Breaking into music is easier now than before – Timaya

Timaya has stated that it is much easier for emerging artistes to break into the music industry today compared to when he started his career.

The veteran singer made the remarks during an interview on the Afrobeats Intelligence podcast, hosted by Joey Akan.

According to Timaya, advances in technology and the rise of social media platforms have made music production and promotion far more accessible to new musicians.

He said, “Making music is easier for the new crop of musicians than in my time. Ahn ahn, before how do you want to blow? It’s only one person that has all the control.”

Timaya explained the challenges he faced, recalling the process of clearing rights for his collaboration with Flavour on the song “Odeshi.” “We got to realize that it was Premier Music that has the catalogue. We wanted to do ‘Can I Have A Dance?’, who did we contact? Premier. We paid again.”

He contrasted that with today’s landscape: “Your father or your mother can just buy you studio equipment, you do one bad song. You can even just register yourself. One TikTok song and you are made. All you need is data.”

Timaya also described the difficulty of gaining radio play in his early days: “Before dem go play your song sef for radio station enh! Ahhh! It was difficult.”

He acknowledged the speed at which new artists can now rise to fame through digital platforms, saying, “Now you are uploading a song. It’s very very fast to blow now. You can just be in your house and be shouting.”

Despite embracing the new realities, Timaya admitted the pressure of constant online presence is challenging for him personally. “I also like it. But because I didn’t start like that, it’s difficult for me. It’s stressful posting. Sometimes, I think I don’t have to. But it’s the business, I got to.”