Okay so this is a question I’ve been asked a lot, I have
people coming up to me like “Hey Niyi I have this song I really think is good
and I was thinking about getting it on iTunes/MTN+ etc. should i?”
and funny
enough most people think it’s a trend they have to follow to be one of the big ballers
in music so I’m gonna try my best to clear the air and break it down to my best
knowledge
I’m gonna be referring mostly to iTunes (Apple music) mostly
cause thats one of the most popular platform around but
you see you’re missing the point! It’s not about how good your song is
especially if you’re in Nigeria where you can get songs on other blogs/platforms
like soundcloud, reverbnation and even NOTJUSTOK which recently launched its self-uploading
services, you can upload and download for free!
And Nigerians do this thing where
they hail you when you put your song on platforms like iTunes, amazon music,
MTN+ etc.! I’m like oga calm down they’ve not even started making money yet (
isn’t that the point?)
Same people hailing are the same
ones that won’t buy, as an artiste you have to be smart and have a mind of your
own or get the right people to advice you
The aim is to spread your music
THEN make money! Does that make sense?
You can’t skip the first step and expect
to succeed in the second step
The idea is you want people to pay to get your song right?
Cause its really good? But I have a question for you, how many songs have you
bought on iTunes? Now how many UPCOMING artiste songs have you bought?
Not a
lot right? Maybe none.
It’s really about your fan base! Ask yourself “How many
downloads do you get normally on your songs?” and be very honest then divide
that into two , that’s probably the amount of downloads you’ll get on iTunes or
less!
So to answer your question
Should you put your songs on iTunes?
Yes if you’re sure you have a large fan base (and I mean
really dedicated fans that are WILLING TO SPEND)
No If you’re just starting up and you still get 0 – 3k
downloads (grow first)
There are other ways to make money with your music than Music stores,
because I know that’s why most people want it, so I’ll list a couple ways out
in my next post
You see this music business is really tricky but once you
find the key and you’re not too desperate then you can open many doors!
Be wise
Thanks for reading