7 Steps on How to Become a Gospel Artist in Nigeria (2024)
The days when no one in Nigeria desired to be a gospel musician due to the single factor of income are long gone.
It is now possible to pursue a career in gospel music, achieve fame, and rank among Nigeria’s wealthiest musicians.
I’m going to show you in this essay how to start your gospel music career wherever you are in Nigeria, gain popularity quickly, and accumulate riches for yourself.
Additionally, I’ll be discussing with you two key factors that helped well-known gospel singers like Mercy Chinwo, Sinach, Frank Edwards, and Judikay quickly become well-known and wealthy.
STEPS ON HOW TO BECOME A NIGERIAN GOSPEL MUSIC ARTIST
Here are steps on how to become a gospel artist in Nigeria this 2024.
STEP 1: IMPROVE YOUR VOCAL SKILLS
Developing your vocal skills is the first step towards becoming a professional gospel musician in Nigeria.
Your voice is the most vital tool a gospel performer needs to be successful. You are a singer because of your voice, yet there are other requirements as well.
You can’t take this lightly or make jokes about it. Thus, you must practice your voice. By practicing frequently and watching a lot of voice training videos, you can improve your voice.
Remember to pay attention to your runs and riffs as well. You must also put effort into it. In addition, you should strive to improve both your high and low notes.
While many gospel musicians are adept at striking high notes, they struggle to hit low notes. While some gospel performers are adept at striking low notes, many struggle with high notes. It makes you appear unprofessional if you are a gospel performer and you have this weakness.
In order to maintain the quality of your voice as a professional gospel performer in Nigeria, there are some foods you must avoid. These foods include a variety of fried foods as well as excessive amounts of alcohol and cold water consumption.
STEP 2: JOIN YOUR CHURCH CHOIR
Joining the church choir department is the next step that comes after honing your voice as a gospel performer. You should take your time when selecting a church because it will decide whether or not you become famous quickly.
Joining groups like the Choir of Christ Embassy, TREM, RCCG, Dominion City, House on the Rock, and HICC makes it simple for a gospel singer in Nigeria to become well-known. It is improper for boys and girls who are unable to sing to be admitted to the choir, as I have witnessed numerous choirmasters and music directors do.
This is similar to permitting a teacher to instruct who lacks training or experience in the classroom. In fact, any church that makes you join their choir even though you are not a singer should be avoided. You will bring shame upon both the church and yourself if you join a choir group like that without having any prior singing experience.
Before you join a choir, it’s crucial if you want to be a gospel musician that you can sing. A serious or professional choir can best be identified by the fact that they will audition you and assess your singing skills prior to hiring you. You may receive compensation as a choir member, depending on the kind of church and its financial standing.
As a gospel performer in Nigeria, the first crucial step towards quickly becoming famous and wealthy is to join your church choir.
STEP 3: WORK YOUR WAY TO BECOME THE WORSHIP OR PRAISE LEADER
Your next task after joining the choir at your church should be to quickly advance to the role of praise/worship leader. I say this because I have witnessed vocalists who focus too much on becoming backup vocalists and fail to recognise their own potential and grow into praise or worship leaders.
In actuality, it requires more effort, but that does not imply it is unachievable. Show that you are worthy. The leaders of praise and worship in your church don’t have two heads, after all. You will start to gain popularity in your church the instant you take the lead in praise and worship.
STEP 4: USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO PROMOTE YOUR TALENTS
Social media offers several benefits. With only one click, it has elevated those who were unknown to fame. If you’re not using social media to showcase your singing abilities, you can’t claim to want to be a gospel performer in Nigeria.
I have witnessed up-and-coming musicians in Nigeria who have no idea who is wealthy or powerful being signed to well-known record labels simply by virtue of sharing their vocal prowess on social media. Thus, it’s crucial to share your vocal prowess and live music performances on social media. Videos between 30 and 60 seconds are popular on social media.
In Nigeria, social media is the second most crucial instrument for becoming a successful gospel performer. Check out our piece on monetizing your talent in Nigeria.
STEP 5: GET YOUR ANNUAL CONCERT STARTED
To become a rapidly becoming gospel performer in Nigeria, you might also organise an annual concert of your own. This is what many well-known gospel performers do. To begin with, these events don’t have to be lavish or costly; you can start small with a worship concert and gradually expand the attendance.
It might be highly costly to launch an annual worship concert. Money will be spent on a variety of items in order to ensure the success of the annual programme. Money will be spent on power, lighting, sound, backup vocalists, and other logistical needs. You can find sponsors to lessen your financial burden.
STEP 6: RECORD YOUR OWN MUSIC VIDEOS
Regardless of how well-known and adored you are, your listeners must have access to your music while you are away. For this reason, you must record your songs in order to upload them online and offer downloads or streaming options. You have two options when it comes to recording songs in a studio: you may record live or have your music producer create beats that you can sing to.
Additionally, in order to prevent copyright infringement, you should write your own music rather than cover songs by other musicians. You can hire song writers to write songs for you if you’re not very good at it.
STEP 7: ADD MUSIC TO STREAMING SERVICES
You should post your songs to social media to begin earning money from them when you have recorded them and polished them to high standards.
The nicest part about recording music as a gospel artist is that the songs will continue to bring in money for as long as people can hear them. You may read more music-related articles about how Nigerian musicians generate money and how to get free publicity for your songs in Nigeria.
CONCLUSION
Although it is not as easy as many people believe, being a gospel performer in Nigeria is not an easy path.
As is common knowledge, a lot of individuals suffer as a result of ignorance. Taking heed of the aforementioned advice can really benefit you.
I wish you luck in your musical endeavours.
Do you have any other advice for Nigerian musicians or gospel artists hoping to break into the industry? Kindly let us know by leaving a comment below.
