Nelsun

Big Announcement Four months ago, I set out to document my thoughts and experiences on Artist Development into a result oriented guide for artists, executives and professionals in the music business. Today, I’m excited to announce that the book ARTIST DEVELOPMENT: MOVING FROM GOOD TO VALUABLE is officially out! This 370-page book is a structured compendium of relevant content that can help artists grow and become productivity; guided by creativity, timeless principles, and proven management concepts. But beyond the book, this is also the beginning of a bigger vision: the journey towards the establishment of the Imerge Creative Hub (ICH), Lagos. The ICH will be a community based environment and marketplace where emerging creatives in the music business can create affordably, collaborate and achieve their goals seamlessly. Proceeds from this book will go towards making that dream a reality. I’m calling on the creative community and every stakeholder in the music business to support this vision with goodwill and solidarity by way of purchase of this book. To God be the Glory. 👉 Get the eBook (₦10,000): selar.com/artistdevelopment-… 👉 Order the Hard Copy (₦15,800): tinyurl.com/artistdevelopmen…

Soon, and very soon, I will bring one Artiste to this level of success and put them in this kind of space with their heads high- not because they are looking for endorsement or co-sign, but for their results and relevance.

It doesn’t really mean that something went wrong or is going wrong. It is simply process. Depending on the type of music, target audience and other uncontrollable factors like time, it might need to get to even 1k videos for it to translate into significant streams.

God is so kind to men. There’s no man on earth (either past or present) who will claim that God didn’t show him any sign or warning about the woman he is with. God will always show you something, it is left for you to interpret correctly and choose either life or death.

If you see any Emerging Artiste still pushing music in this economy and this time of the year, please support them-especially when their music is good. Out of the Artistes who participated in the Afrobeats stars tv show, Davecash seems to have the most fire.

An emerging Artiste should be able to push their music on #lagoslife. At least use your money on the site to get people to go listen to your music.🤷 The music business is a part of the Lagos life.

Finest emerging Rapper out here.

Here’s one female Artiste I’ve been following on TikTok, she’s @soundsofXylaa She is good.

A record label that does not have a defined culture, a clear set of values, and systems that guide how the label operates and develops its Artistes will struggle to take those Artistes to their maximum potential. Money alone cannot build a great record label. A strong label culture answers important questions such as: What does this label believe about music? What does it value in an Artiste? How does it develop talent? How does it make decisions? How are resources allocated? How are Artistes treated? How are conflicts resolved? What happens when an Artiste fails? What happens when an Artiste succeeds? What standards must everyone within the organization uphold? Without clear answers to these questions, the label often becomes dependent on individual personalities and moods. The executive wants one thing today. The manager wants another thing tomorrow. The Artiste has a different expectation. The marketing team operates based on whatever seems popular. Money gets spent without a clear framework for measuring its purpose. Eventually, the cracks begin to show. Mismanagement, misuse of resources, internal conflicts, unclear expectations, Artist-management disputes, and eventually, Artistes leaving the label with resentment on both sides. A record label should not merely be a company that signs Artistes and finances releases. It should be an institution with a culture, philosophy, system of values, development methodology, and way of working.

I love this song. It is my favorite from his latest project “PersWaysion”. From the production to the creativity, delivery, groove, subtle energy and replay value, the song is most definitely one of the best done by a Nigerian in 2026. Go stream the “PersWaysion” now.

What Does it Mean To Have a Community As An Emerging Artiste? As an emerging Artiste, your community should be a system and structure made up of people who don’t just like or want to support you, but who also have characteristics, interests, resources, networks, and behaviours that resemble the market you are trying to reach. A community goes beyond the group of people you have on WhatsApp who are interested in supporting you to a certain level with engagement, or dance with you when you are shooting content, who follow you to shows, or people who volunteer to act as your team. In the real sense of building a successful music career, your community should be a microcosm of the market you are trying to penetrate. Their reactions to your music, as well as their feedback and usage of your music can give you valuable information about what may happen when your music reaches the broader market. For example, if you are trying to gain presence among university students, your community should contain people who belong to that environment or have strong access and influence within it. If you are targeting a particular demographic, your community should contain people who understand the nature and characteristics of that demographic, participate in it, and can influence others within it. If you consistently create music that resonates with a community that genuinely resembles your ideal market, their response can provide useful evidence about the viability of your music, positioning, messaging, and your potential market fit. But there is another important dimension. Your community should not only resemble your market. It should also have the capacity to influence the market. The people in your community should ideally have relationships, networks, platforms, resources, or social influence that allow them to introduce what you are doing to other people with similar characteristics. That is the difference between having a crowd and having a community. A crowd can cheer for you, but your community should help you understand, enter, and move through a market. So don’t measure your community simply by the number of people in your WhatsApp group, or people dancing in your videos, or escorting you to shows. Ask yourself: Do these people look like the market I want to serve? Do they behave like that market? Do they have access to that market? Can they influence people within that market? Do they have the resources or purchasing power to participate in the value I am creating? If the answer is yes, then you are not simply building a fan group but building a market laboratory, a distribution network, and an early ecosystem around your music. Your community doesn’t have to be large. It has to be relevant. Because the goal isn’t to have the most people around you, but to have the right people whose behaviour can teach you about the market, whose participation can validate what you are creating, and whose networks can help you amplify it beyond the community itself.

Let the Artiste Fuck Up, and Find out: No matter how much you love an artist or genuinely care about their success, it is not wise to force your perspective on them. You can advise, share your perspective, help them examine the pros and cons of a decision. But ultimately, you have to allow them to exercise their free will and make their own decision, especially when you are not the one who will bear the consequences of that decision. This is one of the most important responsibilities of a music executive, creative, or manager working with an artist: provide counsel, not control. When you push your values, ideas, and opinions too aggressively, the Artiste may eventually begin to resent you or see you as an obstacle to their creative freedom. Your job is to help them see what they may not be seeing, provide context, experience, data, and perspective. But the final decision should often remain theirs. Even God, who created us, allows us the freedom to make choices. So love, care and protect their interests, but don’t force your counsel on them. And if you are genuinely convinced that your idea is right, sometimes you have to allow the Artiste to make the mistake. Because there are lessons Artistes will learn from failure that they may never learn from your advice.