As musicians, we spend a number of time fascinated about issues just like the music we simply completed writing, the album we’re planning to document, the reveals we’ll e-book, and the platforms we’ll get featured on as soon as we launch our music.
However how a lot time will we spend fascinated about 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 put up 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 a lot you are able to do to construct your private model by yourself. However why not get recommendation from individuals who evaluate artists’ manufacturers and music on a regular basis — and have the affect and platforms to deliver those they like to the forefront?
In the event 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 sizzling 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 through 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 anyplace else.
Suggestions from buddies and neighborhood members are additionally a giant vote of confidence. Even if you happen to don’t know a music curator personally, you would possibly already know somebody who does, or you possibly can 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 buddies. It’s cool to have so many buddies who’re passionate and tapped into indie artists. I’ve additionally met some extremely proficient artists at occasions or out on the road when individuals come as much as me.” Be aware: Simply be sure you achieve this thoughtfully and respectfully!
Regardless of how they uncover you, Annabelle, Daylon, and Meleah agree that the quantity of social media followers you have got isn’t an necessary 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 attempting to make their artwork timeless?’”
That is backed up by his platform. He has a sequence 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 very great distance,” Meleah shared.
“If an artist pitches me with the story of how their music got here collectively, or builds out their world by means of visuals, and if it’s clear that there’s loads of intention there, that’s undoubtedly compelling to me.”
Getting Interviewed? Don’t Panic!
Nice information! You pitched a curator, and now you have got an interview booked. Our specialists have some recommendation on the way 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 accomplished. In the event you had been interviewing with me, you possibly can be taught what sort of questions I ask, how I speak, and what my vitality is like.”
She additionally recommended that artists “dive again into their lore.” Your lore encompasses your life experiences, which lead you to the feelings you set into your music, and it’s KEY on the subject of branding for musicians.
“Return by means of your digital camera roll, return by means of 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 necessary issue to his interview course of as properly. “I attempt to ask the query, ‘While you had been making this music, how did you are feeling emotionally?,’” he shared.
“Normally, 9 occasions out of 10, an artist reveals all that — after which they speak about their music in ways in which I might have by no means even recognized if I didn’t ask it.”
Authenticity goes a great distance. However if you happen to’re nonetheless feeling nervous, Meleah suggests to “keep in mind that we already secured the interview.”
“You already did the onerous a part of opening up in your music and being susceptible there, and also you already secured the spot to speak with somebody about it,” she continued. “See it as a chance to proceed to try this.”
Be the Finest Model of Your Musical Self
Keep in mind 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 observe, or the artist who creates our cowl artwork.
The individuals you select to be part of your inventive imaginative and prescient make a big effect. Daylon recommended, “Give attention to 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 chance to speak loads about his followers, and his relationship to his neighborhood, which was clearly actually necessary 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 bear in mind the moments while you present appreciation for them. No have to be shy about shouting them out, together with the collaborators that helped you attain your targets!
So, how do you proceed to develop your neighborhood? It’s all about placing your self on the market, on-line and in individual. “There are music scenes all over the place, so exhibiting up regionally is tremendous necessary,” Meleah shared.
There are tons of how you possibly can construct connections in a room filled with fellow musicians, or discover significant methods to have interaction with posts from artists in your space, however Meleah has one fundamental suggestion.
“Ask what individuals want,” she stated. “Normally, it may be mutually helpful.” For instance, you possibly can placed on a home present the place you and different native artists can carry out. Consider others’ wants first — you probably have a connection somebody would possibly profit from, a useful resource they might use, and so forth., then share it!
Annabelle sums it up properly: “It’s so necessary to indicate as much as your pals’ reveals, purchase tickets to their occasions, and do every part 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 be taught extra about branding for musicians, don’t neglect to watch the podcast episode. Additionally, if you happen to’re so inclined, subscribe to us on YouTube, or try our Instagram, Threads, or TikTok.
