If there is one thing clear about music and the internet, it’s that there are no clear options for distribution. Rather, there are hundreds of varied strategies that may work depending on who you are and what your situation is. Creativity and understanding of how the web works are the two things that will help you the most.
To most people the idea of releasing free naija music may sound unprofitable and wasteful, but when looking at the bigger picture it turns out to be a very smart move. There is no better way to spread your music than to release it for free. In most cases you wouldn’t be making much from selling it anyway. Just like in any business, you need to have a customer base before you can make any profit.
Assuming you are a musician who can perform live as well as produce studio recordings, the ways to make money in the modern music environment will not be from album sales. The album as a concept is slowly but surely disappearing, as music is no longer released on disks and more emphasis is being places on EPs and singles. These are harder to sell for considerable profits, and by offering them only for payment, you limit how many people will obtain them.
Instead of trying to go against the unstoppable juggernaut of illegal file sharing and music downloading, go with it. Give your music away and watch it spread as far as it can. Keeping in mind that you could only make so much off it anyway, in the beginning at least, the positives outweigh the negative.
In return for passing out your music free of charge, you obtain promotion and reputation in return. In other words, you get more fans. Fans are what lead to profits down the line if you are a musical act, and they are the most important thing when it comes to the business side of the equation. So the move is to get your music out there in any way that you can if you think it will lead to promotion and new fans.
New fans can lead to increased albums sales, concert ticket sales, and music placement in commercials or films, and that is when the money will be coming in. But if you started off selling a few albums for N100 a piece, you would be sitting around with N500 and five fans. That N500 is nothing compared to the long term income obtainable from establishing yourself as a popular musical act.
So when you are thinking about how to make a living with your music, think about how to get fans before you think about monetization. Look for sites like getnaijamusic.com that work to get people’s music out there and their names recognized, and use any tool you can find. Creativity in promotion is the name of the game on the internet, and the key to getting your work heard.
