The first thing you need to understand is...

...Branding Starts from Within

Many believe branding begins with external elements—logos, visuals, overall aesthetics—but true branding starts internally. It’s about what people feel, hear, and understand. Remember, everything starts with you, and as an artiste, while your music might be the gateway to your brand, you will not be able to attain longevity in the industry if you are unable to connect with your fans beyond the music. As such, you need to understand the purpose behind your brand and ensure you achieve three essential goals when developing it:

1. Build an emotional connection with your audience.

2. Keep fans engaged beyond your music.

3. Create a community they would want to be part of.

To achieve these goals, ask yourself:

• Who am I?

• What type of music do I make?

• What message does my music convey?

• Who is my audience?

• Which artistes are similar to me?

• What makes me stand out?

• What gives me direction?

• What helps me build a community?

• Which brands would I love to work with?

The answers to these questions will help you create your archetype and establish a balance between your talent and humanity. This is important because while talent creates intrigue and makes you seem extraordinary, your humanity makes you relatable and keeps fans engaged.

Characteristics of a Strong Brand

A successful artiste brand should be:

• Authentic: true to who you are.

• Original: unique and distinguishable.

• Relatable: resonate with your audience.

Before we close out on this, here are three key stages to undertake when developing your brand as an artiste:

1. Defining Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP): Your USP is what sets you apart from every other artiste in the industry. To effectively define your USP, focus on three areas:

• Music: Your sound, themes, or genre approach.

• Story: The personal experiences that shape your artistry.

• Appearance: Your visual identity, style, and presentation.

When these three align, they create a clear, compelling brand that fans can connect with.

2. Crafting a Strong Brand Narrative (Building the Story): Your brand narrative is the foundation of your identity. It must be authentic and align with your music. A strong narrative answers:

• What’s the story behind you, the artiste?

• What message do you consistently convey?

• How would your brand evolve with your journey?

3. From Narrative to Image: Once the narrative is clear, shape the brand’s image:

• Style: hair, clothing, accessories, visual identity.

• Lifestyle: public hobbies, frequent locations, daily habits.

• Associations: the people, networks, and influences surrounding the artiste.

A common mistake is prioritizing the brand image over the narrative. Your narrative should dictate your image, not the other way around.

How Branding Translates to Revenue

• Shows & Appearances: A strong brand increases demand for live performances and public events.

• Brand Deals & Endorsements: Companies look for artistes whose audience, image or value aligns with their products.

• Placements & Partnerships: A recognizable brand makes securing sync deals and collaborations easier.

A well-branded artiste builds a dedicated fanbase that sticks around, supports projects, and spreads awareness. Essentially, your fanbase becomes a community—and in some ways, a movement.

Final Thoughts

Your brand isn’t just your music—it is your message, your personality, and how you position yourself in the industry.

By understanding your unique strengths and building an authentic narrative, you can create a brand that resonates, sustains, and ultimately secures longevity.

In a saturated music industry, an artiste can lose public attention between project releases. To prevent this, artistes and their teams implement strategies and partnerships that keep them in the limelight while reinforcing their brand—this is what we call brand marketing.

Brand marketing is simply marketing the artiste as a brand to increase reach and expand their fanbase. Common methods include endorsements, ambassadorships for non-music brands, magazine covers, and TV or radio appearances. Unlike music marketing, which focuses on pushing songs, brand marketing makes the artiste more relatable, and appealing to a wider audience.

If you analyze the careers of top artistes, you’ll notice that it’s not just their music being marketed—it’s them. These artistes have gained their fanbase not just because of talent but because they’ve built an identity that transcends music. They showcase parts of themselves or other passions—fashion, film, sports, activism, politics—to establish a deeper connection with their audience. These different passions set them apart, make them relatable, and ultimately define their brand identity.

The one edge global stars have over younger, newer acts is an in-depth understanding of brand marketing. They see music as more than just a hobby or self-expression—it is a business. And like any business, the more awareness you create and the further you expand your reach, the more profit you make.

Brand marketing is a vital step to take when it comes to building a community around an artiste but it is only effective if the artiste’s brand is authentic. It must align with who they truly are and the ideals they hold.

Final Thoughts

Your music gets people to listen, but your brand keeps them invested. A well-crafted brand helps you stand out, build lasting connections, and create opportunities beyond music. The most successful artistes don’t just make songs—they create experiences, identities, and movements that fans want to be part of.

In the next article, we’ll dive deeper into how to build a brand that feels authentic, attracts the right audience, and sustains your career in the long run.

Everyone talks about how independent artists should keep releasing music and post more content, but there’s way less conversation about getting that music in front of the right audience.

So today, I want to introduce a simple but powerful strategy: The Demo Profile.

A demo profile is how you discover your ideal fan—who they are, where they are, and how to connect with them. Once you build this profile, you’ll have a clear marketing direction instead of just hoping the right people find your music.

Step 1: Understand That Fans Come From More Than Just Your Music

Your fans don’t just come from your songs. They come from you. Your personality, hobbies, humour, and values can all attract fans. If you’re into gaming, fashion, or fitness, chances are, there’s a community within those spaces that would love your music too.

Step 2: Build an Honest & Accurate Demographic

To identify your core audience, ask yourself:

• What age group connects with my music?

• What hobbies/interests might my fans have?

• What other artists do they listen to?

• What music communities are they part of?

• Where and how do they discover new music?

• What other communities do they belong to?

• What kind of content do they consume?

• What social media platforms are they most likely to be on?

• What type of events do they attend?

Step 3: Use This Data to Shape Your Marketing Plan

Once you have these details, use them as a guide. Instead of promoting your music to everyone, focus on targeting people who are already interested in your type of sound and personality.

Let me know: What’s the biggest challenge you face when finding your audience? Reply to this email or comment below!

From an outsider’s perspective, the release of a project is simply a means for the artist to introduce a newer path in their music to their audience, but it is deeper than that. Whenever an artist decides to create a new project, they kickstart what I call ‘the project cycle’.

The project cycle is simply the different eras or phases the project must pass through; the conception/creation of the idea, the pre-production, the production and the post-production phases. Each of these phases is significant as each entails various essential tasks that must be carried out before the project is released to the public.

When working on any type of project; be it an EP, an LP, a mixtape or even an album, the conception phase is the first and most crucial. It is where the idea for the project is carefully fleshed out, and most importantly, it is the point where the theme of the project is born. As the starting point in the cycle, this phase needs to be well documented and structured as it gives all involved parties in the project a direction to follow through. Once this is done, the next step is the pre-production phase, or as I love to call it ‘the calm before the storm’.

The pre-production phase, which comes right before the production phase, is where the team comes up with the plans for the project. It entails selecting the producers, songwriters, mixing and mastering engineers to work with, the artists to feature, the graphics designer and creative director to collaborate with, the PR to engage, and the type of content to build around the project.

As the pre-production phase ends, the next step to concentrate on is the production phase, where the ideas come to life, and the creation of the project(sound(beat) creation and arrangement, songwriting, recording and so on) begins. The production phase must be as deliberate as possible, adhering to the project's theme, and the story it tells must amplify that theme. Aside from the intentionality required in this phase, it is also critical to devote as much time as possible here because the outcome of this period will determine the project's success.

After all of these phases have been completed, the final and most meticulous phase begins - the post-production phase. This phase requires the most attention and planning as it is where the tracks are selected, cleared by the appropriate parties and sequenced following the project's theme. This phase also determines the marketing strategies to be implemented, the type of publicity the project requires, the rollout plan and the subsequent steps to take as the cycle ends.

One aim of a project cycle is to create awareness around the music and the brand of the artist in ways that will retain fans and increase the strength of the artist’s fanbase. Each of the phases should be completed precisely and with the assistance of the appropriate team to maximize the project's market impact. Furthermore, the project should be carried out creatively and authentically, emphasizing the identity of the artist’s brand.

Running various PR campaigns throughout the cycle also helps in maximizing the project's success. Involving the media and press from the start helps increase the awareness of the project. To explain better, the more the artist is spoken about in the press, the stronger the anticipation for the project. Also, documenting the cycle creates other ways the artist could exploit the project.

Lastly, there is no standard timeframe for a project’s cycle. The cycle might take less than a year for some artists, but it might also take several years for others. The duration depends on the artist, their creative process, the available resources, and the type of project.

I'd be remiss if I didn't emphasize the importance of aligning the theme and the entire project with the artist's brand. Regardless of how experimental the project is, it should not stray too far from the identity/artistry the artist has showcased in the past, and it should also be sequenced with the previous cycles the artist has undergone. The reason for this is simple; creating a connection between the theme of the project and the brand makes understanding the past and present musical paths of the artist and reconciling it with the brand identity their fans are familiar with easier. Also, sequencing each project cycle helps the artist create a musical footprint that links each project, allowing new fans to experience the artist’s evolution.

Planning is everything in the global music scene. For the industry to take note of an artist and acknowledge their talent and brand identity, multiple plans and creative strategies have to be formulated and executed at the right time. Project cycles are essential to observe as they offer the artist the time to plan and structure the trajectory of their careers. It also allows them and their team enough time to brainstorm and put plans in motion that will set them apart from other industry players, keeping them one step ahead and in a league of their own.

This is evident in every marketing move he's made in the last two years, each of which has been tailored to capitalize on current social media trends among his target audience.

Discovering The Menace

Reminiscing back, the first time I heard of Blaq’, he had just released Best Rapper in Africa. I mean, knowing how competitive and possessive the global Hip-Hop community is, he declared a supremacy battle with that song, dissing the heck out of the drum-n-bass community. This clout move worked and it got him replies from various rappers.

However, because I wasn’t into Hip-Hop at the time, it was easy for Emeka to fly under my radar

The Monumental Impact 2020 Had

The next time I came across Blaq’ online was during The Haba Campaign, and at that moment, I knew he was going to cause trouble. This was back in 2020. 

2020 will forever be remembered as an unconventional one. The whole world had a single goal: to stop the spread of Covid-19.

How? 

By sitting your silly asses at home to minimize/stop the spread.

To save our sanity, millions of people participated in various exciting trends on social media, creating and posting content that caught the attention of others and Blaq’ took full advantage of the situation. He was able to convert his online engagement to streams simply by becoming an Internet sensation. 

The Campaign Commences

Without a doubt, ‘The Haba Campaign’ was one of the most engaging, organic and exciting music marketing campaigns I’ve witnessed in the industry. The best part was that it all took place on Twitter.

Unlike most promotions, “Haba” depended on a mix of the artist's attention and the audience's devotion in raising the number of streams. Never before had this generation seen an artist signed to a major label aggressively promote their own song. When it comes to promoting their own music, we've grown accustomed to seeing artists do the bare minimum while leaving the work to their marketing team and management.

I'm not sure when this campaign started, but I can say that once it did, it grew much bigger than anybody anticipated. It was like a cult; BlaqBonez had hundreds of people join him in promoting his music without any incentive. All he had to do was push and we followed. 

To be honest, we all really wanted to see him win! And he did!

Riding On WAP

The release of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's controversial hit WAP coincided with the launch of the Haba Campaign. Just the right time because BlaqBonez was getting attention on social media. He exploited this attention by promoting a cause larger than Haba: the Sex Over Love agenda.

WAP's controversial nature sparked widespread indignation, especially in conservative circles. BlaqBonez exploited the situation creatively in three steps. First, he changed his Twitter’s name to Emeka the Stallion. Next, he leveraged the controversy over the song to promote his new track BBC. and then, he used BBC to usher in the new movement.

The Birthday Presentation

Blaq's contagious and captivating personality had grown his social media following by this point. Everyone adored him, and everyone admired how unpredictable he was.

His birthday presentation has to be one of the funniest Wishlist formats I've ever seen, and the irony is that I wasn't surprised. It was just one of those BlaqBonez things you'd anticipate. His marketing, once again, was based on a popular trend: fan love. The quantity of love and presents ex-BBNaija housemates received on their birthdays served as his inspiration for the presentation. He said that because his birthday was approaching, he deserved it as well. He produced slides that logically but humorously argued each of his points, and it worked. BlaqBonez was once again overwhelmingly supported by the audience, and he got to see firsthand how much he was adored by them.

The Sex Over Love Campaign

Either BlaqBonez is the ultimate planner or the universe’s most beloved child because, in a twist of fate, the sex over love campaign began around the era of celebrity relationship scandals; infidelity, divorce and so on. 

With Haba, BBC and Bling as the lead singles to Sex Over Love, the audience already knew what to expect from the project. But unlike the common ‘expectations not meeting reality’ situation, the project exceeded all expectations. Blaq’ used all of 2021 to create awareness for the project and he rode the wave by releasing a highly successful deluxe version of the album. 

The campaign was not as intense as the Haba campaign but it was just as effective. Besides how good the music is, Sex Over Love can attribute its success to the commitment of Blaq’s target audience. 

He understands his music will not be accepted by everyone and that’s ok, so instead, he focuses his marketing and PR on the right crowd; the younger millennials and older Gen-zers. And as always, it worked for him. 

The Crusade

On the 25th of January, barely 20 days to the event itself, BlaqBonez announced his first-ever headlined concert tagged “Breaking The Yolk Of Love Crusade”. The concert was promoted as a typical Nigerian Pentecostal crusade and everything followed that theme; the campaign, the posters, and Blaq himself was promoted as The Preacher. It was unconventional, humorous and exciting to watch. 

The first stage of the concert’s promotion was the crusade-inspired poster created to draw awareness. This was followed by evangelistic campaigns spearheaded by Blaq’ himself at various locations in Lagos, including the University of Lagos.

Held on the 13th of February at Muri Okunola Park, Lagos, the crusade had over a thousand people in attendance and oh boy, it was a memorable experience!

A few factors made the event unique:

• It was held on a Sunday

• It was a themed concert and throughout the show, Blaq’ ensured the theme was followed

• It was more of a music festival than a concert

• It was held in the first quarter of the year; an unpopular time as such events are usually held during the summer and at the end of the year.

The crusade was a huge success and it was the perfect way to usher in a new era of BlaqBonez.

Young Preacher

Everything Blaq’ has done since the lockdown has been perfectly sequenced with his future plans. Looking back, it is easy to get lost in the excitement but if you carefully analyze each move, you will notice how each was an introduction to the next phase in his career.

Let’s break it down briefly;

The Haba Campaign gave him the clout 

BBC rode on that clout and helped to usher in Sex Over Love

2021 was basically a promotional year for the album and the deluxe version, and Blaq used it to solidify himself as a preacher against love

The crusade gave his movement a pseudo-religious feel. Blaq was promoted as the Bishop/host of the crusade and all the featured acts as Elders and Ministers

The ‘preacher’ image BlaqBonez recently adopted is perfectly in line with his next project ‘Young Preacher’. 

The pre-rollout for Young Preacher has been unpredictable and at this point, we can only speculate what to expect from Blaq and the project. One thing is certain though; our expectations will be met.

The Fans

The impact of all of these strategies can be seen in his fans.

BlaqBonez has one of the most engaging and supportive fanbases in the industry for a new school artist. The bond between his fans and him is strong, and his fun social media personality plays a major role in this.

Blaq's audience is divided into two categories: those who support him exclusively because of his music, and those who adore and support him just because he is BlaqBonez. His admirers are unconcerned about his antics and are ready to back him up in any situation. 

To be honest, BlaqBonez has established himself as one of the most popular new acts, and the fact that he consistently puts on a good show demonstrates that the love he gets is well-deserved.

Can It Be Replicated?

The obvious authenticity can always be felt in every BlaqBonez's campaign. That’s what makes them so unique. His campaigns are perfectly in tune with his personality and ideas, and as a result, you can get a feel of who he is just by engaging with them.

That's one of the reasons for his devoted following. People are drawn to him, and the music is just a nice bonus. It is a perfect example of how intersectional music and brand marketing are and how they benefit from each other.

The answer to the question of whether it could be replicated is simple; No.

Why? There can never be two persons with identical personalities in the same ecosystem. One can try to emulate his way but the results will be different and originality cannot be duplicated.

There can be only one BlaqBonez, but his influence on music promotion should never be underestimated or disregarded.