The lights are perpetually dimmed, the grand stages that have hosted so many stellar performers are bare. The equipments sit glistening with no one to play them or more importantly no one to listen to the sounds. The new world order is social distancing, isolation and staying at home. This is the grim picture of several concert venues around the world as the Corona Virus pandemic ravaged the entire world one sector after another. The effects of the pandemic on the music industry cannot be understated, Live Nation one of the biggest concert companies in the world effectively suspended all tours and concerts till 2021. What started in Wuhan spread to the farthest ends of the world and the biggest music festivals in 2020 are cancelled. Lollapalooza Argentina, Coachella, SXSW and many more music events bit the dust in the wake of the virus stopping many scheduled live performances. It was a bolt out of the blue, nobody expected the impact or the gravity of the pandemic and no one in the music industry could have prepared for what was about to hit. The Corona Virus embarked on a world tour that the greatest artists or performers would struggle to match. It can be argued that no artists have toured as much countries as the Corona Virus that hit almost the entire world in a spate of few weeks.
At first it came in spurts, then in droves as the numbers went up and the whole human race became at risk. One after the other, major events around the world started announcing cancellations or postponements. Music concerts, economic gatherings and big sporting events suddenly became secondary, millions of lives were at stake. However deep we are in this quagmire, as long as we are alive, we can only look forward and think about what the music terrain would look like after the pandemic is over. The biggest stars on the music plateau are losing money with concerts cancelled and inability to perform shows. But what happens to the upcoming artist who has not even has a threshold in the game? If the established stars can feel the crunch this hard, how can the upstart cope or survive? Davido had to cancel his ‘A Good Time Tour’, which was already a hit despite all the funds involved, but he can fall back on streaming from his catalogue of hits unlike an underground star. From America down to New Zealand, the creative industry would feel the crunch but in all these dark clouds, there is an underlying silver lining in the horizon. Whenever, the world returns to normal either it is a new normal or old normal, new music stars would emerge. Every dog has its day and the post-pandemic period would witness the rising of new stars.
As an upcoming artist, what you need to do now is keep putting in the work and find a creative marketing strategy that would get your music to your audience. Putting in the work is what would position you for the opportunities that are set to rise. Some of the current stars are going to lose a bit of momentum with the current lull on the music scene. So, how ready are you to get yourself in the mix? Now is the time for you to find that formula that would work for you. Social media is key especially in these times. Look at the Falz’s song ‘Bop Daddy’ and how it became a sensation on Tiktok and other social media platforms. ‘Don’t Rush’ was released by Bugsey and Young T over a year ago but it is trending today because of social media use. Find a creative niche and model your marketing around it. Don Jazzy is already ahead of the game in this sense with his use of Tiktok. It set a template for the marketing of the Ladipoe & Simi single ‘Know You’, which hit number 1 spot a few days after release. When a new act breaks onto scene, it often looks like he just catapulted there but look deeply and you would see the act had been putting in the work and when opportunity came, he was ready. New stars would shine after Corona Virus, but the question is would you be the one?
Richard Iroko.
