Between 2016 and 2018 the music scene was blossoming, but it was also pretty much one-way; Davido, Wizkid, Olamide and Burna Boy held down the music scene, Mavins was one of the biggest labels in the country and Nigerian music was getting more global recognition. It all seemed predictable, till SoundCloud happened and it ushered in the age of the Internet artistes.
Before SoundCloud became the go-to place to listen to fresh and raw talents, there were few independent artistes actually doing well. Most of the big boys were under label and some even owned their own label. It was really tough to be independent. Having to do your own promo yourself, shoot videos, studio sessions? It cost an arm and a leg.
When SoundCloud arrived, a lot of artistes uploaded their songs on it and gradually they started gaining traction. The fans they won over from the app would go on to spread the word across the internet and a following of cult proportions started to emerge. It was something that has never been seen before, artistes now had one of humans greatest inventions at their fingertips to promote their music and build some relevance; the Internet. SoundCloud birthed the age of the Internet artistes who no longer needed a label to push their music; all they needed to do was build their online presence with good music and gradually the spotlight would find them.
SoundCloud allowed artistes to be themselves and stick to the sound that works for them without pressure of labels or fans dictating what they should do. This made the artistes more unique as a lot of them were making songs that were totally different from the mainstream and they found audience amongst the Gen Z population. Artistes could experiment with whatever sound they wanted and they got genuine reception from their audience. SoundCloud can be credited for being the grooming and breeding ground for the Alté music with Odunsi the Engine, Cruel Santino, Nomso Amadi, Lady Donli, etc, at the forefront.
Record labels will always be relevant and important, but SoundCloud opened the way for independent artistes to do their music their own way, to push their music organically across the Internet and earn genuine fans who just want to see these artistes grow from caterpillar to butterfly. Some of the SoundClound artistes that got their big break and switched over to the mainstream including Buju, Odunsi the Engine, Cruel Santino, Tay Iwar, PsychoYP, Goodgirl LA, Fireboy, Minz, David Meli. It’s wonderful to note that these artistes have largely remained loyal with the original sound that propelled them to the fame they currently enjoy.
SoundCloud will always be remembered for being the hotspot for next gen artistes to showcase their talent, build their fan base and gradually get to the mainstream. Founder of 49th Street, Foluade, once said “I spent a lot of time in the university listening to SoundCloud artistes, trying to discover the next big artiste.” The importance and impact of SoundClound cannot be overemphasised. The platform literally changed the game by by allowing independent artistes enjoy the Do-It-Yourself experience.
Thanks to SoundCloud, there are thousands of young talented Nigerian artistes getting recognition for their music everyday on the Internet, especially on Twitter where they can access millions of listeners and also top industry guns. Several artistes have been spotted via the Internet; Davido found Mayorkun on Twitter, D’Prince found Rema freestyling on the Internet, which makes the Internet a very powerful tool for an independent artiste to reach a wide crowd and also appeal to big labels.
SoundClound might not be what it used to be several years ago, because upcoming independent artistes often neglect SoundCloud for promotion of their music on social media, but it has definitely made a huge impact and there are still million of raw talents that upload their music there on a daily.