Beyond ease of interaction with friends and family members, social media has become the most powerful marketing tool the world has ever seen. With the right content and knowledge of a suitable platform, one is positioned to reach millions of people across the world with just one click.
The benefit of social media as a tool for marketing surpasses just the corporate and business world – creatives all over the world have/are also reaping heavily from its advantages and the result is what we see with Terri, the newest member of Wizkid’s Star Boy music label.
Welcome @TERRI_RYN to #StarboyEnt!! Tagged me on a video on insta dec 2017!! Now starboy Gang! Daddy yo got u! 🙏🏾 y’all follow him.
— Wizkid (@wizkidayo) February 18, 2018
Terri had made an Instagram upload of an impressive musical cover he made of Wizkid and DJ Jimmy Jatt’s single titled “Oshe” in December 2017. Wizkid got wind of this video and decided to give the lad an opportunity by offering him a record deal.
This has also been the story behind the record deals with quite a number of Nigerian musicians.
REEKADO BANKS
The story of Reekado Banks’ journey from a random lad to a musical star anchors on his affiliations with Mavin Records. The singer was discovered on Twitter in 2013.
“Sometime in May 2013, Don Jazzy posted on Twitter that up-and-coming artistes should send in their demo CDs. My manager, who is actually my elder brother, was the one who saw the tweet and he brought it to my notice. To cut the long story short, out of 5,000 entries that were sent in, I was the only one that was chosen”, He disclosed during a 2017 chat with Punch.
MAYORKUN
Mayorkun’s transition from an underpaid banker to a super music star began with a singular video on social media video. Davido had gotten wind of a video clip that had Mayorkun vibing over keyboard notes.
“I recorded a song using my cousin’s piano in late December 2015 and I shared it on social media late January 2016 and Davido saw it on February 1. Then he followed me and sent me a direct message via Twitter. He later followed me on Instagram and asked if I can do more than playing the keyboard. I then sent him some of the songs I have done. He picked on one that I recorded while still in school and told me ‘guy I am signing you on”, Mayorkun said during a 2016 interview.
JOHNNY DRILLE
Johnny Drille started out as an independent artiste from Benin-City who was struggling to get his voice heard. After he uploading a cover of Di’Ja’s hit “Aww” in 2015, he caught the attention of Don Jazzy.
“My first contact with Mavin Records was with Don Jazzy in February 2015 when I dropped my cover of Di’ja’s song, ‘Awww’. He followed me on Twitter and told me he liked it and would love to hear more. We kept in contact over time and then he was silent for a very long period.
Then, sometime in August of 2016, I got a message on Twitter from Don Jazzy asking me if I was in Lagos at the moment, and thankfully I was. He invited me over to his office and let me know he wanted me to join Mavin Records”, He told Daily Sun in a recent interview.
In 2017, Johnny Drille was officially announced member of the Don Jazzy-led Mavin Records.
TEMMIE OVWASA
In 2016, rapper and YBNL leader Olamide revealed his first female signee – Temmie Ovwasa. The 21-year-old soul singer had a tradition of uploading musical covers to her Instagram page; little did she know that she was going to win the attention of Olamide.
“I used to sing and record covers of different songs, which I post on Instagram. In August last year (2015), I uploaded a particular video of a song and realized that Olamide had liked all my videos. A few minutes later he sent me a direct message requesting my phone number. I sent my number and we began talking. From the moment Olamide sent me a direct message, I knew something was going to happen; I am very intuitive“, She revealed shortly after being signed to YBNL in 2016.
TENI ENTERTAINER
Teniola Apata popularly known as Teni Entertainer is one artiste who cannot tell her story without referencing the power of social media.
Earlier in 2017, she released a video of herself freestyling over an Osita Osadebe soundtrack on Instagram. The clip soon went viral and amongst the many people who were fascinated by her skill was Osadolor Nate Asemota (Dr Dolor) – a former Telecommunications expert and Showbiz investor.
The singer was soon offered a record deal by Asemota under his music label – Dr. Dolor Entertainment.