Congrats on taking this next big step in your music journey! I think this is one of the most overlooked areas of marketing yourself as a musician. I think it's because “branding” sounds fairly unartistic, like you’re trying to commodify yourself. So let’s change that narrative, because that’s not the right perspective. Branding is about consciously framing the message that you’re sending out to the world. It’s everything that people interpret about you directly, indirectly, consciously, and subconsciously. The biggest problem is not that artists are sending the wrong messages; it’s that they aren’t sending any coherent messages at all.
You need to think about your brand and then act accordingly. If you don’t, it doesn’t mean you won’t have a brand; it just means that your brand is likely to fall into the “boring” musician category just posting news announcements like “streaming now!” or “keep your eyes open for…” That’s not worthy of attention. We have enough of these basic news announcements shoved in front of us every day.
We are interested in stories, in learning, and in belonging. We want to be inspired, turned on, shocked, humored, challenged, etc. The question is, how can your content be framed in a way that tells a story about you and/or why you’re doing this at all? What makes you unique as a human and an artist?
Whatever your answer(s), authenticity is priority number 1. It builds trust and community, and it’s sustainable over the long haul.
Developing your brand is an ongoing effort. Both in clearly defining what it is and figuring out how to communicate that to the world. I think one of the best places to start is with what you SHOULD NOT do:
1. Not standing for enough. A lot of artists just want their songwriting style and average everyday look to be their brand. This can be a part of it, but it’s probably not going to be enough unless you’re eccentric in at least one small way. You don’t have to take a political stand or get face tattoos or be outrageous (although they are all strong brand identifiers), but if you don’t have anything at all that separates you from the crowd, then there is no story.
Your unique factor can be a collection of very small things. Don’t reinvent the wheel; just try to paint a more colorful picture and get nuanced about who you are and/or what you really care about. Embrace your inner [insert your defining characteristic: geek, romantic, weirdo, rockstar, diva, activist, to name a few].
2. Trying to be too different. I get it - I just told you to find something that separates you from the crowd. But don’t force it. Authenticity here is critical. You have to be able to sustain this brand appearance for a very long time. If you’re truly authentic to yourself, or if the theme or persona you’re encapsulating aligns with your values, it’s easier to maintain. Think about the long term - What do you want to be remembered for? What little differences set you apart?
3. Refusing to be clear or consistent with anything. Without any boundaries, the brand becomes confusing and hard to define. Branding is both who you are, and who you are NOT. That doesn’t mean you’re trapped in a box of your initial choosing. Many artists switch their branding for each big release. (Think Taylor Swift’s music style, image, and persona evolution over the years). But within each release, the brand is clearly defined, from music style to the media stories, all the way down to the merch.
Your brand is what you stand for and value, but it’s also how people feel about you and talk about you to others. The goal of this guide is to intentionally decide how you want to show up to the world, who you want to connect with, and what message, story, or vibe you’re expressing. The people that share these values are the ones most likely to become followers and make up your fanbase.
Everything makes up your brand. It’s your music style, the way you dress or look, how you communicate (or don’t communicate) with others, what your social media looks like, what your music videos look like, your logo, etc. It all adds up to this overall impression that people get of who you are and what you’re about.
Answer these to the best of your ability right now. If you’re stuck, just keep working through all of them and then circle back. These don’t necessarily need to be completed in order. Skip around if that helps. You may not know exactly how you want to position yourself until you actually start trying to. It’s good practice to re-evaluate these questions once in a while and see how they change, evolve, and/or get more specific.
ONE IMPORTANT NOTE: These questions are referencing YOU and YOUR MUSIC. You should keep both subjects in mind in reference to the questions. Your brand is your online personality just as much as your brand is the music itself.
Feel free to jump over to the worksheet version of this guide. You can print it, copy and paste it into your preferred note-taking app, or use the "Duplicate" button in the top right corner of the linked page to make your own editable copy inside the free app, Notion.
(Here are a few prompts to get the gears turning)
List down any specifics you can for your audience's demographics and try to sum up who you’re primarily targeting:
(It can be a combination)
(You’ve gone to shows, follow them closely online, bought merch, shared their music, etc.)
Here are a few more questions/prompts to get the gears turning on this one...
Picking a collection of colors, fonts, filters, and moods to stick with will help keep your branding consistent across the board. This can be tricky if you’re not a graphic designer, so do your best and just be conscious of what the mood/look of your content is so that you’re not changing it all the time.
Your brand’s look can evolve and change over time. It’s not uncommon for artists to switch branding looks up intentionally for bigger releases as it represents the new musical direction or ambition better. But core values almost always remain.
Once you’ve answered as many of these questions as possible, you can use the answers to chart your way forward. These answers will help you craft your social media posts, write a bio, design your merch, inform your live show, and more.
When you release content, make sure it fits the framework you’ve laid out above and also feels like content that your audience actually wants to see. People are looking for ways to express themselves, and they want you to be their voice. You want your content to speak for your audience so that they think to themselves, “I think the same way/feel the same way, and I want to share this to show people what I value or think is cool.” Keep tweaking and revising so you can narrow in on how your brand is represented and who it’s speaking to.
Dig in, get started, and have patience. This is about defining YOU. Who you are and who you want to be.