Artistes create music for an audience. They dedicate considerable time, effort, and financial resources to producing high-quality songs. Yet, it can be often surprising when artists withhold their work for extended periods, even as their eager fans starve and clamour for it.
In many cases, artistes go months or even years without releasing new music, despite having numerous unreleased tracks stored away. There are times they drop brief teasers to stir anticipation online, and at other times, they offer no hints at all, leaving fans in complete suspense. Why? In a recent interview, five student artistes of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Phalill, Dora, I.B.K, Cosy, and DA FASH, opened up about the personal and popular reasons why they delay releasing their music:
Adesope Falil Ayodeji (Phalíll)
Artistes will give you many different reasons for keeping unreleased music. We listen to our songs over and over. We change things and add things. Sometimes, we record the same song again. Artistes sometimes do this until they’re satisfied with the outcome.
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Also, certain songs are just not ready to be out there. Or, more appropriately, I guess the audience is just not ready yet.
The bottom line is that artistes always want to give their listeners the best they can at all times.
Ebunoluwa Alamu (Dora)
Releasing all the recorded is bad business. The game is now narrowed down to how much can be invested to ensure the music is widely accepted. A lot of people can be lucky, but releasing songs when you don’t have a great budget or any budget just doesn’t work. While I feel art is core, the present world and industry don’t feel the same.
Aside from that, some songs came way before their time. You just know deep within that it’s not time to let the world hear it yet. Then, you just wait for the time.
Fawole Adejare David (I.B.K)
I can’t speak for every artiste, but for me, the main reason I hold onto unreleased music is personal conflict. A lot of the songs aren’t where I want them to be, and releasing music isn’t just about me. It’s about how people will receive it. There’s always that tension between making music I genuinely enjoy and trying to appeal to a wider audience.
Sometimes, I doubt whether a song will do well, even if others say they like it. Funny enough, my most successful track, “Can’t Lose,” was one I wasn’t too confident about, but it blew up. Choosing what to release is tough, too, because timing, trends, and audience expectations all come into play. In the end, I usually release what feels right at the time and hope it connects.
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Oreoluwa Juliana (Cosy)
There are various reasons why artistes hold onto their unreleased music. It could be a case where the song doesn’t fit into where the artist stands at that moment, and also considers the audience.
In some cases, it could be financial reasons. It takes a lot to put out music. It’s more like an investment.
Another reason could be that the artist doesn’t feel the project should be out yet, just a gut feeling. And sometimes, artists outgrow some songs they’ve made and believe the songs shouldn’t be out.
Fasosin Lawrence Adedamola (DA FASH)
Sometimes, I make a song and instantly know it’s not the right time to drop it. We have tons of unreleased tracks, and in deciding which comes out first, some will naturally have to wait. It’s not always about trends, sometimes, it’s about timing and standing out. I’ve got amazing songs as old as two years that just haven’t had their moment yet.
Also, releasing music costs money, so artistes often hold back until they are financially able to push a song properly, especially when they truly believe in it.
