If you’re an artist, you want to be known. On the flip side, it’s very tough to be vulnerable, but understand that if you want to be unforgettable, you’re going to have to be vulnerable. This is your ticket to being unforgettable. At the same time, this is why you feel stuck. Yes, you have great music. Yes, you have a great presentation of it. But you’re just right there on the surface and not scratching beneath it. The world needs your music, but the only way you can share why the world needs your music is if you open yourself up to the world. Of course, there are some precautions you want to take with that, but we’re going to talk about it right here in this blogpost.
Branding
Branding is all about impression. Impression is an idea, a feeling, or an opinion about something or someone, especially one formed without conscious thought or on the basis of little evidence. It is often done with distinct messaging and imagery so that the impression can be formed easily without much brainpower. That’s how fast branding happens. People feel a certain way about what they just encountered without evidence or conscious thought—it just happens. It’s a quick impression on the brain. This is what happens when we’re talking about branding: it’s all about being impressive.
Now, people don’t listen to or follow the best artist. I’m just being real with you. People listen to and follow the artist who communicates their reasons for creating their music the best. Is it easy for me to understand who you are? Cool. Is the music quality enough? Yes. Is it entertaining so I can escape reality for a minute? Yep. Done.
Upon first listen or impression, if what you’re communicating in your music is not helping your listeners survive or resonate in that moment, they will tune you out. This is a value proposition. The listener is looking to add value to their life via your music, lyrics, and story. If you can do that, you pass the test of branding. So, make sure you make a great impression on the brain. Help people survive in their life by escaping the mundane presence in their life. Give them something else to aspire to—that’s what stars do.
Who are you? Your name, your location, your birthplace, your age, your genre—this is the first thing people want to know when they come across your music. Probably within the first 15 seconds, they want to feel a connection to you. This is the first step to being unforgettable because now people can say, “Hey, I found this artist from Philly or Atlanta, and they make music like this.” That’s how quickly the word-of-mouth happens. If the presentation is dope enough, they’ll start talking about it immediately: “Hey, there’s some dope music over here; you need to check it out.” That’s what you want.
What is your backstory? We’ve got to dig into that. After potential fans have an experience with you—which doesn’t take long—they’re looking for a backstory almost immediately. People don’t want to feel like they missed out on something. They want to be early so they can tell their friends and get an ego boost: “I was following him or her back when they only had one follower.” People need to know your backstory. It lets them know where you came from and why your viewpoints are the way they are. It also gives people more foundation to support you and fans to defend and fight for you because it offers more reliability and relatability.
Your Story
What do you want from the world? Outside of doing music to have fun, what do you want? Money? Power? Respect? Security? Freedom? You have to be honest with yourself because you must clearly define what you want. Otherwise, communication becomes unclear, and there’s no trust between you and the fans. Tell the world what you want, act like you want it, and watch the world give it back to you. Clear communication is a must. Sometimes, this communication is not verbal—it’s about how you look, walk, or come across in your videos and content. For example, “I want freedom, so I’m going to be free in how I present myself.”
Who needs your music? If you’re passionate about who needs your music, you will fight for your artistic expression. For example, someone out there needs to dance. We need more dancing in the world, so you could make more EDM dance music or hip-hop dance music. Someone else might need to love better, so you create better love music, whether it’s R&B, pop, or singer-songwriter. If you don’t know who needs your music, you won’t put as much passion and energy into creating excellent bodies of work.
Are you helping your listener survive? Does your music and story help them survive to the next day? That’s all we see from fanatics time and again. They’ll say things like, “Oh my God, this helped me through a tough time,” or “That song got me through.” The question is: Is your music doing that? You know it is when the level of quality is high, the penmanship in your lyrics makes the vision vivid, and you’re in tune with yourself.
How are you surviving your current obstacles? When you share this part of your story with your fans, they will not only relate but also resonate with you. They’ll want to see you overcome those obstacles, and they’ll feel like they’re winning when you do. If people see you winning, they’ll take it as inspiration for themselves.
Your Intentions
Where are you going? Showcasing how you’re going to win the game is great, but where are you headed? What are the end goals or checkpoints? If you don’t inform your followers, they won’t stay engaged. Also, don’t have goals so short-sighted that your followers fall off. Let them know where you’re going in the long run.
Core values are the things you value most: music, family, God, helping people, fashion, fun, or anything you’d share or talk about effortlessly. Once these values are clear, you begin to resonate and relate with people naturally. From there, you’ll build a deeper following that reflects your strong sense of self.
Branding is all about the image people craft in their minds and the quality of the experience they receive upon first and second impressions. Impressions can be made through any audiovisual medium, but always push for as much quality and value as you can afford. Vulnerability is key.
If you communicate clearly, branding will be easier than you thought, and you’ll retain your fans much longer than an artist with mixed messaging. If you don’t, listeners won’t stick around, and you’ll constantly struggle to find new fans. Take this knowledge, craft your brand, and make it happen. If you make music, you should always make money. Peace.
