings of the good life. There’s wine in abundance, scantily-clad women in mass numbers, expensive cars, and the freshest of clothes.

At that moment, you begin to dream. Your mind takes up wings and flies into the zone between the future and your daydream. “That could be me”, you say, convincing yourself, extrapolating the interplay of wealth dancing on the screen. Suddenly, you feel energized, the pictures on TV are no longer pictures. They become a window into your future. You finally make the decision that you will be that person on TV. You will in your heart to join the music industry.

You will never make it.

On Saturday, I won an award as the Entertainment Writer of the year, at the Nigeria Writer’s Awards. I received a lot of congratulatory messages and more. Also contained in this barrage of messages were questions from people, asking how they should get into the industry. I always ask the simple question: What do you want out of life?

Many people fail to see the connection between that question, and the desire to join ‘Entertainment’. Let me explain that.

The Music industry is mainly made up of three sets of people: Creators, Distributors, and marketers. By extension, the consumers are also a part of this.

The creators are the music makers. The artists, the producers, the record label executives, singers, rappers, songwriters, instrumentalists, sound engineers and many more. The distributors involve the media. That’s where I belong.  We get the content, and we throw it to all corners of the earth, giving mass access to listeners. This distribution is not limited to music. We also package, sell and distribute the make-believe lifestyle of the celebrities. That’s what we call entertainment news.

Then there are marketers. These are the people who work their butt off to make money via deals and power agreements with bodies, organizers of concerts, record labels, distribution houses, Licensing companies, publishing imprints and many more. This is where the concert organisers, show promoters and digital publishing firms come in.

These are the three arms of the music business, and if your goals and dreams are not aligned to these businesses and the services they provide, then don’t come into the industry. If you can’t see yourself building a career, and creating a business based on the structures that exist, or refining and introducing a new system for the industry, then steer clear.

Contrary to what appears on TV, it’s a jungle out here. All of that finery and sweetness that emanates from the screens infect you with falsehood. Out here, it’s very ruthless. Same as other markets, only the true resilient big hitters survive. Many crash and burn. Loyalty is a scarce commodity that only the highest bidders can afford in the music industry.

This year, we have seen the cracks become wider, with incessant feuds emanating from the creators, and by extension, the distributors. Not all is well behind the scenes, and it never will be. Only the select few who have a vision, and work hard at their dreams will be successful.

Success doesn’t come from the screen-inspired ego trips, it starts from a genuine desire to create change within. Here’s to hoping you find true conviction to join the Nigeria music industry.