Hello 237Showbees, so officially I’m back with the very best and inspirational articles you’ll ever find in a Cameroonian blog or magazine. I actually wrote this article last week unfortunately I forgot to save the file but I hope it comes out like that which I lost or even better. So today we shall be talking about the 5 Mistakes most Cameroonian artistes (Upcoming Most Especially) make when they are officially trying to release a new musical project. Musical projects here could mean a single, an EP (Extended Play), a mixtape or an album. I decided to come out with this write up because my team and I carried out an online survey and we noticed that 70% Of Cameroonian artistes don’t know how to officially put out musical projects for consumption. Often times, most artistes just get in the booth, record and once the song is on YouTube, “voilà” they think that they have done an amazing job. Well sorry to disappoint you. That and 4 other acts are the mistakes you have been making ignorantly and we hope by the time you finish this write up, you shall be able to grab a thing or two.

1. Cameroonian Artistes Are Always In A Rush To Release New Music.

As a promoter, blogger, editor and manager for Cameroon’s No1 Entertainment platform www.237showbiz.com, we are privileged to welcome hundreds of messages, calls, emails from artistes most especially and when talking with those who are about to release a musical project, you can sense that feeling of pressure in their words. These artistes are always in a rush to release singles, I’ll say singles because this is the starting point of the majority. Singles are low pressure musical projects which can be dropped quickly but you don’t need to be in a rush. Well depending on the scope of your campaign you need a time of at least 3 months. What will you need three months to prepare the release of a 3 minute audio track for? Below is a list of things you need that amount of time to prepare.

– Music Distribution

– Music Video & Lyric Production

– Cover Art

– Press Release

– License

Gone are those days when you release music and you share them using messaging applications like WhatsApp and Messenger. Also, we’ve come to realize that most artistes are lazy to write a well written press release for their songs, others don’t even know what a press release is. A good cover art will stir the mood of your fans to anticipate the song while a well produced video or lyric video will enhance the growth of the promotion.

2. Cameroonian Artistes Don’t Give Exclusives To Blogs

You can’t be an upcoming artiste with 66 Youtube subscribers which to me feels like these subscriptions came from your family members from both the paternal and maternal side and you are dropping music on the channel expecting it to reach your dream audience. The goal of an upcoming artiste should be nothing other than getting exposure and their music reaching distant ears. Some blogs are bigger than some artistes and it is the place of the artiste to grant their songs to these blogs as exclusives in order to reach a wider audience. If you didn’t see this as a setback to why your music is stagnant, start today.

3. The Artistes Don’t Switch Their Tone

You’ve succeeded with the “try by error” code to release a song which is only getting waves in your family meetings and neighborhood, you will need to switch your tone and communication, maybe you used a technique which will definitely become boring in the days ahead, what do you do to spice up the promotion and keep the song on contant replay? I know a good number of Cameroonian fans who wouldn’t click to listen to your song if they don’t see gifts like T-shirts, communication airtime, contests/dance challenges etc

Here are some hints you need to know.

– Taking and publishing professional pictures.

– Videos

– Teasers (Before the song drops)

– Hints

– Direct Request

– Challenge

Do not take the likes of Stanley Enow for a fool when you see him doing a lot of videos for his songs such as Casanova and My Way.

4. Don’t Stay Too Long Before Your Next Release

This is another setback not just for the upcoming artiste but for almost all the artistes in general. If a song hasn’t gone grey, they won’t remember that they have to release new music, consistency also plays a great role in your career and keeps your name alive. If bloggers and promoters dud their best to introduce you to the industry with your first song, you coming late with the second will need another introduction and at this time, many of the fans you gain must have forgotten about you. So it’s better to have at least 10 songs in your song bank before you think of dropping your first single. Piece of advice, don’t do it too late, don’t do it too early either.

5. Don’t Force The Name “Fans” On People.

“I can’t book you as an upcoming artiste and before your performance you are calling my guest your fans. You can’t be dropping your cover art and press release on social media and immediately, the people on your Facebook list who happen to be your family members, friends, school mates, enemies and pen pals automatically turn to be your fans even before they’ve listened to your songs. If you have been doing this ignorantly, then you need to sit up.

All in all, being an upcoming artistes doesn’t mean you are a low life artistes. To many, they see it as an insult. Others will prefer being called a “New Artiste” not knowing that an “Upcoming Artiste” is bigger than a “New Artiste” just because the word Upcoming sounds offensive.

“No one remains upcoming forever” is one of my favorite quotes!

Hope this article helps. Drop your thoughts in the comments, let us know what you think.

Victor Kange

(#NaTengiYesu)