From time immemorial, a musical artist’s career in Nigeria has always been filled with tales of not being able to find either a sponsor for their musical career or a record label to sign them.
It is a known fact that successful musicians in Nigeria were able to enter the Nigerian music industry because of one connection they had or another, while those who had no connections had to spend so much before they got noticed and became superstars.
And even though the Nigerian style of music known as Afropop has gained so much popularity across the world, lots of upcoming artists in Nigeria are still struggling in the background with no hope of ever making it to the limelight.
In my seven years of being a music promoter in Nigeria, one common thing I’ve seen among upcoming artists in this country is their zest to sign a record deal even when their career is not optimized enough to attract record labels.
The worst part of it is that when you try to advise them on how they can position their career to become potential candidates for record labels, they will end up telling you they know better; and in the end, their musical career will fade away like a shadow.
Well, am not here to tell you how to join a record label, rather I want to teach you the basic ways you can make money online as a musician in Nigeria. But before I do so, let me enlighten you on how much you can make from music here in Nigeria.
How much can you make from music in Nigeria?
Musicians in Nigeria can make between N1,000,000 (one hundred thousand Naira) to N40,000,000 (forty million Naira) in a single day from their music. However, this figure depends on how popular they are and is not applied to upcoming artists in Nigeria because they have been known not to be making money from their music at all.
According to statistics given by one of Nigeria’s leading entertainment websites, Naijaloaded.com, Davido, who is one of the biggest artists in Nigeria charges $170,000 which is equivalent to 40 million Naira per show.
Now having seen the claim above that upcoming artists in Nigeria are not making money from their music at all, let me move from here to show you how you can make money from music in Nigeria.
How To Make Money from Music In Nigeria.
Below are the various ways you can make money from music in Nigeria:
- Distribute your music to streaming stores.
- License your music.
- Monetize your social media accounts.
- Create a musician’s website.
- Join Twitch for musicians platform.
- Use crowdfunding to raise money.
1. Distribute your music to streaming stores.
This digital era has made it possible for musicians to make money online by distributing their music to a platforms where they get paid when people are streaming their music.
Now before you attempt to distribute your music to streaming platforms it is very essential to understand what is a streaming platform and how it works.
A streaming platform is basically a music app where people subscribe in order to get access to play the music they love on their mobile devices, especially on iPhones.
Unlike an Android phone where people can insert a memory card to download a song into it or their phone’s storage, an iPhone does not allow their users to download a song into any of its storage devices, rather they are compelled to install a music app which they can subscribe to and listen to the music they like at any given point in time.
And whenever they listen to any music, the streaming platform will deduct a certain amount from the money paid by the subscriber and give it to the artists as a royalty payment.
Some of the streaming platforms include Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, YouTube Music, etc.
To submit your music to a streaming platform you have to follow the steps below:
- Choose a distribution company that will enable you to get your music on the streaming platforms because there is definitely no way you can submit your songs directly to them. Some of the distributors, who are also known as aggregators will charge you a fee based on a percentage cut of your royalties while others will allow you to submit for free based on certain terms and conditions. The best distribution companies are CD Baby, Tunecore, Distrokid, RouteNote, Amuse, etc.
- Get your music in the right format which is based on the requirements that will be given by your distribution company. Most of them will allow you to submit in a WAV or FLAC format.
If you however find it hard to submit your music to the streaming stores, you can contact us via the WhatsApp button below and we will help you submit your song at an affordable price.
2. License your music.
Music licensing is simply the art of selling a license to filmmakers, TV presenters, content creators, etc to enable them to use your music in their content.
Basically, there are two different types of music licensing that you can pursue depending on the type of music you are making and they are:
- Sync licensing: This process will allow production companies to pay you a fee for the re-recording of your original track, and this is to enable them to edit your music to fit the theme of their production.
- Master-use licensing: With master-use licensing, the production company will pay you to use your song in its original form. And this means that they cannot remix or remaster it in any way.
To license your music, choose at least three of your best songs and create a catalog spreadsheet that will document your song title, genre, keywords, and meta description that will make it searchable on the licensing databases.
Now find a Performance Rights Organization (PRO) that will be collecting your revenue for you and register.
3. Monetize your social media accounts.
Social media monetization is simply a process where you can generate revenue from your followers or subscribers when they engage with your content. Social media content engagement usually involves views, likes, comments, shares, etc.
To monetize your social media accounts you need to choose a genre and start creating content for a target audience, and in this case, the genre you should choose is music.
For your content, however, to be favored by the social media algorithm and start getting organic views that will help you to grow your followership you need to create and publish them consistently. 3 to 5, content is ok for a week.
While also waiting to be favored by the algorithm, you can set aside a certain sum of money and run ads to make your content reach those who are not following your accounts.
Below are some of the content you can create as a musician on social media:
- Music videos of the tracks you have recorded.
- Freestyle videos that aim at showcasing your musical capabilities.
- Viral videos of your studio recordings, live performances, dance
- sessions, playing a musical instrument, and even the things you do when you are chilling out with your musical friends.
- Start a YouTube channel and create tutorials on any subject you know best about music. If you can dance, you can create a tutorial that teaches different dance steps and styles. You can also create a tutorial that teaches people how to play a musical instrument you know how to play very well.
4. Create a musician’s website.
Lots of artists in Nigeria do not know the importance of having a musician’s website, so permit me to enlighten you on the fact that there are so many ways you can make money from your own official website as a musician.
I have an article on this blog that will show you HOW TO BUILD A WEBSITE AND MAKE MONEY ONLINE you can read it to discover how, but in the meantime, below are the few ways you can make money from your own official musician website.
- Selling your songs directly to fans.
- Selling merchandise like customized polos, face caps, etc.
- Joining advertising networks like Google AdSense, Adsterra, etc.
- Signing up for affiliate marketing sites and earning a commission when you refer your visitors to buy their products and services.
If you want us to help you build a musician website, you can visit our web design agency @taculiadesigns.com.ng or chat with us via the WhatsApp link below to order a musician website.
5. Join the Twitch for Musicians platform.
Twitch is a live streaming platform that allows artist to engage their fans with live performances, interact with them, and earn money while doing so through donations and subscriptions.
For this reason, Twitch is a great platform that will allow you as a musician to stay connected with your local fans and receive financial support from them.
To get started with Twitch, you have to follow the steps below:
- Sign up for a Twitch account.
- Directing your fans from your other online platforms to your Twitch account where you can build a community.
- Use relevant tags, keywords, and categories to set up and organize your live streams.
- Monetize your Twitch stream by sharing affiliate links, your Patreon account, crowdfunding information, or an official website where people can buy your merchandise.
6. Use crowdfunding to raise money.
You can use crowdfunding to raise money that will enable you to fund your upcoming musical projects. For instance, you can ask your fans to donate towards your next album recording/release and earn a reward like discount sales on the album while doing so.
Crowdfunding tends to work in diverse ways, for example, it can allow your fans to choose to pay as much or as little as they like, and in return, they will get a reward that aligns with their donation size.
This will allow you to get financial support from multiple sources rather than relying on an advance from a record label that is not forthcoming or aimlessly seeking a musical sponsor.
GoFuneMe is one of the Crowdfunding platforms you can use and you can use the Google search engine to search for any Crowdfunding platform you will like.
After choosing your Crowdfunding platform, make sure you determine your target monetary goal and the different kinds of rewards you are going to offer based on the level of your fan’s support.
You can finally go ahead to promote your Crowdfunding account to create awareness for your fans.
Conclusion.
Don’t allow anyone to deceive you that there is a shortcut to making it in the music industry without investing, so ensure you chose one or more ways above that will enable you to make money from your music today.
Good luck!
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