A true-life story of Ric’s brother and lessons from it

Ric's brother

There’s  this very good friend of mine, Ric.  I met him in 2012 during his one-year compulsory service to Nigeria (NYSC). At that time, I had just finished mine. Over time, we began to grow close and bond. Today, because of how close we are, I can say we’ve grown beyond friends to brothers.

Anyways, last month Ric’s elder brother visited him from the south-eastern part of Nigeria. And within the period of his stay with my friend turned brother, they scheduled that I meet with him. Actually, Ric’s elder brother is an ordained minister of the Gospel. But he is also a talented singer. He had recorded two full albums ten years ago, but they were not distributed and definitely not promoted. So, only members of their family and just a few friends heard the songs in the albums.

What we did

Basically, the major aim of the meeting was to consult with me on how they can revive and publicize those albums. I think I need to pause a little here to give a little explanation of the albums we are talking about. Ric’s brother recorded both albums like medleys, so each song flows into the next and it continues like that till the end. So, you could have 30 minutes of continuous play time without stop. Also, he sang all the songs in Igbo. After talking with them for a while, we agreed that we need to separate the individual songs in the albums, to stand as single songs and then make lyrics videos for each of them. The job was contracted to Jeplune Music Studios, one of the music companies in Nigeria that make beautiful lyrics videos. Within a few weeks we had separated the songs in the albums and started work on the lyrics videos. We also created a YouTube channel for Ric’s brother.

Now here’s where the story get’s interesting. We uploaded the first lyrics video on his YouTube channel (you can see for yourself here) and the result was massive. Within a few days, Ric’s brother got over a hundred views on the video and some subcribers too.

So, what happened?

First, this was the first time the public was hearing this album that Ric’s brother recorded 10 years ago. To them, it’s a new music release. Secondly, due to the fact that we released the songs as lyrics videos, we could project the English translation of the words of the song that was originally sang in Igbo. This made it possible for everyone to both enjoy the sweet melody of the songs and still understand the words sung. Finally, we were able to direct all the traffic to his YouTube channel since we didn’t upload the songs on any other platform.

Ric’s brother is feeling a lot more fulfilled right now because his songs are finally being heard and the message which were in Igbo can now be understood by people who aren’t Igbo. All this because he got awesome lyrics videos for the songs from Jeplune Music.

You too can get beautiful lyrics videos for your songs and increase the views on your YouTube channel, like Ric’s brother. It doesn’t matter if they are old songs or new ones. You can check out a few of the lyrics videos we have done for various artists in the past here.

Music distribution in Nigeria

Music distribution in Nigeria

A lot of people, even music artists, confuse music distribution with music promotion. I see a lot of upcoming artists distribute their music and then they cross their feet (and relax), thinking they have promoted their music. So, I decided to write this article to explain the difference between music distribution and music promotion and what they entail. I will also offer advice for upcoming artists with low budget. So, let’s dive into it

So, what is music distribution?

Music distribution is simply getting your music releases (whether albums, Eps or singles) to places (or platforms) where your listeners can easily access them. Music distribution is a very important aspect of the career of any music artist. No matter how beautiful the melody of your songs are, or the depth of the messages they carry, if they don’t get to where your audience are, then your efforts in creating the music has been wasted. It’s a like a business person selling a particular goods (let’s say clothes). Imagine he has very beautiful clothes for sale, but he leaves them in his warehouse. As long as those clothes remain in his warehouse, people will never be able to buy them. But the moment he brings the clothes to his shop or boutique, people who need those clothes would see them and buy. That’s how important music distribution is for music artists.

Music distribution in Nigeria in the early 2000s

Before now, music distribution in Nigeria entailed getting your music album to one of the major CD distributors in Alaba (Lagos). Those guys had a wide connection with music stores all over Nigeria. So, if they were to distribute your music, your music CDs would be sold in music stores all over Nigeria. And when that is combined with very effective music promotion, you would become famous. However, music distribution in Nigeria has taken a complete U-turn in recent years. Nowadays, nobody buys music CDs any more (at least not like they used to). Music releases are now done on the internet. So, getting your music to those major music distributors is no longer necessary.

So, what does music distribution in Nigeria entail now?

Music distribution in recent times entails getting your music on platforms and stores where people can easily find them and stream or buy. Some of the major platforms where you can get your new music releases on includes Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Boomplay, YouTube Music, Soundcloud, etc. There are several other streaming platforms, but these are some of the major ones in the world. Audiomack is one of such and it’s gaining grounds in Nigeria. There are also stores where you can upload your music for people to buy and download, such as itunes and Amazon. In Nigeria, artists also use selar.co to sell their music albums.

However, to get your music on these streaming platforms and stores, you need to employ the services of a distribution company. Yes, as an independent artist, you cannot get your music on these platforms/ stores by yourself. Think of these distribution companies like those music distributors in Alaba back in the days. They help you get your music to major stores/platform that you cannot do yourself. But you’ll be required to pay a fee (usually yearly). There are many distribution companies available now. Some of them even offer some free services. Just google music distribution companies and you will find many of them.

What’s my advice?

After reading several reviews of the various music distribution companies, I would recommend either Distrokid or Tunecore to independent artists. It’s not free, but a yearly fee of less than $20 for unlimited uploads of all your music is not a bad deal. When you really break it down, it’s less than N1,300 per month. And I think it’s a worthy investment to get your music to major platforms/ stores. Let me say this here (even though I will still dedicate an article to write on this), getting your songs on major streaming platforms does not take the place of promoting your music. Music distribution is not the same as music promotion.

Another thing new artists do is upload their music for free download on several blogs. You may argue that it gets more people to know about your music. But in the long run, it’s better to have your music on recognized platforms. A better alternative would be for you to pay bloggers to direct all the traffic to those streaming platforms where your songs are. I will talk more on this when I write about Music promotion in Nigeria.

I believe you have learnt a lot about music distribution in Nigeria today. And I believe you will no longer confuse it with music promotion.

For further reading, you can check out this article by our friends at Cresthub on the benefits of music streaming for artists in Africa.

Top 3 DAWs used by Music Producers in Jos

Music producers in Jos

Today, I will be unveiling the top 3 DAWs used by music producers in Jos. This article will be a lot beneficial to aspiring/ upcoming music producers.

How did I arrive at this my result?

I recently carried out a survey among music producers in the city of Jos, Plateau State. In the survey, I asked the producers their choice DAWs when it comes to recording, beat making, mixing and mastering. 25 different producers in Jos took this survey and I compiled their answers to get a final result.

So why music producers in Jos?

For those of you wondering why I carried out my survey with music producers in Jos, let me tell you a little bit about the music industry in Jos. Jos is a city in Plateau state known for it’s abundance of music, dance and poetic talents. It has been said that from every three families in Jos, there would be at least one person that is either a singer, dancer, poet or footballer. I can tell you that statement is true. In many ways, just like Nashville is regarded as the music center of the US., Jos can be regarded as the music center of Nigeria. So, if you’re looking for where to find the most talented music producers in Nigeria, Jos city is the place.

Having said that, let’s dive into the survey results.

Most used DAW for recording

Recording is an essential aspect of music production. Asides the vocals, instruments like the guitars, the bass, etc are usually preferably recorded live. From the survey, the most used DAW for recording is Cubase. The second is Sonar (Cakewalk) while Logic Pro is the third most used DAW for recording.

Most used DAW for beat making

Beat making is another important aspect of music production, especially for genres like Afrobeats, Hip pop, EDM, etc. Here, FL Studio was preferred by most music producers. The second is Logic pro, followed by Cubase.

Most used DAW for mixing and mastering

No matter how beautiful the vocals in a recording are, and no matter how awesome the production, if they are poorly mixed and mastered, the song will still sound like crap. So which DAW do music producers in Jos prefer for mixing and mastering? Surprisingly, Cubase is still the most preferred here. The second is Sonar (Cakewalk), followed by Logic Pro as the third most used DAW for mixing and mastering.

Overall most used DAW

Overall, the most used DAW by music producers in Jos is Cubase. Next to Cubase is Fl Studio, which is basically used by most for beat making alone. The third is Sonar (Cakewalk). I think it is worth mentioning that quite a number of the producers that took the survey also prefer Logic Pro, but the numbers for Cubase, Fl Studio and Sonar outweigh that of Logic Pro.

In summary, the most used DAWs by music producers in Jos, in their order of preference, are:

  1. Cubase
  2. Fl Studio
  3. Sonar (Cakewalk)
  4. Logic Pro

 

By the way, I’m creating a directory for music producers in Jos. So, if you are a producer (or you know one) please take 2 minutes and fill out this google form (or send the link to your producer). The directory will be published so that music artists can easily contact music producers of their choice.

 

Video Content Ideas For Your YouTube Channel (3)

video content for YouTube3

Two weeks ago, I started this series on video content ideas for your YouTube channel. We saw that considering YouTube’s requirement for monetization, musicians need to upload more than just their music videos on their channel in order to meet up, hence the need for this topic. So far, we have seen 6 different types of videos. This is the third and final part of this series. So, let’s dive into it:

Interviews:

This is another type of video that affords your listeners the opportunity to get to know you better. This is because you would be answering questions about yourself and your music asked by your interviewer. All you have to do is request that a copy of the interview be given to you after it has been edited. Or you could have someone else stay with you during the interview and record the interview. You could then edit the video yourself and upload. It doesn’t even matter if the interview is for radio or TV, just get someone to record the video of the interview and inform the interviewer that you are recording a video for upload later, before you start, so they too could be prepared for a video. So, the next time you are going to be interviewed, even if it’s just a Red carpet interview, go with someone to record the video. It’s a great video content for your YouTube channel.

 

Story behind the song/ album:

This one is especially for musicians who write their songs themselves. In most cases, there is usually a story behind every song; it could be an event, a statement you heard, something you saw on the street or TV, a recent happening in your life, a memory, just something that inspired you to write the song. The idea is that you record yourself sharing that story behind each song you put out and upload it before or after the release of the song. This would even help your listeners further understand the message you tried to pass across in the song. ‘Story behind the song’ videos are also a good way of bonding with your listeners. And they are great video contents for your YouTube channel.

 

Live videos:

This is the last type of video content for your YouTube channel that I’ll be sharing. Live videos extend more than just live performances. You could decide to use it to air your opinion about an ongoing topic of debate and let your listeners know where you stand on such issues. Or maybe you’re having a birthday celebration, you could decide to stream it live. You could even decide to be more intimate and do live videos of your gym sessions or morning exercises. It’s all up to you. Just get creative with the videos.

 

This is where I would be wrapping up the series on video content ideas for your YouTube channel. I would like to hear from you. Which of these videos have you been using and which one stood out for you as you read through? Also, I would like to know if there are other video content types that some of you use that I didn’t mention in this series. Please use the comment box below. Thanks

Video Content Ideas For Your YouTube Channel (2)

Video content ideas for YouTube

Last week, I began this series on video content ideas for your YouTube channel. We saw that considering YouTube’s requirement for monetization, musicians need to upload more than just their music videos on their channel in order to meet up, hence the need for this topic. This is the second part in this three- part series and I’m going to be sharing three other types of video you can upload. So, let’s dive into it:

  1. Behind the scenes

This is one video content idea for YouTube that has proven to be very effective, over the years. This is especially because people like to know what’s going in the lives of their favourite artist. Behind the scenes are videos of activities you engage in before a live performance or major event. They could be videos of your trip to the venue for the event, or sound check before the main event, or prayer sessions with your team or red carpet, whatever. Anything that happens behind/ before you climb the stage to perform. They could either be selfie- style vides or you could have someone do the video coverage for you. Behind the scenes tend to make your viewers feel some sense of intimacy/ closeness to you and it also makes them feel like they are part of your life. So, take advantage of that and make your fans feel like they are part of your life; like they are your friends, not your fans.

  1. Rehearsals

Even though this might seem a little difficult because in some ways it feels like exposing your imperfections to the world, yet this is a powerful tool of connecting with your fans/ listeners. When you post videos of your rehearsal time, whether personal or with a group, people get to see that you are human just like everyone else. They see that you make mistakes too, that you do ‘trial and errors’ too and you learn. They see your humorous side, etc. All these makes them feel connected to you better. It makes them know that you’re not some strange, ‘super hero- like’ alien from a planet of musicians, but that you’re human just like they are, only that you are talented in music. Again, this could either be selfie- style vides or you could have someone do the video coverage for you. But just know the idea of uploading rehearsals is great video content for your YouTube channel.

  1. Live performance/ concert

I don’t need to write a lot on this one. Anyone who enjoy your songs would, most likely, want to see how you look when you perform live. And the reality is that not all your fans will ever get the opportunity to see you perform live. So, post videos of your live performances/ concerts to help them. If you are not the organizer, request for the video of your own performance from the organisers. Alternatively, you could ask a friend to help cover your own performance, if you notice there is no provision for video coverage by the organisers. Just make you get a clear video to post, even if it’s just a short clip. And this could even serve as a way for you to evaluate yourself as you grow.

 

So, that’s it for today. Next week, I would wrap up this series of video content ideas for your YouTube channel. And like I told you last week, stay safe and keep creating awesome content.

Video Content Ideas For Your YouTube Channel (1)

video content ideas for your YouTube channel

Today, we’ll be looking at video content ideas for your YouTube channel.

You would agree with me, that besides the fulfillment we get when people watch or listen to our work, every single one of us (musicians) would also like to earn some money from the content we put out. But part of YouTube’s requirements for monetization is that you must have at least 4,000 hours of overall watch time on your channel. Now, that might not pose any problem for someone whose YouTube channel is dedicated for video tutorials or comedy skits, but for a musician, that’s a lot of work. So, I’ve decided to share nine video content ideas that you can use for your YouTube channel in order to remain consistent and gradually reach the requirements for monetization. But since I would not want this article not to be too long, I split them into three parts and today we would we would just look at the first part.

  1. Cover videos:

This is the first video content idea for your YouTube channel that I’ll share. One of the advantages of YouTube is that it allows anyone to upload anything… Anything at all. This means that you can upload a cover of any song you like to your YouTube channel, just make sure you include that it’s a cover, not your original song. This is one type of video you can never run out of content from. I mean, there countless number of good songs out there. All you need is your phone to record yourself and maybe an acoustic guitar (if you can play one), but you could also sing acapella. You can get very creative with covers to the point that people might actually prefer your cover video to the original song. And cover songs, especially covers of popular songs, prove very effective in getting new artistes discovered by new people. So, make sure you make good use of it.

 

  1. Lyric videos:

This is another video content idea for your YouTube channel and it has to do with original content. We all agree that video content is the most effective type of content today. Turning your audio recordings (even older ones) into lyric videos, is therefore a very good form of investment for your music career. It’s like ‘using one stone to kill multiple birds’. Your audience learns your song, you have more content to put out, plus many other advantages (see other advantages of lyric videos). And the best part is that it’s not very expensive to make. Jeplune Music Studios is one sure place you can get professional lyric videos made for you at affordable rates.

 

  1. Music videos:

I’m pretty sure you were wondering when I was going to talk about this one. Music videos are the surest way to get more viewership on your YouTube channel. It has the most tendency to go viral than any other type of video you could put out. But you have to really think of a very interesting concept for your video. There’s no point spending a huge amount of money on a video if it’s going to turn out boring. So, take your time and plan this one very well. Making music videos shouldn’t be something you rush into, except you have a crew that works magic every time and you have so much money.

 

This is where I’m going to stop today, next week we will continue with this interesting topic, and I will be sharing more video content ideas for your YouTube channel. Untill then, stay safe and keep creating awesome content.

Essential qualities you need as a 21st century musician(2)

Essential qualities you need as a 21st century musician

Last week, I started a series on essential qualities you need as a 21st century musician. Today, I am going to share 3 more qualities with you. So, let’s continue.

 

1. You need Genuine Care for your Audience

Deep down in the heart of every musician is the desire to be heard. It doesn’t matter whether you write songs to pass a message to your audience, or to change an existing ideology, or just so that people will notice how talented you are and appreciate you. Whatever be the case, the truth still remains that we all want to be heard. But you need to recognize that the people you want to listen to your songs are real people who face real life problems. They don’t exist for you or your music career. You need to bear that in mind and actually care about them. Think about them as you write your songs. Ask yourself, “what impact will this song I’m writing make in the lives of my listeners?” Show them that you genuinely care about them and let your songs prove it. Don’t just put out content for yourself and expect people to listen. They will listen to your songs more when their lives are impacted positively by them. And this goes beyond your songs; it extends to your social media posts, your press interviews, etc.

 

2. You need Focus.

Let’s face it, becoming successful as a musician does not happen magically, with the snap of one’s fingers. For most musicians, it takes a long time before they can eventually hit commercial success. And so, as a budding musician, you most likely already have a day- job or business that pays the bills while you continue to work hard to succeed in your music career. This is why you need focus. Otherwise, you could get caught up in trying to survive that you totally forget music. This especially the case in a country like Nigeria. Many promising music careers have ended this way. As a musician you need to find a way to remain focused with your music career, even while you try to make ends meet with your job or business. So, yes, focus is an essential quality you need as a 21st century musician.

 

3. You need Consistency

This is another quality that is quite essential for 21st century musicians. We have already established that success in this industry takes time. And also, that there is a lot of competition in this industry, with millions of equally good musicians out there. You, therefore, owe it to your audience (fans) to be consistent with releasing new content on a regular basis, so as to maintain their attention.

Just in case, you haven’t got a clear picture of what I’m trying to paint for you, let me explain it further. The millions of good musicians out there are releasing tons of good music daily. As a result of this, songs now trend for a shorter period of time than they used to. So, in order for any musician to remain relevant, they need to be consistent with releasing content. Hope you get it now?

 

Okay. I’ll stop here again today. So far, I’ve been able to share 6 essential qualities you need as a 21st century musician. You can check the first 3 in the previous article if you missed it. Next week, I will be wrapping up this series, so stay tuned. Please leave a comment below, let me know which of these qualities have helped you in the past.

Essential qualities you need as a musician in the 21st century

Essential qualities you need as a musician in the 21st century

Today, I’m going to begin a series of essential qualities you need as a musician in the 21st century. These are not things you would be taught in music school, but they are absolutely essential. I’ve come to learn them myself over the past couple of years and I am still learning.

  1. You need to be patient

This was supposed to be the last one in the order in which I arranged this article, but I decided to make it the first, because of how important it is, and so that in case you don’t read this article to the end, you would have read this one first.

The fact that you need to be patient as a musician is pretty obvious. I mean, no matter how talented you are, a decent amount of patience is required for you to master your instrument (even if your instrument is your voice). You have to go through long hours of training and practice to be good at what you do. And that requires patience.

But, beyond mastering your instrument(s), you need patience to succeed as a musician in the 21st century. The music industry (and entertainment industry in general) is a very difficult and competitive one. There are millions of good musicians out there doing good music. It takes time to gradually build/ establish your identity as a musician as well as grow a huge fan base for your music. You need to be patient through the process and know that these things take time. There is no such thing as ‘overnight success’ in this industry (forget what the media tells you). You reap what you sow. So, if you sow years of dedication, you reap success in your career in the end. But if you get tired along the way and abandon everything, then that’s the end of your music career.

 

  1. You need to be Original

I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you are not the only talented musician in your locality. As I mentioned earlier, there are millions of good musicians out there. All talented, and all very good at what they do, and working very hard (maybe even more than you do) to get noticed. You cannot stand out in this massive pool of talented, hardworking musicians in the world today, if you just copy what everyone else is doing. Yes, you would need to learn and maybe be inspired by other musicians, but don’t copy them; be original. And if in the end you don’t become famous, at least you’ll be fulfilled. So, originality is an essential quality you need as musician in this 21st century.

 

  1. You need to be persistent

I’m going to be very honest with you, the journey to success as a musician is a very long and difficult one. You would be faced with discouragement at various times. Some of the things you would try might not work out well (even after putting your best into them). You would feel like giving up. But you need to be persistent. It is very essential that you develop this quality as a musician, especially in the 21st century. It is only when are able to persist through the entire process that you finally reach your goal.

I’m going to stop here today. Next week I’m going to continue with other essential qualities you need as a musician in the 21st century. In the meanwhile, I would love to hear your thoughts on the qualities I listed in this article. Please leave a comment below.

Benefits Of Lyrics Videos

Benefits of lyrics videos

At the end of last week’s article, I promised that we would be looking at the benefits of  lyrics videos this week. That is exactly what we are going to do today. So why do you really need to have a lyrics video for your song.

 

Alright, so the first one is FANS LOVE LYRICS VIDEOS

Yes, you read that right. Now if someone has become a fan of your music, it means the person really loves your sound. This also means that he/she would want to learn the words of your songs so they can sing along while playing your songs. This is where lyrics videos play a very vital role. They afford you the opportunity of teaching your songs to your fans, ‘word for word’ without being physically present. And fans really appreciate it.

 

  1. LYRICS VIDEOS ARE LIKE ‘HOW- TO’ VIDEOS

It’s no longer news that the second most watched type of videos on YouTube are what we call ‘How- To’ videos (tutorial videos that teach how to do specific things). The most logical reason for this, we believe, is that people usually need to watch a tutorial more than once to fully understand it well. The same is the case for lyrics videos. There is no way a fan would learn the words of a song by watching it once; they would usually watch it more once if they really want to learn. This automatically counts as more views for you on YouTube. Of course, I don’t need to tell you that the more views you have, the closer you get to monetization your videos (or even getting noticed by a major label).

 

  1. THEY OFFER OPPORTUNITY TO ATTRACT MORE FANS

YouTube is the world’s biggest streaming site and where billions of people discover new music. Having your song on YouTube not only increases your chance of being discovered by new fans, it also increases the chances of your song popping up on google search easily if you use SEO rightly. But you need video to be on YouTube (and these days, your video needs to be of high quality to attract views). Since shooting music videos are very expensive (we saw that last week), lyrics videos prove to be very efficient as well. Which leads us to the last one…

 

  1. THEY ARE AFFORDABLE

It’s almost unbelievable that despite the numerous benefits of lyrics videos, they are still very affordable, especially when compared to the cost of shooting a music video. In fact, making a lyrics video for a song is cheaper than the amount spent on producing the audio of the song. How crazy is that? You can get all the benefits listed in this article and more and yet you don’t have to break the bank.

Now, I know you might be wondering where can I get lyrics videos, so I can access all these benefits? Jeplune Music Studios, makes professional lyric videos for artists at affordable rates. Chat them directly on Whatsapp now, to start your own video.

 

Well, that’s it. Hope you’ve learnt something new about the benefits of lyrics videos. Let us know in the comments what new thing you learnt. Or you could share other benefits of lyrics videos that we left out in this article.