Artist Branding?

Artist Have to stick out in a sea of monotony

While working in the music business I come across hot buzz words/phrases ALL THE TIME and one of the hot buzzwords for the moment is “Artist Branding”. People are always telling the artist that they need build, promote, and protect “your brand” but unfortunately most of the people using this term really don’t know what it means (because they’re usually talking out of their ass).

So what exactly is a brand?

A great book that I read not too long by the Name of “The Brand Gap” explains it like this:

The perception of a product, service, experience. Its a gut feeling. Its a gut feeling because in the end the brand is defined by individuals not by companies or markets.

What does that mean for artist?

For an artist, their brand is determined by the consistency of their persona and the continuos quality of their music, which leads to the overall gut feeling that music fans get. Regardless of what genre of music an artist delves into, the feel is the same and you can tell its the artist at first listen. For example, the rap group Outkast… Andre 3000 and Big Boi change their look and sound every time they release an album but no matter how many times they change, the music quality and personas stay consistant. Kanye West is another artist that has tried a variety of different musical directions but you never once questioned who you were listening to. Kanye’s music is always fresh and new but still Kanye.

On the other hand you have an artist like Common that completely mislead his audience with the release of his 5th album Electric Circus . Electric Circus alienated some of Common’s most loyal fans because the album no longer “felt” like the Common they had grown to love. Common’s original sound was built from dope hip hop drums and samples but as soon as his music became regimented and mechanical, he lost his fans.

How does an artist determine what their brand is?

In order for an artist to recognize and successfully promote their brand, they must have a great sense of self-knowing. They must know who they are, where they came from, and where they’re going. They must know what they like and don’t like, and what they stand for and why. And they must have an inherent feel for their sound and what works for them. After they have all of that squared away, they must have the strength to fight for their vision and not succumb to the pressure of a record label, manager or quite possibly their fans.

Before I end let me leave you with this, the artist’s brand is their identity: how they dress, make music, communicate with fans, make videos, perform at shows, etc. All of those elements put together creates the DNA of the artist A.K.A. the brand of the artist. Don’t Fuck It Up. Pay attention.

That’s not all there is to their brands, but it’s a big part. Stay tuned for more post on artist branding…