Iyanya shocked everyone when on his birthday October 31, 2016, he announced on his page that he had signed to the Supreme Mavin Dynasty, record label of Don Jazzy, Tiwa Savage, Korede Bello, Reekado Banks, D’ija, Dr SId, and D’prince.
Many did not see this coming as Iyanya was rumoured to have started his own label some time ago, and is even believed to be co-founder of the Made Men Music Group (Tekno, Tonye, Selebobo).
Newsflash, he did it, and it is about one of the smartest move any Nigerian musician can make in this times of social media ego and unnecessary pride.
Below are five lessons Nigerian Musicians should learn from his move.
Pride cannot help your career: Everyone expected Iyanya to float his own label in the event of his exit from Made Men Music Group, but as it is, like the tweet of Don Jazzy said, not every artiste must own his own label. No one knows the issues or whatever that drove Iyanya to sign his label, but better than letting his pride overshadow his common sense such that he would float a (maybe mediocre label), he signed under the Mavin label, and has opened doors opportunities and one of the strongest artiste management in the country.
Money is not a guarantee for success in the music industry: Neither is having a great record label, but taking into consideration the magic Mavins has done to most of its artistes, Korede Bello,Díja, Reekado Banks, Tiwa Savage, Dr Sid, one cannot but applaud their strategies and rest easy in the knowledge that their management, combined with Iyanya’s obvious talent would be no less productive. Iyanya might have possessed the funds to start his own label but his knowledge of the importance of proper management most likely made him take the deal with Don Jazzy.
Change is constant in the music industry: Even family have been known to split when it came to the issue of business, same goes for the music industry. When it was time to leave, Iyanya did not adamantly refuse and stick with TripleMG (with Tekno’s rise seemingly unstoppable) but decided to flow with the tide, berthing on new shores. Inability to change or stagnation is one of the quickest ways to kill an entertainment career and Iyanya is obviously not ready to let his die anytime soon. Asides that, friendships would end at some point when it is no longer beneficial.
It is never too late to start afresh: With his music receiving less and less of attention, Iyanya most likely was at a point when he needed a new flavour to his craft. This he might not have been able to do at Made Men Music, but most likely will with the Mavins. Hopefully, this move would revive Iyanya’s music and breathe a new fresh air to his music and sound. Afterall, you can’t afford to fall short with Tiwa Savage, Reekado Banks and Korede Bello hot on your tails. Or can he?
Strategy is key to winning: In a perfectly timed move to coincide with his birthday, Iyanya unveiled his new deal with the Mavins, causing a bigger bang, creating more buzz than either would have made alone. This was a well-calculated move which would create more buzz for the singer, drawing more positivity to his new deal as fans seem more optimistic about it in the spirit of celebrating his birthday.
This day would go down as one to remember in the Iyanya’s career as October 31, 2016, would be remembered as the day he both celebrated his birthday and took wing under the Mavin dynasty.
A wise man once said, “In life, there are no coincidences.”
