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5 Ways To Build Your Brand As An Artist

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Build Your Brand as an Artist

If you’re an artist trying to break into today’s music industry, it doesn’t take much
research to see the music world is incredibly saturated by aspiring singers,
songwriters, musicians, and producers. In order to have a fighting chance at success,
you need to consider one of the most important business-related aspects of being an
artist – building your brand.

So what’s a brand? The short answer: A

brand is what you’re known for. It’s your
identity as an artist.
If you think of all the biggest names in music history, you’ll see they’re all branded.
Elvis had his sideburns, Michael Jackson had his glittered glove, the Rolling Stones
have the set of lips with a tongue sticking out, Prince has his “love symbol,” and
Mariah Carey has her butterflies. A strong brand is what sets someone apart from
other artists; and it makes all the difference between disposability and longevity.
Here are five ways to start building your own brand as an artist.

Determine your artistic point of view.

What is it you’re trying to offer your listeners? What do you stand for? What message
are you trying to get across via your music? This doesn’t mean pigeonholing yourself
into one topic or theme for every song you ever release, but there needs to be some
cohesion between them. For example, it wouldn’t make sense for Kenny Rogers to
suddenly start rapping about being a pimp in Compton. On the other hand, Jay-Z
wouldn’t be singing a ballad about crying into his pillow after his high school
sweetheart dumped him. Aim for consistency.
Keep it short.
Don’t confuse your brand with a corporate-style mission statement. If someone asked
you what your brand is as an artist, you should be able to answer them in one
sentence – two, at the absolute most. One mistake to avoid, however, is being too
vague. Calling yourself “the best rapper from Brooklyn” doesn’t mean anything.
Something more along the lines of “rapping for the voiceless” would be a better bet.

Every artist is the product of different upbringings, beliefs, values, cultural

backgrounds, and life experiences. The key is to consolidate everything that makes
you unique, in order to create a clear artist identity.

Define your style.

Unless you’re Madonna, who is perhaps the greatest artistic chameleon in the game,
you need to pinpoint your visual style. Even though your music is the focus, your
physical appearance plays directly into your brand.

Have you noticed how many celebrity Halloween costumes go on sale every year, from
Snooki ensembles to Lady Gaga getups? That’s just an example of how strong their
brands are. This doesn’t mean you have to dye yourself orange or wear a dress made
out of meat, but figure out a look that is representative of who you are – both, as an
artist and a person.

Understand your target audience.

There isn’t a single song or genre of music that’s going to appeal to every single
person in the world. While your music should be a reflection of yourself, you’re still
going to have to market it to the right audience. You won’t see any boy bands
dressing up or releasing tracks that will appeal to middle-aged men, because their
target audience is young females. The more you understand exactly who is listening to
your music and which demographics tend to relate most to your work, the bigger the
impact you’ll have.

Pay attention to all aesthetics and

collaborations.
 Again, this includes to your look and image as an artist, but it also involves seemingly
minor details such as your album artwork. You are branded by anything and anyone
associated with your name, from the cover of your album to the featured singers on
your tracks.

How many times have rappers been called “sellouts” after collaborating with
mainstream, bubblegum pop singers, thus losing some of their lifelong fans?
Collaborations are crucial in the industry, but not all partnerships will be beneficial to
your brand. Therefore, be mindful of everyone you work with and how every piece of
your music and image is presented.

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LAUREN MALAMALA (HTTP://RECORDLABELHEADQUARTERS.COM/AUTHOR/LAUREN/)

Lauren Malamala is a New York City-based songwriter and musician with an

International Business degree from Richmond, the American International
University in London. See more at her blog, www.halela5th.com.

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