Musician Marketing: Step 1 Branding

This is the first article in a seven-part series that details exactly what you need to market yourself as a successful artist.

 

What's the point?

I've always thought that it's strange that you spend so much money to go to music school, and they teach you how to hone your musical talents, but they don't even bother to teach you how to make a living being a musicians after you graduate. Recently, I was surprised (no, not really, I was shocked) to hear that the tuition alone to go to the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music costs more than $40,000 a year. I don't know if you know this or not, but that's a lot more than it cost to go to most medical schools and even with our current state of medicine in America, doctors still make more moula than most musicians. Seriously, how would you ever be able to pay off your student loan in this lifetime? Well, that leads me into the first in a seven-part series on marketing yourself as a musician so that you DO have the opportunity to pay off that student loan because you're being financially rewarded for all of your hard work.

Yes it's an art form, but just like every other profitable endeavor, music is a business. That's why they call it the "music industry." So, if you want to make a living as a musician, or better yet, be successful in an industry that is as competitive as professional sports, you must (yes must) understand at least the basics of marketing yourself as a musician (or composer). 

What sets Lang Lang apart from every other talented classical pianist in the world? He's exceptionally gifted? Sure, he's very talented, there's no question about that. But it's much more than that. Behind Lang Lang there is a machine ... A HUGE machine ... A HUGE branding and marketing machine. Lang Lang is not just a pianist, not just a musician, he's a BRAND. Have you been to the Lang Lang Store? No? Well, you can buy his poster, his hat, his gloves (gloves?), his shirts in both girl's and men's styles, his scarf, his books, his Adidas shoes (not just any shoes, but his Adidas shoes), AND if you're really a big spender, you can even buy his piano. (Sidenote: everything is not perfect in Lang Lang world because I clicked on the piano link just to see how much it is and I got an Error 404: File not found. Hmmmmm, someone at his marketing agency is shaking in their shoes now thinking they might lose their job.)

OK, sorry for the distraction, back to Lang Lang and his branding machine. What exactly is Lang Lang's brand? What is the image that he projects to the world so succinctly? Lang Lang's brand is "cool, hip, fun," which is rather unusual in the world of stuffy classical musicians. He represents the young generation that is tearing down the wall of stuffiness via his unique branding. The Los Angeles Philharmonic is hoping that conductor Gustavo Dudamel's youth, wild curly locks and flamboyant style, will pull them out of their obvious decline. They have already LA-ized him, they're even calling him, "The Dude" and they hope he is the dude that can increase ticket sales.

When you develop a strong brand image, just like Lang Lang, this immediately tells your fans who you really are and what your music is really about. Without question, without confusion. And that's what you want. You want the audience to become your audience because they feel an emotional connection to who you are and what you're all about.

What is a brand?

The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as, "a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers." But don't be confused, a brand is NOT just a logo or a slogan or a tagline, it's more.

Branding is not about getting your audience to choose you over the competition, it is about getting your audience to see you as the only artist that provides a solution to their problem.

 

An effective artist's brand:

 

-  Delivers your unique artistic message clearly

-  Builds your credibility as a notable artist

-  Creates an emotional connection with your audience

-  Motivates your audience to seek out your work

-  Creates loyalty to your brand for future purchases

 

Your brand resides within the hearts and minds of your audience. It is the sum total of their percetions and actual experiences of you and your work, some of which you can influence, and some you cannot.

Branding is all about utilizing The Power of One ... One message ... One look & feel ... One position in their heart and mind.

 

Why is it important?

A strong brand is invaluable as the competition for the audience's attention, and dollars, intensifies every day. This is why it's important to spend time investing in defining, and building your brand.

  

Your brand is the foundation for your marketing and communication strategy, and something that you do not want to be without. You strengthen your brand by integrating it into every one of your points of public contact, from public appearances to your website to your blog and social media accounts, and even your physical materials like public appearance flyers, e-mail blasts to your subscribers, and even your business cards.

 

The bottom line is that everyone already has a brand (yes, including you). Your audience develops a perception about you and your work from their first minute of contact. So, the question is not, "Do you have a brand?" The question is, "Do you have the brand that represents you as you want to be known?"

 

It's all about perceptions. Without proper branding, each member of your audience can haphazardly develop their own perception of you and your work, each having their own different ideas, leading to confusion as to who your really are, and what your work is really about.

 

Conversely, with effective branding, you create the perception that you want the audience to have, prior to their ever having first-hand experience with you or your work. Basically, you take ownership of your desired place in their hearts and minds long before they can create their own distorted view of who you really are, and what your work is really about.

 

And that's what branding is all about. Is it manipulation? No, it's education. Branding is all about educating your audience about who you really are and what your work is really about ... From your perspective, not theirs.

 

How do you develop your brand?

You start by asking yourself a single question, "What are the four or five things that I want to immediately pop into people's heads when they hear my name or my music?" You look for four or five congruent concepts because its too difficult to narrow it down to just one, and more than four or five and your message starts getting confusing.

Let's go back to Lang Lang. I'd say that his top three are hip, cool, fun - those are all congruent, of the same theme but with slightly different twists. If I had to add a fourth to his list, it would probably be youth. Did you notice that there's nothing there that identifies him as a virtuoso performer? No need. He lets his talent speak for itself, while his brand speaks for who he is and what he's really all about. His three or four branding themes are concise, congruent, and they deliver exactly what you want in a brand - "The Power of OneTM" - one message, easy-to-understand, easy to get across to the audience. Whomever his branding machine is ... They're doing a great job! Kudos to them.

How do you project your brand to the world?

Having a brand is the first step, now you have to project it to the world so "they" know who you really are and what you're really about. To be successful in projecting "The Power of One" you need to project the same message everywhere, and only that message. Don't get the audience confused, don't allow them to make their own judgements. Help them understand who you are by telling them in consistent terms they can understand.

Consistency is the key. Project your brand through your logo, your website, blog, social media, forums, posters, CDs business cards, everywhere!!! But more on this next time ....

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