All over the world, Musicians are respected for their craft and talent and are adored by many people. This love has been translated into the consumption of their music by their fans who attend their shows, buy their records and stream their music online which in turn has given musicians money and some have
gone on to become dollar millionaires or even billionaires in the case of people like Dr. Dre, Kanye West, and others.
Concrete research has shown that for any person especially those in the creative arts to succeed and be respected widely, apart from having a good and real talent, which is a constant, they should work on their character, and put themselves in order by sorting their wardrobe, business acumen, etc. When you look at top Musicians the world over, people like Chris Brown, Beyonce, Rihanna, Drake, Wiz kid, Don jazzy, Burna Boy, TIWA SAVAGE, Diamond Platinumz, and many others, there are things that they do which I believe that our own musicians should copy or strengthen so as to improve their image world over, as we enter into 2023.
Music has since moved on from merely entertaining people and has over time turned into a business thereby becoming an industry that attracts hundreds of thousands of jobs anywhere it thrives. Therefore the people who do this music ought to follow some of these points to improve their image locally and internationally;
Our musicians in Uganda should have a good Management system. Good Management is meant to book events on the behalf of a musician, schedule interviews with media houses for the artiste, promote their music, and so on. Without good Management, artists struggle so much to put themselves out
there for the world. At one point, Beyonce noted that there is no Musician that can successfully sing and manage him /herself at the same time. We have artists whose careers have crumbled ever since they lost good Management.
An example is Irene Ntale who ever Since she left SWANGZ AVENUE, has never
bounced back to her former glory. Ziza Bafana has also continued to struggle musically and the problems rotate around a lack of good Management. Therefore Good Management is key for any musician.
Any serious musician in Uganda should have a good PR system. A good communications department for any musician is good news. These people are meant to communicate on behalf of the artists so as to save the artiste from being quoted out of context by fans or haters, manage social media accounts and
also, guide musicians on what to say and what not to say in public.
Effective communication is key for any person or business and that’s why serious companies have communications departments. Recently, singer Gravity Omutujju embarrassed himself at a press conference when he cried like a baby after
saying reckless things about Bobi Wine, who is considered a demi-god in this land. Bobi’s fans rebuked Gravity who later cried. If he had a good PR team, his reckless remarks would have been avoided.
Musicians in 2023 should have personal lawyers. A lawyer comes in handy for any business or person and for musicians in Uganda who are constantly on the run with law, a good lawyer is a must-have. A lawyer will represent the musician in courts of law, guide him when signing endorsement deals, read and interpret contracts for him or her, etc.
About a month ago, singer Eddy Kenzo had been forbidden by the event’s promoter “Luba” of Luba events who had a court order preventing Kenzo from performing anywhere in Uganda after he allegedly breached the contract of the “Eddy Kenzo festival of 2020.” It was because Kenzo had a good lawyer who was able to overturn this decision in courts of law and now Kenzo can perform anywhere in Uganda, with his latest performance being in Nabugabo Sand beach on boxing day in Masaka.
Eddy Kenzo
Musicians make lots of money and that’s why they need personal designers. A good designer will deal with the artiste’s wardrobe because how you dress says a lot about you and attracts many youthful fans to your side. Singer Fik Fameika has mastered the art of dressing well and designing himself and so this
has helped him to sell his music to a youthful fan base who adore fashion too.
No one wants to look at an artiste who dresses like he is in 1900. Also, the good dressing doesn’t mean being skimpy, and that’s where female musicians should draw the line between dressing well and being semi-nude.
Artists need to be well educated and those who are educated but not UpTo a good standard should go back and further their studies. Education among Ugandan Musicians has greatly improved and that’s why parents have now encouraged their children to join music as Opposed to 20 years back when music was considered an industry of failures. Musicians like Ykee Benda who is a chemical engineer by profession, and Ceaserous who holds a Masters’s Degree in business, etc have set the bar high and many should follow suit.
Elsewhere in Nigeria, most artists are well-educated People like Dr. TIWA SAVAGE who holds a Masters’s Degree and also holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Kent in the UK, Tems who has a bachelor’s in Economics from South Africa, Di’ja who holds a joint degree in biology and Psychology, etc have heavily invested in education and still big stars on stage.
Musicians should hold both local and international media tours at least three times a year. Media tours enable musicians to promote themselves more and interact with their fans locally and globally. Nigerian musicians have mastered this art and that’s why many of them are known and appreciated widely across
the continent and overseas. In 2023, Evey Ugandan artiste should prioritize media tours, at least locally across all the regions in Uganda to sell their products more.
Alcohol and drug abuse should be cut down by our artists come 2023. Drugs and excessive consumption of alcohol have plagued the music industry for as long as anyone can remember. In 2023, those should be avoided like a leper so as to better one’s craft.
With that and more, the image of our artists will be better and the output improved. Stay blessed.
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