How Licensing Could Boost a Kenyan Artiste's Music

The digital era has grossly altered not just the music industry, but the world as a whole. In order for Kenyan artistes to be able to compete against the increasing globalization of the world, they have to look at what international artistes are doing right and not just emulate those manouevers but also to maximize on the benefits.

These days its easy enough for even the newest of artists to work on their computers, come up with a tune or a track and distribute it on the internet in a matter of minutes. Your song may be of a certain quality above the rest but then your challenge may be ways of maximising your impact and getting your song out there.

One of the most effective ways of doing this would be to turn to licensing your music. Case in point, most recently Camp Mulla licensed their song to Safaricom for an estimated fee of about Kshs.4million. Now whether or not that amount was the exact figure, whats clear is that the 2012 BET Awards nominees made a killing on the deal. Whether on radio or on television, when its about Safaricom's data packages, all you hear is 'Party Don't Stop' in the background.

In the Kenyan music industry (as well as the world over), all an artiste wants is a way of getting his or her name out there to the masses. Exposure. Its like a golden boot of the industry and once people get to know about you, then you're more than halfway there to success. You write and record your music in essence so that others may listen to and enjoy it, and if you're lucky, you can make a living off that if you do it right adn consistently.

Getting your song, or your music in general licensed is an almost certain way to success because the music would ultimately 'sell itself' as it is featured on whatever product that is. Picture getting your song on a 15 second clip of say Brookside milk, a product consumed widely enough in Kenya and throughout the region. This could open up countless more avenues for your career than you expected.

Once your music is licensed then your portfolio is boosted as you may get more established managers and producers to help you take your music to the next level. This is especially more so if you're not signed to any of the leading recording labels in the country. It would be a major achievement for you and your music. Need I stress how much money you would be making in the process?