Success Tips: Challenges To Anticipate As An Artist In The Industry

As an artist getting into the music scene, nothing can ever really prepare you for what is to become of your career, for some it may take a great upward leap while for others it may take time before they are absorbed into the music scene both by fans and radio stations around; so what then are some of the challenges you should be ready to face?

I had the chance to speak to Phoenix Records founder  Brian Okemo who based on his vast experience with artists and the Kenyan music scene at large narrowed down some of the challenges artists should be ready to experience in the course of their music career;

#1.Rejection

Any artist who is getting into the music scene should be ready to face rejection. The thing is for most artists they never really know how to deal with rejection and therefore become lazy. You need to be ready to drive past your critiques and put in alot of work.

#2. Haters

Be ready for haters, especially in the Kenyan music scene, people just love to hate and the thing is some of this artists shift so much of their time and effort to deal with 'haters' in their songs yet fans can only take in so much hater songs. Fans don't want to listen to you rap about haters all the time so learn to direct your energy on the right things.

#3. Finances

Its not cheap to record music, so finances plays a huge role in your art as a musician and for some artists who are just starting out it may come as a major challenge; so my advice is to focus on your craft. When you focus on your craft, people may want to chip in and invest their money on you since they see the value you hold.

#4. Lack Of Events To Perform

There are rarely events in which artists can go to showcase their talent and this can come as a real challenge because music is a craft and the more you showcase it the better you become. However for this i think its up to the artist to try find a solution most artists are just lazy and always expect things to be done for them but it doesn't come that easy.

You have to be willing to perform for free and you can do this by collaborating with local club owners in your neighbourhood and having gigs with the promise of bringing in an audience and this way you keep growing. If you look at successful artists such as Abass or Nameless they had to perform for free for so long but eventually they did make it.

Article By: Magda D.K