Encomium
As contestants on the MTN Y’ello Star showed off their creative dexterity to the world through scintillating musical performances, the show hosts, Tobi Bakre and Hilda Bacci picked the judges’ brains by asking, “What cost-effective ways can an upcoming artiste can promote their musical works?”
Although the question appears to tally with the contemporary times we are in, the judges had different approaches to the question due to their varied experiences in the music industry both locally and internationally. This is owing to the fact that the advent of the internet and social media has made the distribution of creative works across the globe seamlessly easy.
The show judges, Malik Yusef, Omawumi and Banky W went on to educate the audience on how budding musicians can promote their music in a cost-effective manner. Speaking from an international perspective, Malik Yusef extensively shared how upcoming musicians can break through the clutter by adopting the record label model. He said, “what record labels do is to aggregate the efforts of many people because everyone that works in a label does a specific thing for the artiste when their project is coming out. As a budding artiste, you have to create a small label around you.” He further admonished upcoming musicians to have a well-structured team in order to be a force to be reckoned with.
However, popular female singer, Omawumi, held a different view on the route upcoming musicians should follow. This is because she believes that there is no blueprint any music artiste should religiously adhere to. She buttressed her viewpoint by saying, “what works for A may not necessarily work for B. I have known some people who did not have adequate management but they have been able to push their music out with a little cost.” She counselled young musicians to take advantage of the opportunity social media provides in order to get their content to go viral.
Using his experience as a record label executive, ace musician, Banky W, noted that the way an up-and-coming artist promotes their music hinges on “creativity.” This is because the level of creativity a musician displays could play a key role in bypassing some of the cost barriers. “Just being creative with music can help you think outside the box. You can push yourself in a way nobody has thought about and that for me is creativity.” Banky W added.
Y’ello Star is a trend-setting music talent hunt project by MTN Nigeria, to create platforms for Nigerian youths to thrive and fully showcase their creativity to the rest of the world. Y’ello Star seeks not only to groom and give optimum exposure to musical talents, It also seeks to create an ecosystem that enables the Nigerian music industry to take its place as an important member of the global music industry.
