Sir Chigozie Chukwudi Okafor, GMD, Dynatech Group of Companies, once said while mentoring indie entertainment entrepreneurs “Upcoming entrepreneurs in the entertainment industry should develop business intent and prospects even as they partner with business experts. In doing that, they will promote themselves while opening the doors of the financial prosperity they desire. Strategic collaboration, mentorship and the right education will always be better than trying to go the distance alone”. But he is not alone on this. Hannibal Brumskine III did not only notice the need for indie musicians to connect with experts, he is making it happen and that is why we beam the spotlight on him in this report.
Now, when you look closely at today’s world and people, you’ll realise that it’s mostly every person for themselves, especially when it comes to business. No one stops and helps others out in the competition for the lead. The music industry is just like any other. People, in their hurry for attaining attention, praise and fame, seldom stop and think about their colleagues.
It’s either you eat or get eaten. Again, it is said and rightly so, that “To live is to devour others”. Such a competitive environment leaves little hope for independent arrivals with little to no experience regarding the business side of things. People who do not have existing links in the music industry are left helpless and often cannot make their way to the top. The system benefits large corporations and record labels and many times overlooks individual artists with real talent. Such artists get disheartened due to lack of attention and lack of access to expert advice.
In this flawed system, there rose a man with a vision. This man was Hannibal Brumskine III, and he thought up an idea that would not only solve this problem for independent artists in the music industry, but also give them the opportunity to compete with the artist’s signed to record labels that have vast resources at hand. Thus, his company TheMusicBusiness.com came into being. This company is a consulting platform for independent artists to learn from former record label employees and music industry experts who have helped artists make it in the real world. His goal was to make the music industry more accessible to independent artists by giving them access to music industry experts, allowing their talent to not go to waste.
Hannibal was born in Alexandria, Virginia on April 28, 1997. He was just 23 years old when he started this company. Being such a young entrepreneur was very rare at that time and place. Forming his own start-up at that age meant he was going to be up against people in their late adult years with a lot more knowledge and experience than him. It was hard to compete with that. Most people who succeed in the startup world have major funding and resources to build upon, Hannibal had neither of those. What he had was the vision and resolve for achieving a better system than the one he observed. With his determination, he managed to successfully start his company and made his wish into a reality.
Hannibal had seen what the music industry was like for newcomers who didn’t have a team around them to guide them or assist them in the many challenges one had to face. They were left powerless in front of veterans of the industry. Hannibal sought out to change this. He brought about innovation into the music business by giving these artists access to the brightest minds in the music industry and made them feel like they had access to their own record label in the palm of their hand. Such is the power of technology. He essentially abridged the distances between the help seekers and the help givers.
The platform is a subscription-based consulting facility where artists can pay monthly and gain access to real-life experts in the music industry, ranging from creative directors and digital marketing experts to brand strategists and more. Moreover, the website has a live-chat feature where independent artists can log on to the platform and instantly work one on one with an expert. This undivided attention is exactly what one often needs to gain confidence in their work and simply know what their next move needs to be in order to achieve true progress..
Hannibal Brumskine III inspires independent artists into blossoming by using the success and experience of veterans. By bringing together a group of people into working with each other in harmony, he has indeed made a change in the system for the better.