As musicians, we spend numerous time fascinated by issues just like the tune we simply completed writing, the album we’re planning to file, the exhibits we’ll guide, and the platforms we’ll get featured on as soon as we launch our music.
However how a lot time can we spend fascinated by how all these efforts are being communicated to our viewers and our artist friends? That’s the place branding is available in.
Your private model isn’t simply about what you publish on social media. It’s a lot broader than that. It’s about the way you come throughout as a musician, on-line and offline, with everybody from followers of your music, to tastemakers and business professionals.
Seek the advice of the Curators
There’s loads you are able to do to construct your private model by yourself. However why not get recommendation from individuals who overview artists’ manufacturers and music on a regular basis — and have the affect and platforms to deliver those they like to the forefront?
When you agree, you’re in luck! We introduced three beloved indie music curators onto the DIY Musician Podcast to get their views (and a few scorching takes) on branding for musicians.
Our friends had been Annabelle Kline, the founding father of That Good Sh*t, Daylon Hicks, the founding father of arabbitshole, and Meleah Hartnett, the host and inventive director of Sleeve Notes, a podcast by The Luna Collective.
Right here’s a few of the gems we uncovered in the course of the dialog (quotes edited or condensed barely for readability):
How To Get Found
For a lot of, music discovery has transitioned from magazines and blogs to streaming algorithms and social platforms. Your pleasant neighborhood music author or playlister might be extra prone to discover you on TikTok or Instagram than wherever else.
Suggestions from mates and neighborhood members are additionally an enormous vote of confidence. Even when you don’t know a music curator personally, you would possibly already know somebody who does, or you could possibly go to a music networking occasion the place you’re extra prone to meet tastemakers.
As Annabelle shared, “My favourite approach to uncover music is thru suggestions from mates. It’s cool to have so many mates who’re passionate and tapped into indie artists. I’ve additionally met some extremely proficient artists at occasions or out on the road when folks come as much as me.” Word: Simply ensure you achieve this thoughtfully and respectfully!
Irrespective of how they uncover you, Annabelle, Daylon, and Meleah agree that the quantity of social media followers you’ve got isn’t an vital issue. They reply to pitches from musicians who make music they like, and have a transparent, assured creative imaginative and prescient.
“I don’t actually care about how an artist is doing on social media,” Daylon stated. “The issues that matter to me are, ‘Do they care about their artwork? Are they making an attempt to make their artwork timeless?’”
That is backed up by his platform. He has a collection the place he highlights artists with 5,000 followers or much less to his viewers of over 11k followers.
So, when there are such a lot of artists to select from, how are you going to stand out? “A considerate electronic mail can go a extremely good distance,” Meleah shared.
“If an artist pitches me with the story of how their music got here collectively, or builds out their world via visuals, and if it’s clear that there’s lots of intention there, that’s positively compelling to me.”
Getting Interviewed? Don’t Panic!
Nice information! You pitched a curator, and now you’ve got an interview booked. Our consultants have some recommendation on find out how to keep cool, calm, and picked up throughout your dialog.
First issues first: Do your analysis. Annabelle shared, “I like to recommend watching some interviews the interviewer has executed. When you had been interviewing with me, you could possibly study what sort of questions I ask, how I speak, and what my vitality is like.”
She additionally instructed that artists “dive again into their lore.” Your lore encompasses your life experiences, which lead you to the feelings you place into your music, and it’s KEY in the case of branding for musicians.
“Return via your digicam roll, return via outdated journal entries, and rediscover the place you had been at emotionally while you had been creating the music you’re gonna be speaking about, and any attention-grabbing tales you possibly can relate to your music,” Annabelle stated.
Daylon considers lore an vital issue to his interview course of as nicely. “I attempt to ask the query, ‘Whenever you had been making this tune, how did you’re feeling emotionally?,’” he shared.
“Normally, 9 instances out of 10, an artist reveals all that — after which they speak about their music in ways in which I’d have by no means even recognized if I didn’t ask it.”
Authenticity goes a good distance. However when you’re nonetheless feeling nervous, Meleah suggests to “do not forget that we already secured the interview.”
“You already did the laborious a part of opening up in your music and being weak there, and also you already secured the spot to speak with somebody about it,” she continued. “See it as a possibility to proceed to try this.”
Be the Greatest Model of Your Musical Self
Do not forget that your private model is simply as a lot about you as it’s about the way you deal with others.
Some musicians create utterly independently, however more often than not, we’re working with different creatives and professionals, whether or not that’s the engineer who masters our monitor, or the artist who creates our cowl artwork.
The folks you select to be part of your artistic imaginative and prescient make a big effect. Daylon instructed, “Concentrate on the small print — not simply in your work, however in the way you current your self. Out of your producer, to your colorist, all these small particulars matter.”
Musicians even have the assist of their followers, and the best way you work together with them issues. Annabelle shared an instance from her interview with justicexavier:
“He used our interview as a possibility to speak so much about his followers, and his relationship to his neighborhood, which was clearly actually vital to him. He knew that the interview can be a second his followers can be enthusiastic about, so he used that point to thank them for supporting him.”
The individuals who love your music will keep in mind the moments while you present appreciation for them. No should be shy about shouting them out, together with the collaborators that helped you attain your objectives!
So, how do you proceed to develop your neighborhood? It’s all about placing your self on the market, on-line and in particular person. “There are music scenes in all places, so displaying up regionally is tremendous vital,” Meleah shared.
There are tons of how you possibly can construct connections in a room stuffed with fellow musicians, or discover significant methods to interact with posts from artists in your space, however Meleah has one most important suggestion.
“Ask what folks want,” she stated. “Normally, it may be mutually useful.” For instance, you could possibly placed on a home present the place you and different native artists can carry out. Consider others’ wants first — in case you have a connection somebody would possibly profit from, a useful resource they might use, and many others., then share it!
Annabelle sums it up nicely: “It’s so vital to indicate as much as your pals’ exhibits, purchase tickets to their occasions, and do every thing you possibly can to indicate significant assist to artists round you, as a result of that vitality goes to return again round. Give greater than you ask.”
If you wish to study extra about branding for musicians, don’t overlook to watch the podcast episode. Additionally, when you’re so inclined, subscribe to us on YouTube, or take a look at our Instagram, Threads, or TikTok.
