2 months ago
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Posted On: September 12th 2026, 03:27 pm
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Thank you to @aberdeenmusicweek for having me and @smadegroup this year.
We opened our panel with a challenge: are we actually changing the music industry, or just having the same conversations every year?
My answer: the conversations are part of the work. Parliament talks. The UN talks. Every industry trying to move forward keeps debating, challenging and interrogating its own structures.
The problem isn’t repetition.
The problem is conversation without consequence.
From there we got into Scotland’s place in the wider UK music ecosystem. Underserved audiences. African artists touring outside London. Building real demand instead of assuming there isn’t any. Community over followers.
And something I tell artists constantly: stop waiting for somebody to put you on.
No collaboration, booking or introduction is going to change your career if you haven’t created any motion of your own. Build the audience. Do the small show. Learn who actually converts. Stay consistent. Give people proof, not a pitch.
Consistency creates motion. Motion creates leverage.
A few reflections I left Aberdeen with, swipe through.
We opened our panel with a challenge: are we actually changing the music industry, or just having the same conversations every year?
My answer: the conversations are part of the work. Parliament talks. The UN talks. Every industry trying to move forward keeps debating, challenging and interrogating its own structures.
The problem isn’t repetition.
The problem is conversation without consequence.
From there we got into Scotland’s place in the wider UK music ecosystem. Underserved audiences. African artists touring outside London. Building real demand instead of assuming there isn’t any. Community over followers.
And something I tell artists constantly: stop waiting for somebody to put you on.
No collaboration, booking or introduction is going to change your career if you haven’t created any motion of your own. Build the audience. Do the small show. Learn who actually converts. Stay consistent. Give people proof, not a pitch.
Consistency creates motion. Motion creates leverage.
A few reflections I left Aberdeen with, swipe through.
Comments (5)
2 months agokingdrumzofficial
Scotland is still an underserved market, and African artists sometimes miss the opportunity to tap into audiences beyond London and England. Over the past couple of years, this has been a major focus of mine, advocating for artists and promoters to look beyond the traditional markets and build stronger connections with audiences across Scotland. Glasgow is making great progress, but we need cities like Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee to move in the same direction and build a stronger ecosystem for African music across Scotland. 🇳🇬 🏴
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