My usual warning to any musician is, ignore the Djs at your
own risk!
Hit track don’t hide that is the popular saying, but it is
only the DJ that can make the audience hear it or even like it. Like
Journalism, the DJ has the power (Unspoken) to influence the opinion of
audience about a song. He can make them like it or hate a song.
Remember, audience make your song a hit and at the same time
have the ability to make it flop.
Research has shown
that the song you hear either on radio or watch on TV become part of you
automatically whether you initially loved it or not, your subconscious mind
sings along with it which results in such individual loving the song and even
recommending the same song to others on the long run.
Although there are few
exceptions to this rule. One of the exceptions is that you have to be a
superstar for you to weaken the power of the DJs a little, on the other hand, it is only the Djs that can make you a super
star therefore it is a bridge you must cross and you are at the mercy of the
Djs or else you crash right down the bridge while making attempt to cross.
In Nigeria music scene for example, Olamide, Kcee, Davido,
Timaya, Orezi, Iyanya,D'Banj, Skales etc daily churn out nonsense songs, yet Nigerians see
them as hit songs because they have successfully crossed the bridge and
established themselves in the minds of their audience-thanks to Djs. What they
all do is talk nonsense on hi-tech beats and occasionally initiate dance steps
to go with it, yet we dance along. As witnessed over the years, such songs are
not evergreen, they don’t get played for more than three months, but they get
brand endorsements, invited for big shows etc. I am not saying all the
mentioned artistes make bad songs, but all their hit songs are all pure
nonsense. No thanks to the consumers also.
It is not enough to make hit songs that don’t last more than
weeks, rather what make a good musician is his/her ability to make good songs
with good and meaningful lyrics that will stand the test of time even when the
artiste is no more.
As morally questionable the late Afrobeat Mystro, Fella
Anikulapo Kuti, Orlando Owo were, their songs remain evergreen and will
continue to be so worldwide because of their lyrics.
Meanwhile, there are
good musicians out there who are not being heard because the managers either
don’t push their songs enough through the Djs or are just underrating the power
of Djs.
Some of such good musicians are Timi Dakolo, Dare Art Alade,
Paul Play, RighteousMan, Mode9 and others. It is not enough to put your songs
online for people to download. Research has shown that majority of people download songs after listening to them
on radio or watch their videos on TV. It is important also for artist to be strategic in pushing out songs to the
audience. It pays to set aside some budget for a professional publicist not the
quacks we have out there.
Don’t underrate the power of the Djs, he can burry or revive
you musically.
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