Music is lot more than it used to be, month by month, day by day, century by century from live instrument to studio engines, sound equipment, involvement on the internet. The social media has made music a shooting star, just how it helps Africa music evolves the oceans. For the sake of this article, I want to point out some lucrative business niches in Nigeria music industry, which obviously applies to some other countries as well. Below are the niches;
2. Writing songs for artistes: Song writing in the music industry is one, if not the major and a critical aspect of music. writing for artistes is surely a big niche in this industry, and no doubt a profitable one. Most songwriters are ghostwriters, they are often used to write songs, lyrics, and instrumental pieces. When a record company wants to market an inexperienced young singer as a singer-songwriter, or help a veteran bandleader coping with writer's block (or a lack of motivation to finish the next album), an experienced songwriter may be discreetly brought in to help. In other cases, a ghostwriter writes lyrics and a melody in the style of the credited musician, with little or no input from the credited musician.
A Booking Agent is responsible for booking live performances including concerts, gigs, tours and radio and TV performances for artistes, bands, DJs, Choirs, orchestras and other musical ensembles. They are responsible for developing the musicians' or artistes' career with regard to their live performance. A Booking Agent, or Artiste Booker, will work closely with the artistes' management, promoter and record company. Sometimes, especially with new and emerging artistes the manager will combine their role with that of Booking Agent. They will usually work on a whole tour rather than just one gig. They will often require an exclusive contract on touring activities, especially if the artiste is signed.
The Agent will be responsible for negotiating and issuing contracts, collecting deposits and sending out promotional material. They may work freelance, be part of the band, or work for a music company or agency. They may be responsible for one artiste, band or musical ensemble, or for several. They will often work on a commission basis and usually get around 10 - 15% commission of the artiste's fee.
Some Booking Agents will provide all styles of artistes and musicians ranging from classical to dance music and cover a range of events including bars, clubs, local, corporate and trade events. Others provide entertainment for cruise ships, theaters, hotels and international venues. Some Booking Agents will specialize in musicians and producers working in particular genres, such as rock, pop, dance, urban or acoustic.
Many Booking Agents will offer a portfolio of services for their clients, including artiste management services, or marketing, distribution and publicity campaigns for a variety of media.
Excellent knowledge of the music industry and keeping in touch with current music trends is essential, as is building up an excellent network of contacts in the music business. There are no specific professional qualifications required. Building up experience in the music industry is important, this can be done by working in different capacities — any work that brings you music business contacts and keeps you in touch with the industry will help. Many Booking Agents are musicians who have built up their expertise on the job working for themselves, their own ensembles, bands or for friends who are musicians.
4. Disc Jockey: If you are picking DJ as niche then you have to pick a niche for being a DJ also, there are five basic niches in disc jockeying. DJ requires different approach when you want to make living outta it, Knowing which one you fit in, or want to be, will make achieving the goal easier.
An all rounder no limit disc jokey plays anything he can to make the dance floor go gaga (crazy), he has an enormous music collection and is in no way principal in playing all genres. He is able to read the crowd, and has a vast knowledge of how people react to different kinds of music.
7. Rehearsal Space Rentals: Musical bands and performers have always had a difficult time securing space for rehearsing their acts and numbers, and starting a business that rents rehearsal space to musicians by the hour, day, week or month is a fantastic new enterprise to get rolling. Ideally, the business will be established on leased premises in an industrial building so that noise won't be a concern or become a problem. Additionally, the spaced that's leased for the rehearsal space should also be subdivided into a few smaller rehearsal rooms to accommodate more than one customer at a time. Typical customers will be anyone in the music industry--from musicians to singers to music producers.
A big part of the business side is finding students. Maintaining a website or social media page are great options – although time-consuming, both current and prospective artistes want to see a teacher is posting relevant content as often as they can. Don’t forget about marketing yourself offline, too. Creating eye-catching flyers with a memorable logo is just one way to prove you’re professional and really set you apart from the competition. Although they may seem old-school, ALWAYS have business cards with you...aside being an instructor, you can as well make money as a Music Teacher just by judging/assigning musical related contests e.g Talents shows, project fame etc.
Duties
Artiste managers are responsible for collecting revenues, fees or other payments stipulated in contracts. They hold auditions and interviews to discover potential clients, communicate with artistes to develop marketing plans or tour goals for their music career and to recommend and implement actions to achieve them. Artiste managers also initiate contacts with individuals and organizations that may help in the promotion of their client’s career, negotiate and seek ex-deals, prepare lodging, travel, food and other needs for their clients’ out of town gigs and performances. They maximize sales by implementing direct marketing and advertising activities, negotiate with promoters and other people of contractual rights and obligations; as well as inspect equipments and facilities ensure they meet the artiste’s specifications. Most artiste managers book interviews for promotion, hire coaches and trainers to help artistes with dancing, voice, translations and others, and perform daily bookkeeping take and complete financial obligations like taxes.
Education and Training Requirements
Most artiste managers do not need academic training to qualify for this position. Although a college background is helpful since there are courses offered in music business and music marketing, many artists prefer managers with extensive industry experience and networks.
Knowledge and Skills Requirements
An artiste manager must be an expert on the in and out of the music business. Good artiste managers do everything they can to make their clients successful. They possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills, public relations skills, marketing and advertising skills, negotiation skills, leadership skills and basic computer skills. Artiste managers must be friendly, independent, aggressive, and has the ability to work as part of a team.
11. Music Promoter: A music promoter is someone who publicizes and promotes performances. Promoters organize gigs, book bands or artistes and advertise the shows to bring in paying attendees—and profits. The music promoter works with an artiste or a band manager to plan an event. They agree to a date and look for an appropriate venue.
17. Sound Engineer: sound engineer is one of those great jobs for people interested in both technology and the arts. It requires a lot of technical expertise, but also requires a creative bent that helps musicians and performers realize their artistic intent.
18. Music Video Director: A music video director is the head of music video production. The director conceives of videos' artistic and dramatic aspects while instructing the musical act, technical crew, actors, models, and dancers. If you have a passion for telling a visual story to music, then you can consider becoming a music video director but there's a lot of technical knowledge that goes into producing a video, so you should be prepared for some hard work. Even so, when you love what you do, even hard work is satisfying. To accomplish your dream of becoming a music video director, you'll have to master the basics, photography will introduce you to the basics of many important aspects of film making, like the different kinds of lenses, shot composition, lighting effects, and framing.