Longevity Tips for Tanzanian Musicians: The Secret Behind Long Existence in the Game

Written by Kanty Polycarp @Kantyjay

For many, the gauge for success in the music industry is set by unit sales. However, those in the game understand that longevity is the true measure. Every artist’s dream is to stay in the music industry for as long as possible and later be considered as a Legend. For this to be possible one has to maintain the peak of success for as long as possible with several hit songs and awards. So today let’s see what needs to be done for upcoming artists to make it to the top for a longer period and the secret to longevity for the older artists.

1. Discipline

This is the major factor not only in the music industry but in every aspect. Without discipline one will not survive when working with a group of people and will eventually get into quarrels and finally lead to breaking up. So in the music industry it’s the same without discipline one won’t take much longer in the game.

Discipline here can be subdivided into smaller sub parts.

i)Treat your fans with respect
We’ve seen artists who developed a behavior change soon after a single hit track. Before the song was on air he/she was a down to earth person but soon after the song became a hit the artists don’t receive calls from friends anymore,and they tend to act busy all the time. Sometimes they do not attend interviews or shows simply because they think they are busy. They are forgetting that the fans are the ones that can make the artists famous and are the ones that may drop their status quickly.So in order to make it to the top for a longer period one has to learn to respect fans and also make sure best performance in shows is the number one priority and not the money. Because some artists tend to concentrate more on getting more money while they have a poor performance in shows.This will lead to dropping your status very quickly.

Lady Jaydee

ii)Treat your support staff with respect

Well for an artist who wants to excel in the music industry knows for sure you must have your supporting staff.It can either be the band crew or designers or whoever that will make sure when you go on stage you will perform to the best and get more and more fans. One of the best ways to deal with the pressures of success is to have a really smart small inner circle of people that you trust.These people know your weakness and strengths and therefore treat them as your one big family and you will surely excel in the music industry.Respectful treatment means you keep a great team in place. But more importantly, it translates to respectful relationships with fans.

iii)Spend Wisely
We all know nothing lasts forever, there are ups and downs, good days and bad days. As I said earlier one needs a supporting staff that will be advising you what to do and what not to do. Income streams changes accordingly. You should not spend too much in the days that do not have big pile of money flowing in. There are seasons where the number of shows are very minimal so in times like this a cash discipline is very much needed.

iv)Give back to the community
Many people here will be asking themselves how can this make an artist stay longer in the game. I have witnessed some various artists who have gained more fans just by giving help to the community. As an artist you are working for the community to make them happy. Not everyone in the community listens to your songs so one thing you can do is deduct a small amount of money and give to the homeless kids, go to hospitals and help the sick. Help in churches and in mosques. Participate in various events in your society. This will slowly help you gain more fans than you can even think of in a very short time.

Diamond Platnumz

A good example of this is Diamond Platinumz he has several kids that he has taken them to school and he also pays a visit to centers with homeless kids.

v) Treat your endeavor like the business it is

Often times the artists who learn to love their work as a concrete businesses end up having the most success, because they understand that it’s being dealt with in the most intelligent way as an opportunity for themselves and for their family. As an artist grows and become more successful, he/she needs to be thoughtful about how to grow their organization, who to hire and what kind of culture they want to establish.

vi) Find other sources of income
If you are doing good in music and you are getting enough money do yourself a favour find another business so as you can have multiple sources of income.One thing that makes artists not to last long is they completely depend on music and they have poor savings. So when the bad times steps up it finds them totally broke and it becomes difficult for them to get back in track, but if you have another source of income you can still maintain the status. A good example of this is Lady Jaydee,AY, Mwana FA,Prof. Jay etc.

Mwana FA

2) Stay away from Scandals

We all know that the media plays a very big part promoting the artists. There are good sides of these promotions as well as bad sides. The more your name is in the headlines daily with scandals its the more your artistic life will end quickly. Avoid scandals as much as possible because they will make you lose many fans and followers.

3) Maintain uniqueness

In Order to make it to the top an artist has to have a peculiar thing. Something that whenever one hears it will quickly understand this is someone. That uniqueness should be maintained at all times.Well one has to be creative and change according to the game, but that uniqueness in you should still be recognized. Take an example of Nay wa Mitego he is famously known for his dissing songs. As weird as it sounds but this unique feature makes him famous and it also makes other artists if they want to diss about something then they quickly think of giving him a collabo.

Nay wa Mitego

Now if it happens he decides to change and start praising other artists he will lose that uniqueness and who knows what’s next? Maybe he might drop. So maintaining that flow is a good thing and being creative is also very important.

4) Look for Professionals

Musicians have managers, lawyers, business managers, booking agents, tour managers, handlers, and numerous other professionals who help them grow their business and navigate the complexity of their life.Those professionals, in turn, witness the rise and fall of enough careers. Therefore a strong team of professionals will make your life simple as an artist as they will be doing all the hard work.