What youths should know about Music and Business

Music is like another language, influencing us emotionally and mentally more than we realize. It influences young people especially teenagers and its an amazing outlet for personal identity and expression of feeling. Music can help youth relax, reduce stress, manage mood and provide ways to connect with peers.

In the upper floor of Club Nebraska in Ugunja town, Siaya a very intense listening and performing session took place. A collective of artists and their fans gathered to catch up on the going on of a buzzing new music scene that they were part of. The air was filled with smoke and the speakers were blasting hard-hitting music. This is what a typical day looks like for Kenya’s newest hit-making sensations.

I had an opportunity to meet one of the Chief artists who had been invited to the festival, Philip Patroba Okoyo commonly known as ‘Japesa,’ Is one of the youthful artists who are fast gaining fame in the music industry having performed in many live shows across the country and even at common Citizen’s tv show 10over10 organized by Willis Raburu every Friday and NTV’s show The trend by Amina Abdi.

The 26year old Hip Hop artist from Siaya county have loved music ever since in his early childhood saying that his decision to venture into Hip Hop music was based on the old hits of Gidi Gidi Maji Maji rap songs in Luo, as they really inclined him to even perform much better than Gidigidi until in the year 2013 when he launched his first Luo rap song ‘Opuk’(tortoise ).This happened while still in campus at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology(JOOUST).To date he has produced several tracks among them; Okabi relax, Jaluo oksechi ,Nyakalaga, Auu and many more, doing everything by himself since he owned the gadgets for production. “Music has been through it all with me. Ever since in my childhood, it has been there at the best moments of my life, and has supported me through all of the lows. I was greatly inspired my Gidi Gidi Maji Maji’s songs whenever I could listen to them, I want to do better than him that’s why I choose to rap in Luo just as he did.” Said Japesa.

Relating music with business.

As of now rap music seems to be a movement resonating with the majority of Kenyan youth and numbers definitely do not lie and most artists that perform these rap songs are so rich hence making many youths to have a thought that music is a business, apparently It is not. Music is an art form. A business has formed around music, but music can happen whether or not anyone ever makes money at it. However, if you are a musician in our culture, and you desire to do music as a full-time career, you need to learn to approach music as a business by identifying a need or desire among people; Developing a product that meets that desire; and marketing the product to the people who desire it and are ready to spend on it.

On his views on this, Japesa says,” I used to operate a Cosmetics business somedays back but later withhold since it wasn’t making me any profit. I have since ever focused on music as a business since it was doing well.” He also added by saying that focusing on music only should not be the case as he directed this to himself and to those who are focusing on music only as their living. He advised that youths should also open other businesses, as this can help them when the shows are down, as in the case of this Covid-19 pandemic which has brought great negative impacts in the music industry in Kenya. “When I say I ceased operating my business to focus on music does not necessarily mean that I won’t go back to my business and others, it’s because music was doing well and I preferred doing one thing at a time.”

Lastly, he had a powerful message to the youths with music as a talent, to use their talents to the maximum and never to be lazy. He also urged the youths to participate in music programs as those programs provide valuable opportunities for youths in communities even though the programs might not be the cure-all, but their results have been promising. They help young people build the self-discipline and collaboration skills needed to meet life’s most difficult challenges.

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