There are reasons why growing artistes are paid differently, whether you are old or young. An artiste who lives in a rural area cannot be compared with an artiste who lives in an urban city.
The following are the seven reasons why you are paid differently than others in the music industry.
What is written here is a fact that can help you earn more money than other artistes if you are willing to change your mindset. What you need is a change of thoughts, a change of strategy, and a change of value.
Read the seven reasons here carefully:
1. YOUR INDIVIDUALITY
Your personality determines your pay. Not that you are more talented than others in creation or in power, but by grace, you have been uplifted more than others. Some artistes have a natural grace that makes people love them instantly. Others must pray to God for such upliftment or work tirelessly to build serious connections with the right people.
Your individuality is your brand. How you talk. How you walk. How you dress. How you carry yourself on and off stage. How you treat your fans. How you treat ordinary people.
Two artistes can sing the same song, but one will be paid $1,000 and the other $10,000 because of individuality.
People don't just pay for music. They pay for personality. They pay for charisma. They pay for the aura you bring. If you are rude, proud, or fake, event organizers will pay you less, even if you sing well. If you are humble, respectful, professional, and unique, they will pay you more and call you again.
To succeed, define who you are. Are you the peaceful artiste? The energetic artiste? The conscious artiste? The fashion artiste? Own your identity. Stop trying to be like everyone else.
The industry already has a Burna Boy, a Wizkid, a Davido. What it doesn’t have is YOU. Be original in your individuality, and your pay will increase.
2. YOUR CREATIVITY
Your art of doing things on stage matters a lot. It is still by grace that your work is chosen among many others. But grace without work is useless.
Keep learning and keep improving your performance and presentation of your talent before people. The music industry is very competitive, but the wise and the blessed never compete blindly. They think and create things according to their own patterns. They live differently from other people’s views.
Creativity is not just singing. It is how you enter the stage, how you interact with the crowd, how you dance, even if you are not a dancer, how you arrange your setlist and how you use your DJ, your band, your backup singers for actualization.
An artiste who just stands and sings one song after another will be paid less than an artiste who creates an experience. A creative artiste makes the audience laugh, cry, jump, and sing along.
Study great performers. Watch how Fela Kuti controlled the stage. Watch how Michael Jackson turned a performance into theatre. Watch how Asake brings energy.
Then create your own style.
Don’t just perform songs. Perform moments. That is why some artistes are paid 10 times more for the same 30 minutes set of songs presented.
3. PERSONAL TRACKS AND YOUR CATALOG
Your number of tracks and the meaning of those tracks matter. Your lyrics and their melody in the ears of the people matter.
Don’t imitate others. Be original and do your own thing your way. That is the only way you can add value to your creativity and turn it into action. Improve your skills more. It is by doing so that you can earn more money than other artistes around the globe.
If you have only one hit song, you will be booked as a “one-hit wonder.” Your pay will be small.
If you have 5 solid hits, 2 albums, and songs people know word-for-word, your value goes up. Organizers know you can hold a crowd for one hour.
Also, quality matters more than quantity. One timeless song with deep lyrics and sweet melody can make you more money for 10 years than 20 shallow songs that fade in 2 weeks.
Ask yourself: Are my songs original? Are my lyrics meaningful? Can people sing them 5 years from now? Do my tracks have replay value?
Invest in good songwriting, good production, good mixing and mastering. A hit track is a salary for life.
4. YOUR EXPERIENCE ON STAGE
Yes. Your experiences of life and its principles matter. The stage has rules. You must not fail to learn while performing.
Watch how people react and react within yourself. When you watch them as they are watching you, try to please them with your style of creative exhibition in the moment. It is a creative thing to be aware of the moment.
Still, it is also by grace. But in everything, if you do well, everything will come to you. Stage experience cannot be bought. It is earned.
An artiste who has performed at 99 shows knows:
1. When the crowd is tired and needs energy
2. When to talk and when to sing
3. How to handle a bad sound system without getting angry
4. How to handle a small crowd with the same passion as a big crowd
5. How to save a show when the microphone fails
An inexperienced artiste will panic. An experienced artiste will turn the problem into a performance.
That is why veterans are paid more. They are not just singing. They are guaranteeing a successful event. Event organizers pay for peace of mind.
If you are new, intentionally seek small stages: birthdays, street shows, school shows, church programs, open mics. That is your school. Every stage is a classroom.
5. YOUR NUMBER OF YEARS IN THE GAME
This has a dual meaning. It depends on your creativity and your ability to learn and put what you have learned into action sincerely.
Being in the music industry for forty years has nothing to do with your progress if you are not adding value to your talent development.
Music demands your brain and your time, and you must give it to it. There are artistes who have been singing for 20 years but have no growth. And there are artistes who have been singing for 3 years but have grown massively because they learned, adapted, and improved.
Years only count when they come with growth.
However, if you have stayed relevant for 10, 15, 20 years, your pay will be higher because you have proven you have staying power. You have fans across generations. You have become a legend. So don’t count years. Make years count.
Learn new sounds. Learn new technology. Learn new marketing. Collaborate with younger artistes. Reinvent yourself every season.
6. YOUR CONNECTION AND AWARENESS
Truly, you can only be connected by God. Other connections are human conditions which can be denied at any time. But try to keep your faith in God and keep the human connections and awareness you have going.
Let the connection you have with God continue to connect you until you can no longer be unconnected. Be your own king and follow your own pattern. Have laid-down plans.
In this industry, your network is your net worth.
An artiste who knows event planners, DJs, hype men, bloggers, sponsors, and fellow artistes will be booked more than an artiste who stays in his room and only posts on WhatsApp.
Awareness also means: Do people know you exist? Are you visible on social media? Are you in the news for good reasons? Do you attend industry events? God opens doors, but men are the ones who announce you at the door.
7. YOUR POSSESSIONS AND PROOF OF SUCCESS
What has the artiste been able to accomplish in all the years he has been in the music industry?
If the artiste has acquired a lot of wealth, awards, cars, houses, influence, and fame, he must be paid differently even if he performs only one song while others perform full albums. This is called perceived value.
When you look successful, people pay you like a successful person. When you look like you are still struggling, they will price you like a struggler.
Earning more than others is by the grace of God. You cannot be fulfilled when it comes to money, but money respects value.
If you have built a brand, won awards, have millions of streams, or have a loyal fanbase, that is a possession. And that possession justifies a higher fee.
So invest in yourself like; branding, photoshoots, good videos, press, a good team. Let your image match the fee you want to charge.
Remember that;
You are paid differently because of:
1. Individuality
2. Creativity
3. Personal Tracks
4. Experience on Stage
5. Number of Years with Growth
6. Connection and Awareness
7. Possessions and Proof
Stop complaining that others are paid more. Instead, ask: “What are they doing that I am not doing?” Change your thoughts. Change your value. And your pay will change.
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