Interview with Olusegun Akande, Creative Content Strategist at Mavin Records: 'Get receipts, do the work. There's no substitute for doing the actual work'
You probably know a little about African creatives & marketing professionals and that's not your fault. That is the gap Noticing is filling.
Welcome to the 6th edition of Noticing’s newsletter. Hope you have had a great week!
We were told recently by some of our subscribers to interview Olusegun Akande, Creative Content Strategist at Mavin Records, because they'd like to hear from him.
And we did.
Have someone you'd like to hear from? Leave a name in the comments. Each week, we feature a different African creative or marketer and ask them questions about their journey. You could just learn a thing or two.
“Everything I’m doing today came from all of my early passions,” said Segun.
Segun is a media and content guy with solid years of experience as a writer, editor, content strategist, and content producer across multiple industry verticals.
He's previously worked for Ringier Nigeria — Pulse Nigeria, CNN, Zikoko etc. And he's currently leading creative content strategy effort at Mavin Records.
Storytelling is the common thread running through all of Segun’s pursuits. Whether he is writing an article, producing marketing content, or planning an educational and promotional event, he always focuses on creating the best experience for his audience through authentic and engaging storytelling.
Here, we had the pleasure of speaking with Olusegun. And we were excited to learn more about his career and ask about advice he might have for aspiring content strategists. We also discussed what got him interested in a creative career, his lifelong love for creativity, and his wealth of experience working in many different — yet overlapping — spheres of the media and creative industry.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity & length.
So let’s kick off with you telling us what it is you do
My official title is creative content strategist at Mavin Records. At the core of it, I oversee content & strategy for the label’s roster and the corporate facing business.
My role straddles creative and commercial. A lot of the work goes out to position the artists’ brands and promote releases; while we’re also always looking to create commercially viable content — basically leverage our reach and creativity for other brands and platforms, that sort of thing.
Next question, what first got you interested in a creative career?
Everything I’m doing today came from all of my early passions. I was very interested in creativity when I was a kid. As a child, I had a lot to read because I was more like a get—inside kid. I be omo get inside. I was always inside doing stuff — reading Newspapers, magazines, my dad’s marketing materials, watching TV shows, books, all that jazz. I absolutely loved it. And that is what started my love for storytelling and everything creative.
Best memories from my childhood involve my dad paying for cable TV so we could have access to British TV programs, and so on. Lovely memories. I'll never forget that. The whole childhood experience really formed me. It made me organize my life with a different perspective on what's important, on who's important to me and on the question I ask.
And while I was interested in storytelling there’s a part of me that also wanted to do this in the real world, you know, helping brands to tell their stories, not just doing fiction writing. Because I knew I could do something creative. All these things got me fully interested in storytelling and rewarded me for being curious. Curiosity was also a major drive for me. I believe curiosity is the most important factor in learning.
I later went on to study Law. But yeah, here I am. When I was done with Law school, I actually tried to practice for a while, but it didn't click.
Law?
Yeah.
What was the impetus that took you away from law and into content creation and strategy?
I got bored. The Nigerian legal system is a very pointless exercise. But tbh, I was always doing this in some form or the other from secondary school on.
Hmm, so how did your career journey in the creative space lead you to where you are now?
Every step in my career has kind of prepared me for the next one. It all started from way back. From writing fiction in secondary school to writing social commentary in the Uni.
When I was in year two in the university, I started a collective — managing artists and creatives in my network. All these things were going on side—by—side and after a while, I started writing for a platform called TURNT NG.
When I was done with Law school, I tried to practice for a while, but it didn't click. So I started writing for my friends & fams, and also built a couple of platforms as well.
Then I moved to Pulse NG (Ringier Nigeria) in 2016. I joined as an intern. At Pulse, I created feature content across formats; text, audio and video. Conducted research and collected data for visual representation and surveys. I also did a couple of documentaries. Did a lot of brand work for TOX, Origin etc. All those things just kept happening while I was primarily a writer.
Then I was a pop culture editor at Pulse Nigeria. At that point, I was deeply involved in the other side of the business. We had this creative agency we were building on the side called Play Studio. I was basically working with the creative team and producing podcasts with Osagie and the rest of the team. I kept deepening my hands in different things at the same time.
Then I left Pulse in 2018 to join CNN as Features Producer mostly because I wanted to do more video creation. There, I learned how to kill my darlings. There was a solid structure in place to help become better and successful.
But after 4 months at CNN, I moved to Zikoko as editor of Pop Culture & Student Communities. It was me coming from a more feature oriented place. That was interesting because the experience helped greatly in building communities at Zikoko. It was just like the way I built Collective back in the University. So everything has kind of prepared me for the next step. I left Zikoko in Sept. 2019.
And I moved to Mavin Records in Oct. 2019. My role has just been a summation of everything I’ve done in my career. I work with video — I’m the head of content, I work with operations, I work with A & R, I work with Marketing, I work with partnerships, I work with finance, I work with Licensing. I’m practically working closely with every team at Mavin Records to drive key business results.
Cool. Tell me what it's REALLY like to work for Mavin Records?
It's a constantly fluid, challenging and very rewarding experience. No two days are ever the same; you're building the future of African entertainment with 6 talents constantly active, while you look to get in position for the future.
It's a very ambitious company; the founders have a huge vision for what African creatives can do, and it reflects in this unity of purpose. We know what it means to be a Mavin; being exceptional at what you do, and that's the best part of the experience. It's going to war with 40 soldiers against the algorithms and attention spans of this world, but knowing every man/woman around you will never fall your hand.
What do you do on a typical day at Mavin Records?
I have a very symbiotic role. The typical day for me starts with checking with the content team - status updates, feedback on videos and assets, pre-production, that sort of thing. Then I align with the rest of the company - A&R to touch base on the product and how content fits into our value proposition, partnerships to address brand needs, operations, and of course the marketing team where my team sits. This can entail anything from being at a shoot for some for a new release to working through our brand guide with the ops team. It’s a very fluid role.
Tell me a project you’re most proud of working on in your career.
Ayra Starr.
I’ve worked with artists in the past. There’s something special about that entire process. But with Ayra, there was a sense of confidence and purpose about her.
For us, the challenge was helping her channel that energy across content, her music, her brand, the conversation she features in - in a space that’s not historically welcoming of self-assured young women who have something to say. I’ve been saying this a lot, she has the most exciting trajectory of any artist I’ve seen in years. And that’s me as a fan. Seeing all that hard work come together has been crazy. Big love to her and the team.
Also, Zikoko Underground. It was a live series I created and hosted. We put 12 emerging artists on a stage in Ilupeju in front of 50 or so people. 6 of them - Joeboy, Oxlade, Buju, Barry Jhay, Paybac and Blaqbonez - have gone on to earn major awards or nominations. Can’t complain.
How do you fill the gaps when you’re not doing the various day and night jobs?
I listen to music. Watch videos and games. And I’m very big on basketball. Work is basically a collection of my hobbies, when I'm trying not to work, I end up working.
Do you think you owe your career growth to anyone?
Yeah, I do owe it to a lot of top and amazing folks. And one of the most important people is Fuad Lawal, he’s the current Growth Lead at Eden Life. We met at Pulse in 2016. He helped condensed my interests into a proper actionable plan. He helped make sense of everything.
Also Osagie Alonge, he was my first boss at Pulse Ng. He took me under his wings. Trusted me with his podcast for almost a year. I had a segment on the podcast that kind of exposed me to a new generation. Now, working with Tega, COO at Mavin, is helping me grow in the right areas of my career.
These 3 guys have been key in my career growth.
What’s one hot take you have that can double as career advice?
Get receipts, do the work. There’s no substitute for doing the actual work.
Name two products you can’t do without and tell me why.
My earphones, I listen to music all the time. And there's also something about the music when you listen to it from your headphones. You can just go into your little musical world and you don't have to worry about if your music is too loud or people judging your music.
And I am very dependent on my MacBook.
Pick a random pic from your camera roll and tell me about it.
My team's video director and I were on the set of Magixx’s unveil video. Magixx is the latest artist on Mavin Records’ roster. He's a guy I have known since 2016. Looking at him grow as an artist and a person to where he’s now and even getting signed to Mavin Records is like a very special personal story for me. And that kind symbolizes our routes and paths. Meeting at some point in life and getting to work on his video.
What’s changed the most about your job as a content person over the course of your career?
Adapting to the new platform. I came into the game when everyone wanted to have feature projects, everybody wanted to have web series etc. We were thinking more of long-form content. Now there’s TikTok. You now have very little time to entertain and educate your target audience. Mode of creation has changed as well. Now everyone can create with an iPhone so far they’ve an idea. You don’t really need a Canon camera to create for social media these days.
We now have to do heavy work on distincting ourselves from someone with just an iPhone.
Finish this sentence. If I weren’t a content person, I would be…
I wouldn’t be doing anything lmao. If I had to, maybe a product marketer. That’s like the only space I could work in.
What do you honestly think of your boss, Don Jazzy?
Jazzy is an amazing guy.
I had a lot of respect for him even before I joined Mavin. I remembered coming back from school and just stumbled on “why me” on TV. I was glued to the TV while the song was playing. Loved the song a lot.
Man is a genius in my eyes. And he also has the ability to see things above micro and macro level. He can do things that are basic as supporting creators by featuring in their skits.
At the macro level, he’s the most influential creative person in this space at the moment. It is interesting to see someone who’s been in the game for long to be able to adapt across generations and kind of still stay relevant.
He’s a rare guy.
Top guy. He’s even always online supporting Nigerian youths. What’s your must read, watch or listen for all creative?
Read. The Culture Code by Rapaille Clotaire.
What question should I be asking you or do you feel is missing from this interview that you really feel obliged to answer?
About the future.
I think the future for African creatives is in collectives. Guys like LLB, WTS are already on that path. The average Nigerian creative isn't on the same level as anyone in the developed world, in terms of resources, access and more. But I'm always amazed at what we can do when we come together.
Before I remove the shackles, tell me where people can find you online.
@segunakande_ everywhere.
Thank you for your time. Appreciated.
Phew! You made it. If you read every word I salute you.
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Interview by Lolade Abimbola