“Why is developing your artist brand so important?” Our June QOTM!
Let’s talk about the benefits of knowing who you are as an artist.
Kelsy says:
Developing and defining your artist brand is crucial to finding the right audience! If your brand is not well-thought out and authentic, you will likely get to a point where things break because people are not connecting with it on the level you need in order to be sustainable.
I recommend prioritizing authenticity in artist's brands first and foremost, because if the brand feels real to the artist, it will likely feel real to people. If it comes across as forced, inauthentic, or too broad, it will not resonate. Champion the unique qualities that make you, YOU. Stop questioning whether something will be sellable or marketable, and instead focus on creating the most authentic brand to you. If it's authentic, real, and contains depth, I promise you that it can be marketed!
Tori says:
An artist brand is one of the most important aspects to an artist's career. It's also one of the trickier ones to develop alone because there are a million paths to get there, and most of them are inauthentic. You can't just be Charli XCX or Lady Gaga. Though you can draw inspiration from your favorite artists, that can't be the essence of you and your brand... because it already exists.
And while many think of a brand as a color palette, fonts, and a consistent aesthetic, it actually runs so much deeper than that. Every fan interaction, every Instagram, story shared, even down to the comments an artist makes on another person's account ties back to their brand.
And the more an artist fleshes out their "story," the easier it is to think about these micro branding moments and essentially tie everything back to it to create a cohesive brand. It's not just the photos you have or the colors you use, it's the story you tell within every tiny interaction you have on and offline.
So how do you find your "story?" This leads to the ultimate point that if you can take all the fascinating aspects that already exist within yourself and create a caricature of that, then your brand will feel not only more authentic, but will be more fun to portray, because you know you are being seen in a performative light that ties back to yourself. The "mask" you put on for others doesn't feel icky or deceiving because, at its core, it is you.
So where do you begin? Write down your actual story and then be selective in the parts you do and don't want to share with the world. Take into consideration your plot, your antagonists, challenges you've actually had to overcome. You can then start to envision how you can build a world worth visiting. Piece by piece it all starts to make sense, and the more time you dedicate to your brand, the easier everything else will be in your career.
Would you like help building your brand? Set up a “Music Career Consulting” session with us here.