Attention Artists: Here’s How To Grow Your Brand And Make Money!

On Sunday i had the pleasure to have a tete a tete with Buddha Blaze. And i know alot of folk will ask me just who this man is and if you’re an artist you should slap yourself if you also want to know just who he is.

Buddha Blaze is one of the architects of “WAPI” a monthly event i used to attend back in 2005-2006 that would give artists and poets an opportunity to be heard. This is the avenue that gave us talent such as Octopizzo, Muthoni The Drummer Queen et al. If you have read the Wizard of OZ, Buddha Blaze is the man behind the curtain. He is the architect.

Buddha Blaze has seen it all, done it all and been around the block so many times that he tore down a building to build himself a condo -gentrification! Nothing is new to him and he is to ALL artists whether aspiring or established as the “Old Man Of The Sea”. For those of you not farmiliar with mythology, that would mean he is wise. He has enough wisdom to impart to you that will set you on the right path musically speaking. A sage.

Well, enough of the glowing introduction and now to the pounding of the yams. Buddha Blaze, Kone Sekou, Fox, Octopizzo and i had a rather enlightening convo at Blankets and Wine in which we discussed the state of Kenyan music. We got to pick his brain on just what he thinks our entertainment industry is lacking and i was amazed he agreed with my analysis… Indeed , great minds think alike.

And back to the matter at hand, the question i had is why Kenyan entertainers don’t engage the services of qualified managers and/or PR professionals. Think about it. Your brand: music and image is a product. The manager whose services you engage should handle you as such. So getting your estate boyo or the bomboy you usually hang with doesn’t cut it. These guys dey just hanger-on. If i had a 1000/- note for every artist i’ve seen get this fact wrong i’d be a damn millionaire by now! How many times have you seen a top artist make the fatal artist of employing his hangers-on as his management team? What results from this if not drinking sprees that end in ruined careers?

If you want to earn the big bucks Juliani commands, begin to respect your brand. That usually results in corporates and clients respecting your brand. When this happens, your manager can negotiate big bucks for you because afterall, your songs are the most popular tracks and they are enjoying immense airplay aye? By the time you are engaging a manager’s services they’d better be!

Your PR handler should be able to issue statements for you and i don’t mean sending Uncle Chim Tuna a statement via sms! I delete those retarded attempts at communication as soon as i receive them! They should sned me a professional email. I don’t work for you so i WILL NOT do your manager’s/PR handlers job for them!

Think of yourself as a brand to understand what i am saying. You have the necessary ingredients for your product (good songs and the image you want to portray) now that you’ve hit the market, you need that push aye? Engage a manager who will work pretty much as retail stores would, they avail your products to the consumer. The PR handler deals with any customer care issues and you’re good to go!