How To Build Your Brand As A Music Artist
The essence of a brand is telling a story through visuals, voice, and communication. So, to create a brand, you need to establish your story: Why are you making music? What are your biggest motivations, inspirations, and _____? What do you have to contribute that no one else does?
When creating your brand, it helps to treat it as visual communication. What are you communicating to the audience about your music, without them ever having listened to your songs? Are you keeping your audience engaged with your visuals, or are they bored by it?
Brand consistency is crucial. Listeners can be put off by someone creating contradictory posts or music – if you consider your music to be sweet and romantic, don’t post graphics or try to sell merch that has an aggressive flair to it. Stick to one to two typefaces for your artist or band name, so that it is recognizable right away and doesn’t confuse audiences.
When it comes to creating visuals, it’s always a good idea to get someone with graphic design and photography experience to help you out. If you live near a community college or university, you will probably be able to find visualization students that can help you out for an extremely reduced fee – they get to build their portfolios, and you get high quality products. It’s a win-win!
People also don’t want an artist that sounds or looks like everyone else – they are looking for something new, and don’t want to be fed the same old thing. Make sure that you set yourself apart from other artists. It helps to have a distinct sound and look, so if a listener were to hear a song by you, they would immediately know it was you. However, don’t do anything that feels inauthentic to you, as even over the Internet, people can smell an imposter. You don’t want to come across as a tryhard, so stay true to who you are and what you like.
To ensure originality, it helps to identify your unique selling point. What are you offering to listeners that no one else is? This does not have to be in terms of your music alone. It could be how personal you are with fans online, what types of posts you make, or how you perform at live shows. Think about what your favorite artists are known for, then identify that for yourself. There’s no need to perfectly emulate them, but it does help to use them as a springboard for your personal brand.
The next step is to develop your “voice” – not your singing voice, per se, but your online persona. Are you light-hearted, serious, or sarcastic? Do you constantly use proper grammar and punctuation in your status updates, or are you comfortable using slang? Whatever you choose, again, remember to stay consistent across all your social media platforms.
Regardless of what you choose to do with your brand, it is imperative that you stay authentic. Do what comes naturally, and the rest will follow.
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