Dear artiste before you get lost, get yourself a songwriter!

By Olukorede Oyewoga

Yes you heard me right! Get a SONGWRITER! It may seem silly and funny to you, but the truth of the matter is that the world’s greatest hits have come from songwriters not the artistes themselves. Artistes, producers, DJs and even the common ‘creative’ man on the street, may be the key to your next BIG single.

Here you are been faced with the challenge of keeping up with the super-tempo of the fast rising Nigerian music industry and just after dropping your first 3 hit singles, your next single doesn’t just seem to be clicking. What are you waiting for? Get A Godamn Songwriter!

Worldwide, geniuses like R.Kelly, Ne-Yo, Babyface, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson are just a few recognised ones in songwriting.

Popular singles like Whitney Houston’s mega hit track ‘I look to you’ may not have manifested if the magical writing skills of R.Kelly had not come into play. Same can be said for Neyo’s intervention on several of Rihanna’s tracks!

Being consistently creative is not a joke by any standard but the Heavens definitely blessed some very few ones which such gift, and the best you can do is identify them, pay them handsomely to get you amazing lyrics and find your way back to the top. It could be that SIMPLE sometimes.

The funniest part of the whole thing is that this ‘songwriter’ may be the young high school boy or girl at your backyard, who may have been struggling to get your attention all along. Relax your nerves, drop your ego, and act wise enough.

Sharp boy, Davido pulled a stunt recently by buying an unknown act’s song which he made his own. The song ‘Gobe’ was originally sung and released by upcoming singer-songwriter Password but it was alleged that Davido paid the upcoming act a paltry sum of N500,000 to sell the song to him. Well, whether the rumour is true or not, Davido definitely did a good business and got himself a mega-hit, just at the time when everyone thought he was losing it.

I suggest you do same if you are really keen on getting your groove back. If N500,000 can get you massive airplay, invites to perform at big shows and more importantly, love from your fans, then why the heck are you still wasting time? Get a Godamn Songwriter!

In Nigeria, acts like Olamide, 9ice, Paul Play, Modnine, 2face Idibia, M.I, Ice Prince, Wizkid were able to excel because of their unique writing skills, however they may even have engaged a songwriter somewhere, who knows? However, if you can’t afford the bills of such renowned acts that are still on top of their game, why don’t you simply engage acts that are upcoming or simply start a songwriting competition online and recruit the winner of the competition into your team?  In the game, content is KEY and the better the content of your song, the higher you will definitely go in the game.

Sincere Advice for COSON

The Nigeria music industry being steered by COSON could engage songwriter and composers by creating a formidable Guild of Songwriters and Composer just like the one in the U.K and many other ones worldwide. Let Nigeria songwriters too have the power to sue for copyright infringements and get paid their deserved royalties. This is the true way forward.

Olukorede is a public relations practitioner and social media strategist based in Lagos, Nigeria. He is also the current editor of the fast rising style blog, BroadstreetNG. Catch him on twitter @koredeoyewoga or simply send him a mail via koredeoyewoga@gmail.com