The Entrepreneurship Skills Every Entertainer Must Posses

onyemacourage (66)in #music • 6 years ago (edited)

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Donjazzy is a record producer and the owner of Africa's largest record label MAVIN RECORDS.

The Entertainment Industry as we all know, need money no doubt, but there are little secrets that can produce massive increase in fan base with little or no money. One can attest to the fact that fan base is the secret behind huge earnings in the industry. Since up and coming entertainers or independent fast rising entertainers can’t afford major promotional strategies i decided to share this article and help us succeed as an entertainer.

An entrepreneur is one who sees a NEED, BELIEVES HE/SHE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO SUPPLY THE NEEDand takes the RISK of doing so for some form of PROFIT. Every entertainer while starting up has just one option to succeed and that is being an entrepreneur. An artiste or a comedian for instance, talent helps you draft, arrange and package your products but what helps you outside your comfort zone is entrepreneurship. As an entertainer, it has been an established fact that your major or main product is YOURSELF. Thus, the whole thing we are fighting so hard to sell is our brand name and brand logo, which is our stage name and face respectively.

Now the first entrepreneurship skill every entertainer should possess is BRANDING. Branding is what gets you show and ensures your products are properly represented in the marketed. Ever successful entertainer became successful because they were able to utilize the skill of branding. Branding in nonprofessional words is giving it a shape that it naturally does not bear.

There are two kinds of products.

Products that the market wants but doesn’t have yet.
Products the market already has but need better service

Either way, you need branding.

HOW CAN YOU BRAND YOURSELF?

NOBODY FANS POVERTY! Nobody appreciates or wanna associate with poverty. Once you're a success or as in the case of branding appear to be successful, you have their attention. By successful I mean looking just as rich as they will love you to be. Looking just as calm, sexy, humble or rough (depending on the market you are appealing to) as they want you to be.

The second aspect of branding is IMAGERY!When Tekno is mentioned, a fair slim man with a yellow moon-hawk hair cut is portrayed. When Olamide is mentioned, a Yoruba, smart, street and rugged man comes to our mind etc. As a brand or an entertainer, many are monitoring your hair down to your toes. Now you need to create the right image of yourself in other to relate to the right market and you need to do this with a lot of creativity. Looking different is one! Sticking an image to the eyes of the people is another.

When you brand yourself, and attract the right audience, you will definitely have an increment in fan base that will naturally draw event hosts and planners to you.

Doing rap with low cut? How awkward . Nevertheless, MI and a couple of others did it to look different. Moreover, with consistency they have been able to stick that image to the market (even though they sold their brand to a similar market). The point is to create an image for yourself that is DIFFERENT and consistently push it out till it sells.

Branding is key. It’s not by choice, it’s a necessity. Branding too early is another problem that must be avoided. Thus knowing WHEN and HOW to brand is needful. Many Artistes for example get carried away to the extend the create an image that is not meant toi get them fan base but to get the girlfriends. Never get carried away...

The second entrepreneurship skill every entertainer should possess is MARKETING

As we know, selling yourself is practically all you have been trying to do with your products, contents, etc. When an entertainer talks about “blowing up”, all he or she is insinuating is successfully selling himself or herself.

HOW CAN YOU SELL YOURSELF?

Before considering how you can sell yourself, you must dictate the market you wanna sell yourself to. This will help you make certain decisions and make moves that will only get you such market and not get them pissed. Being different doesn’t entail spamming. Marketers sell more when they PULL you and not when then PUSH. Seduce the market to come liking your products, don’t come showing your desperation. Spamming, desperation and what have you might end up telling us your name, face and go as long as giving you a breakthrough into the industry,. But what sustains that breakthrough is if you were able to seduce us to LOVING you.

Shield your desperation to succeed like your life depends on it because it literally does. Your personality is the product. Be sure you are at the right places and giving the best attitudes to the right people. No matter how good you are, always be willing to learn. Olamide and Iyanya don’t wanna work with Big Brother Naija's Teddy A
for fun, he has been able to portray a personality that got their attention.

Record Label A/R’s do not just recommend an artiste for their talent, its most of the time because of their personality. No wonder you will hear stuffs like “he’s cute, cool, humble, always eager to learn, ready for a bigger challenge , loves team work, etc” because that’s what you’re selling; yourself, not just your talent.