Is Dropping Out of School The Secret To Succeeding In the Music Industry?

 

I'm sure you're familiar with the story of a teenage boy who drops out of school, leaves his parents house to follow his passion, Music. He somehow gets to meet someone who thinks he is the best thing that has ever happened after Micheal Jackson. He finally gets signed into a record label, after a while, he blows up, boooom! You relate right?,  yeah, that's the story of almost all the Nigerian musicians in the industry.

One of the fallacies in the music industry is that education isn't necessary to succeed, talent and street sense is all you need.  In fact  it has become  a bragging right to be school drop outs. That why you hear lyrics like "I no go school but I get money" , "mama no get money send me go school, na music help my life" "I commot for school to do music", "mi o lo school abi, school ti iwo lo kilo fida" Lol, sounds familiar right?

One of the main issues this misconception is that it passes a wrong message across to the young ones who aspire to be musicians. Majority of them now drop out of secondary school because they think that's the sure way to blow.

Let's consider this: since the music industry is a creative one that requires more of talents than academics, is education really important to succeed? Of course, education is important to succeed in any industry not excluding the music industry.

Why is it important?

The working principle of music and music business require not only talent but a lifestyle of commitment, loyalty, consistency, good command of English and above all a good entrepreneurship skill in handling your brand as an artist. All these you might find difficult to achieve without proper education. 

If you don't want to attend a proper university, there are music schools you could attend. Just like any other school, music schools develop your talent and help you discover new ones. It may not be safe to conclude that you are already too talented to spend time in school as music schools discipline performers on how to survive in the music industry, create a niche and discover hidden talents. The music industry encompasses a network of several music professionals working to create music,  you don't have to be a performing artist to be relevant in the industry. There are several other interesting roles you could take and also blow if that's your goal. A proper education will expose you to these opportunities.

Let's consider 5 musical artists who went to the University

Davido: David Adedeji Adeleke, professionally known as Davido dropped out of Oakwood University, Alabama to study music at Babcock University. He graduated with a music degree in 2015.

Naira Marley : The king of Marlian himself  graduated with a distinction in business from Peckham Academy. That’s not all, he also holds a master degree in business law from Crossways College England. The irony is that his fans keep chorusing "Marlians no dey graduate" even when the marlian president himself is a graduate.

Burna Boy: After his secondary school in Nigeria, Burna Boy relocated to London to study Media Technology at the University of Sussex. He also studied Media communication and culture at Oxford Brookes University.

Falz: He graduated with an LLB honours degree at university of Reading, United Kingdom. According to Falz, he started nurturing his music talent right from secondary school.

Tiwa Savage: Our Queen of afrobeat bagged a degree in Business Administration at the University of Kent. She also graduated on Scholarship at Berklee College of Music.

To all aspiring musicians, being drop outs isn't a prerequisite to being a star in the music industry, get educated and chase your music career along side if you can.