Behind the exponential growth of African music lie a slew of relentless professionals working tirelessly round the clock to ensure that records get out of the studio to the right ears and through the right channels. Patrick Onwuegbu is one of such executives, whose impact is helping redefine the rules of marketing, branding, PR and talent management in Nigeria’s multi-billion naira music industry. Through his company – Loud Behavior which he founded in 2017, Patrick is dedicated to bridging the gap between artistes and their individual marketing needs.
What works for Afro-pop is unlikely to work for hip-hop.
Bypassing worn out, one-size-fits-all approaches, Patrick’s superpower is creating bespoke strategies for each talent to yield better tangible results.
In this interview, he shares his journey into music marketing strategy as well as his vision and his work at Loud Behavior. He highlights the problems he identified in the industry, the solutions he currently offers to eradicate them, and the practices that keep him in the top tier of the business.
How did your journey as a music executive begin and what laid the foundation?
My journey to becoming a music executive started from my aspiration to become an artiste. Growing up, I wanted to become a rapper, as inspired by MI, Jesse Jags, Vector, Iceprince. Having been exposed to digital marketing and social media marketing, it laid the foundation for me to become a music executive. I thought to myself; as a music lover with a perfect marketing skill, what can I turn that into? I figured that if I couldn’t achieve my career goal in music, with my skill, I could help other people achieve their goal.
When was the company Loud Behaviour founded?
Loud Behaviour was founded in 2017. The mission is to bridge the gap between music artistes and the access to proper custom marketing, especially for independent artistes. The goal is to make strategic marketing affordable and accessible to independent artistes.
What is your overarching vision for the brand?
The vision is to be the number one music marketing agency in Africa; the agency that is a go-to for every music brand; major labels, independent labels and independent artistes.
What problem did you notice in the music industry and what solution did you begin to offer?
Before the idea of Loud Behaviour, I had met and interacted with several signed musicians and independent artistes. I noticed that there was a lack of accountability when it came to the people handling marketing for musicians. A lot of people posed as music promoters and digital marketers but they lacked the knowledge and the strategy to actually move an artiste from point A to B. What we did was to be unique by moving out of the generic way of offering music promotion to strategically customizing plans for artistes individually. That is what we did differently.
Which Artistes and labels have you worked with so far?
I’ve worked with several artistes, directly and indirectly. I worked with Basket Mouth on his first music album, and the Cavemen on their first album-Roots, I’ve worked with PG Records, Guchi, Magnito, King Perryy, Coblaze, Neeza and many more. I’m currently working closely with Guchi.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
A major achievement for me has been moving an artiste from point A to point B. Significant change has also been recorded in the careers of all the acts I have worked with.
What sets you apart in the business?
What sets me apart in my business is the transparency and accountability when it comes to marketing an artiste. Another thing that sets me apart significantly is the fact that every artiste that we have rendered services to gets enlightened during the period we work with them. Unlike other marketers and promoters who keep the artiste out of the planning, we involve the artiste, educate them, letting them know the “how” and the “why” so they are not left blinded. We carry the artiste along, giving them confidence in the service that we are offering.
What is 2023 shaping up to be?
For 2023, we have several projects including Guchi, King Perryy, Coblaze, Diistill and lots more.
Can you share the practices that help you keep up with the evolving nature of the business?
I’m constantly searching for knowledge, keeping up with trends, trying to find out what is new, being very active on social media and following accounts that are always current with information. I do my best to follow the right channels on YouTube and interact with more experienced people. This helps me keep up with the evolving nature of the business.
