Music is a library of emotion that documents the history and distinct experiences of humanity.
Listening to Ajebutter’s ‘4AM’ featuring Dremo, a song which sheds light on the hustle and grind involved in the music industry landscape of today, baring your soul, generating an audience through new dynamics like curated live shows and social media to further their content in unique ways.
Across Africa things have never been easy for young people who seek alternative methods of income and fulfillment. The Millenials and Generation Z are striving to change that.
This sweep of youthful exuberance is creating a fresh landscape in Africa; the fashion is more distinct and channeled, the films have more money shots worthy of global cinema, tech is solving problems to help advance our communities, and the music is an echo of everything we’re becoming.
The music is a beautiful, charismatic, edgy, paranoid, creative exploration of different cultures and ideas immersed deep within the New Age reintroduced as an element of its own. It’s all over the place, taking over your radio, your tv, creating their own stages for performances while taking over mainstream arenas too. Afrobeats paved a way, and the New Age is walking this path open to them, using the internet, their individuality and shine to spark more conversations through music.
It’s been amazing watching them advance beyond the fog; out in a mall hearing Nonso Amadi’s Tonight, in traffic and Douglas Jekan is Pushing Good Music blasting Ozzy B’s Jungle Fever, in a room with friends and Freaky by Fasina comes on, Kwesi Arthur in my moments of thought as his song Grind Day motivates me much like his story to keep on going, never giving up on the dream.
https://soundcloud.com/user-237137992/pgm-radio-show-with-wavy-dj-big-n-1
And you definitely got your Footwork on point with PrettyBoy D-O or chilled over the Weekend with Suede, it’s our time and the sounds are pouring in.
They won’t stop, there so much to explore, so much to build and navigate as we build a real industry to distribute the amazing potentials being explored by our music currently.
What Next Then?
For starters, we need to build a real industry. The music is great but it needs a credible business structure and distribution chain to have the real impact.
A lot is put into making music, the art of music is more than a vibey verse and par video to follow, there’s a lot of frames that come together and this needs to be funded to attain higher levels in our music. The artiste needs to be able to monetize their music by distributing it through the right channels. Building a credible foundation that allows sustainability for young minds who wish to make a living through their music.
Music physically can be monetized by setting up a distribution network with record stores across the globe.
The Nigerian digital space is developing and evolving and I searched for some insight from the Digital Content Manager Of Bombshelter Digital Services LLC, Seyi Ladele.
What it means to digitally publish and distribute?
Seyi Ladele: Music Distribution allows you to sell your recorded music in the digital online stores & streaming services and collect royalties on the sound recordings that you own or control. Publishing Administration allows songwriters (the individual(s) who wrote the underlying musical composition) to collect publishing royalties that are due from the sale, streaming and other uses of your compositions internationally.
Why is getting a company to publish for you digitally is important?
Seyi Ladele: A Music publishing company has strong affiliation with wide variety of Musicians, Advertising Agencies, Movie makers and promotional campaign hubs. who may need the services of songwriters. A music publishing company provides a dedicated individual or team devoted to providing feedback to songwriters on their work(s), making suggestions for new directions and matching songwriters up for collaborative efforts they think may produce interesting results.
The process of monetizing your music online and physically?
Seyi Ladele: Music online can be monetized through;
- Website – Selling music directly through own website
- Bandcamp – is a free service where you can upload and sell your music directly to your fans
- Soundcloud – has a large community of users and curators on the platform, so including your music here can be a good way for your music to gain newfound visibility. Although not a sales platform, Pro users can add a Buy Link to tracks to direct fans to purchase through your preferred platform.
- Pledgemusic – Crowd funding platform that will help you fully engage your fans throughout the entire process of writing, recording, and releasing your album, all the while helping you raise money to cover your costs and pay for the marketing and promotion of your new music
- Music stores – iTunes, Spotify etc music stores where song(s) can be purchased.
Record Labels and music companies also play a very important role in nurturing a new industry. With a few indie labels, Euphonic Music (Nigeria), Vision Inspired Music (Ghana), Monster Boys Collective (Nigeria), Groundup Chale (Ghana), amongst others starting to at least build a community to house these music products of sonic fusion.
With more music companies coming out they can house more forms before bigger cooperations like Sony Music Africa, Interscope Africa, Universal Nigeria etc come in and take away all our creations. Deals need to be created within ourselves and then with the external world.
We can’t lose what we’ve just begun.
The Media also plays an important role in documenting their music as the world learns to accept their sound and the emergence of platforms like Native, Harmattan Rain, Voices Of Music, CulArtBlog, etc is a positive sign that their actions won’t be in vain as they are doing well to capture every moment of their growth as a collection. More content needs to be created around the music to help spread the narratives around the minds behind it to connect more Africans, plugging them to the sound of their generation.
The most exciting part of the revolution as been the change in concert approach, the kids are putting on their shows, 1938, Native Land, 90sBaby KickBack, LemonCurd, PalmWine Fest, Feel The Music Festival, all gave stages to these young souls backed by their ever ready euphoric crowd, bringing together an audience ready to embrace a change together. This should only get better as live shows play an important role in showcasing what the music can be if felt up close and personal.
We’re all learning and the shows could be curated with more efficiency especially in the technical department, we’ll get there.
It’s really important we uplift the eruption happening in the music now, a story of youthful voices being heard. A sonic protest against the old ways of Africa, ways which need to be advanced and put together in an orderly, aesthetic and creative form of art through music.
The game is in level two. The world is paying attention to the underground layers we’ve architected and it’s time to soar into the lights.
We have to be ready with our structures bold and stable enough to build on, attaching the infrastructures we need to make New Age Music in Africa a global sound and industry. The business is a very important part of creating the music, it shows the readiness of our generation to create a sustainable platform for not only the music to propagate on, but the culture that surrounds it.
