Singer Wunmi talks record labels, money and Haiti
Many assume the best way to a successful music career is to get signed with a respectable record label. But not Wunmi, full name Ibiwunmi Omotayo Olfunke Olaiya.
The larger than life, bubbly singer and all-round entertainer tells catchavibe.co.uk why going alone may have been one of the wisest decisions of her career so far.
When it comes to talking about black artists and conformity, the views of the singer are clear. There is a box, “that one box they put all African artists in. I don’t tick that box” she says. For Wunmi having a very individual sound to her voice is a positive and a negative. Her English and Nigerian roots do not conform to the “American voice” that black singers seem to have she tells me.
It seems black artists in all genre of the word, film, music, art feel meshed into one confinement; conformity. It was Horace Ové, the pioneer of black British feature films who said: “They say black this and black that and they put you in a black rubbish bag.”
Wunmi is proud of her roots but believes if you do not sound like someone else you will have difficulties getting into the market. She even jokes that the only way to get ‘in’ nowadays is to go on ‘talent’ programmes like Pop Idol and the X Factor.
Wunmi’s first album ALA, released in 2006, was funded by herself. Having sung collaborations with other artists for their albums, Wunmi found the easiest way to create an album was to work on a swap basis: “I recorded by doing swap deals with producers and people I had done collaborations with. That’s how I pulled that one out” she says. Wunmi’s view on record labels is simple: “You have to pull the labels, you as the artist now have to do all the work, whether you are signed or not. The labels are too scared, too broke and are not doing the job they used to do, that is long gone.”
So in order to chase her dream Wunmi chose to create her own Kick Starter project. Kick Starter is a funding platform for creative people: musicians, filmmakers, etc where they appeal to the crowd to raise finance for their projects. Having heard about the system online, Wunmi says: “It feels like a family project, your friends and family can be a part of the project and the funding.” Adding, “The label no longer matters; it is your fans that matter. Promotions don’t pay! – you have to love the job and have people who love your music.”
If anything, the most surprising thing from our conversation is the fact that many of Wunmi’s friends who are with a label are looking to go independent: “Even now I have a lot of friends who are looking to get off their label, so I thought to myself, why am I trying to get signed if everyone else is getting off. There must be a reason for that” she says.
Hoping to raise $15,500 Wunmi was left in disarray when the Haiti earthquake struck ten days before her funding project was to end. The catch with the Kick Starter project is that the full amount has to be raised within a certain time barrier otherwise the money goes back to its pledger’s, leaving the artist with no funding. With ten days to raise $10,000 Wunmi was caught in a catch 22, on the one hand she wanted to follow her dream, but on the other hand she felt she was being selfish asking for money when there were others left stranded, hungry and alone. But she did manage to merge both goals: raise money for her album and for charity: “You have to give back. All profit should be donated to a cause, mine is children, the children of Haiti.”
Thanks to 81 backers Wunmi raised over $17,000 which will cover all expenses from studio hire to the mastering and manufacturing of the eco-friendly digipak CD. Wunmi is now on her way to Ghana where she will record her album with the help of Ghanaian music producer Kwame Yeboah and musical director Jeremy Mage. The album, currently untitled will feature local musicians from Ghanaian punk bands. With her album due to be released by mid summer 2010 Wunmi is excited about the vibrancy and energy in Ghana right now. Having found a strong fan base in Ghana Wunmi says she has come to realise the best attitude to have in an industry that is so competitive is “what will be will be”.
Check Wunmi’s website for updates on the making of her new album
