Music and creative industry trailblazer Stephney Bass has branched out with a digital creative agency. At the young age of 26, she has achieved so much and hopes to further change the lives of the creatives she works with through her extensive experience. We have an in-depth interview with the creative heavyweight about her plans and the impact she is planting within Nigeria and the other regions she has a footprint in.

How did you make the move from being a biochemistry graduate to the
entertainment industry?

Life is what happens when you are busy making plans right? My
career in entertainment started while I was getting my BSc degree in
Biochemistry, being a music enthusiast I was opportune to work with a
top female Nigerian artist ‘Niniola’ assisting her with day-to-day
social media management. That became the stepping stone to my music
career, from there I got offered an internship position at Universal
Music Nigeria right after graduation, and so it began.

The creative arts are usually frowned upon by parents and society, as
the ‘not serious’ work. How do you address such misconceptions?

I think it’s 2022 and the world is changing and evolving every day,
you can either be a part of that change or be stuck in the past. There
is a bright future in the creative arts, entertainment and music
industry even now more than ever with the digital era.

Running a creative agency in 3 different countries must come with its
own share of challenges. What are some of the challenges you’ve faced?

Not having a physical office yet or being physically present,
however we operate in such a way that when we get requests for those
territories we outsource them to our partners in those regions.

Africa is gradually catching up on the digitisation of businesses due
to it being a developing continent, with things like internet
connectivity still being an issue. What do you suggest to speed up the
digital divide?

Definitely to enhance access to free wi-fi as well as empower more
internet solution providers across a wider range.

You’ve worked with some of the biggest talent. What’s the quirkiest
thing you’ve come across dealing with such clients without mentioning
names?

I haven’t come across them but I hear there are artists who are too
lazy to promote their own music, it is the funniest thing to me.

At 26, you’re already cemented your brand by being associated with
organisations, brands such as Universal Music and now running Bass
Media. What are your plans for the immediate future?

To be on the Forbes list of course! lol! But really I am focused on
expanding my brand and creating impact one digital campaign at a time. I
was privileged to become the first female Nigerian to work with Triller
and fully immersed myself in the role of Talent Marketing for Africa. I
also became affiliated with Ad Dynamo as a Twitter Client Partner.
Alongside these I also plan on making sure we continue to deliver
premium digital marketing solutions for a number of artists and brand
campaigns here in Nigeria.

There is a lot of associated red tape with doing business in Nigeria.
How do you navigate this perceived reality?

Nigeria has one of the largest and lucrative business and incomes
sources, these numbers continue to grow exponentially, I am not aware of
that perception rather I get offers and requests from a wide net of even
international clients who want to do business and affiliate with
Nigeria.

Skills transfer is very important, are you doing anything about this?

Yes! it is quite important which is why we have other young creative
minds under our umbrella. In the coming months we have scheduled online
workshops around digital marketing and talent management.

Who are some of your current clients and what can we expect from
them?

We are currently working on multiple digital amplifications for
some Nigerian artists one of them being Nigerian superstar artist ‘Bad
Boy Timz’ who made a comeback with a new track titled ‘Iz Going’, as
well as amplification for upcoming events we cannot disclose at the
moment.