Rwandan singer and songwriter Mike Kayihura says some of the biggest lessons of his music career have come from periods when he had little control over his music or how he spent the money he earned from it.
Kayihura made the revelations during a recent interview on the Financially Incorrect podcast, where he reflected on his journey from earning his first major music cheque as a student to commanding performance fees of up to $5,000.
His career, he said, has been shaped by a series of risks, difficult contracts, financial mistakes and opportunities that eventually helped him understand the business side of being a musician.
One of his earliest experiences with making money from music came while he was still in school, when he landed a Coca-Cola jingle that earned him Rwf200,000.
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"At that time, I think I was still in high school, about to graduate. I remember I did a Coca-Cola jingle, and I made about 200,000 francs. That was a big deal. That was like my first ever music paycheck," he said.
"I remember the jingle, it was on the radio for a bit. I think they ripped me off. They were just like, 'Oh, he's an up-and-coming artist. It's the perfect fit.' So 200,000 francs at the time, I'm like, 'Wow, this is incredible,"' he added.
Years later, however, Kayihura would find himself dealing with much larger sums and learning that earning money was only part of the challenge.
"I was just stuck"
Kayihura said one of the biggest setbacks came after he signed a contract while still young and trusting the people around him.
"I was quite young at the time, and I trusted these guys."
"I was just like, these people believed in me then. I'm just like, these are my guys. Let's see what can come out of it. We've gone to London, we'd worked with different people. It was my first time in Europe as well. So I was like, 'Wow, these people actually are putting in the effort to do all of this."'
The agreement eventually left him unable to release music freely, resulting in years of frustration.
"I was just stuck. But a lot of that also comes back to me not reflecting enough on the contract. It's like, you're reading, but you're not really reading," he said.
"I had all my cards into a setting that we were aiming at with the people I was working with at the time and things just didn't go as planned. At the time I felt like, 'This is such a waste. Five years gone. I haven't dropped anything."'
He described that period as particularly difficult, saying it affected his relationships with family and friends.
"This last one, this one had me on the edge. It affected so much. It affected my relationship with family, with friends, you name it, because I found myself in a box."
Kayihura said the experience taught him a lesson he now believes is important for young musicians: understanding the business side of their careers before signing agreements.
From 'Katerina' to regional recognition
Before his own breakthrough, Kayihura had already begun finding opportunities as a songwriter.
He recalled being approached by Bruce Melodie to work on Katerina, after the Rwandan star had heard his music on SoundCloud.
"He picks me up from the house, one of these random nights, I'm just watching a movie, like 3pm. He's like, 'Hey, this is Bruce Melodie.' I'm like, 'What? The Bruce Melodie?' He's like, 'Yeah. I don't know where you are, but I'm coming to pick you up. There's a studio session. I really feel like you're the right guy to write this with me,"' he said.
"He tells me he's listened to my stuff on SoundCloud. I'm like, okay, it's not in Kinyarwanda as much though. So he's like, 'No, that's exactly what I need. I need something that's more regional, some English in it,"' he recalled.
Kayihura said he was more interested in the opportunity than immediate payment.
The collaboration helped open another door for him.
But it was Sabrina, which he recorded with Dany Beats, that Kayihura identifies as the song that really changed things.
"It hit the waves. It really hit the waves. I remember doing a TV interview for the first time in my house. I had to hold a laptop like this and I'm on TV, and my parents are just watching me," he recalled
"And then again, going online and seeing people in Kampala bumping it. That was my first ever, I'd say, that was the track that really broke through. Not just the waves at home, but regionally."
Then came COVID-19.
"Terrible timing. Because at that time I should be out there, like, showing up at gigs and stuff, but I can't do that."
Learning how to handle the money
The increase in income brought another challenge.
Kayihura admits he did not always make the best financial decisions during the period when his career was gaining momentum.
"I just spent it very, very terribly most of the times. And I was partying a lot."
"And I feel like, that's something that even to this day, I mean, leave alone that phase, even within this contractual setting that I was dealing with, there was a lot of that," he said.
He also said he failed to invest enough of his earnings into his career.
"I could have put this into my music in a different setting, invest into what I'm putting online, for example, stuff like that," he said.
The $5,000 payday
At one point, Kayihura earned $5,000 from a single performance, which he described as his biggest payday during that period.
"And that's like fixed pay. And so that's when I'm like, 'Look, I'm going to invest in whatever I need to, but I also need to make moves.' I just left Kampala, which was, till this day, my biggest show that I ever did."
His growing regional audience also began to show itself in his live performances.
Kayihura recalled his 2022 concert at Serena in Kampala as one of the biggest shows of his career.
"I'll never forget that. I didn't expect people to show up like that. Again, it takes me back to what I was telling you about going to the Spotify numbers, realizing Kampala, Uganda actually has more numbers in here."
Kayihura estimated that about half of his income came from Kigali, 40 per cent from Kampala and the remaining 10 per cent from elsewhere.
Music beyond Rwanda
Kayihura's regional outlook is partly rooted in his upbringing.
He spent part of his childhood in Uganda after his family moved around East Africa before eventually returning to Kigali. He said the experience made Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda feel like one large home.
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"I'd say the similarity, like I said, how it felt like home. The languages, Swahili was always in the household, my grandparents, music that was there and just how they made life feel so easy and relaxed," he said.
He later spent about a year in Ethiopia, where he received informal music training and worked alongside musicians.
A new chapter
Kayihura is now continuing to build his career with a stronger understanding of the business side of music.
His latest EP, Intwaza, released in May 2026, represents another step in that journey. The project is largely aimed at audiences at home, with several songs drawing on Kinyarwanda.
"The aim, ideally, for this project was mainly for the people at home. So a lot of the songs are very local, very Kinyarwanda."
For Kayihura, the journey has gone beyond writing and performing songs.
It has also been about learning how to read contracts, manage earnings, invest in his craft and understand where his audience is.
"I think that there's obviously other settings, life in general, and it's not like we're making much. It's enough to sustain us throughout the times.But I do know for a fact, if I did that better, things would have been much better."
For Kayihura, the lessons have come not only from the successes, but also from the contracts he wishes he had read more carefully, the money he wishes he had invested differently and the opportunities that taught him where his music belongs.
