What is a Brand?
Your brand is your stamp on the world. Your brand represents everything about your company/band.
It goes to a much deeper level then just creating a name and logo.
Its the window into what you do, and encompasses EVERYTHING you do as an artist.
This means your ethos, your commitment, your work ethic, your style, who you do business with, your reputation, you beliefs… These all come together to create what we call your brand.
Just look at Apple. Yes, they have great products, but do you think people are really buying for the products?
No, they are buying because they recognise, know and trust the Apple brand. They know what to expect straight away from an Apple product.
Sleek design, speed and reliability.
Be conscious of what you are doing in the public eye, both good and bad, as this is what people will remember your brand for.
Your Music is part of your brand, not the be all and end all
As the title just said, music is not the be all and end all of your brand as a musician/artist.
Yes, of course your music is important and it should be at the core of everything that you do, but, its not like the old days anymore. If you want to step up and put yourself above the noise, you can’t expect for someone else get you there, you need to think bigger, you need to expand into being an entertainment entity, a distinct and stand alone presence in your field.
Start thinking about more than just playing live and selling records.
Think merchandise, sponsorships, partnerships with other bands and businesses, synchronisations, licensing, tv (maybe a youtube channel specially for something else your band does), fully branded website, giving your fans a complete service, fan loyalty and more.
Going down these avenues will not only create a solid presence within the industry and build brand recognition, but it will also bring in a whole host of new revenue streams at a time when independent artists need to maximise as many revenue streams as possible.
The Internet makes it easy for us to explore and try new things, if you are not already, now is an amazing time to start thinking about building your brand.
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… So make sure you have a plan
So, how are you going to create YOUR brand?
I am also working on this process right now. I have only really just begun starting to figure out the direction I want to take with MusoMecca.
I am still working on it, but heres my plan so far:
Brand Name: “MusoMecca”
Tag Line: “Preparing You For Your Music Career”
Ethos: “Aiding The Development of Emerging Music Artists”
I then have what I call the “MusoMecca Pillars”. These are the main services that I will provide via MusoMecca and intend to develop, strengthen and evolve over time. My main features if you like. Following this, I then have three core aims that I strive to achieve, my long term goals.
This, I think, is the perfect way to ensure I always work to do a better job and offer the best service I can. As an example, one of my aims for MusoMecca is:
“To be the No.1 point of call of information for Emerging Independent Artists”.
Its a bold and large aim, but thats what you need. It is in no way unrealistic to me at all, but I know in order to get there, everyday, I’m going to have to continually get better and work on it everyday.
Not only is that going to help me achieve my goal, but its going to help me grow on a personal and business level as well… Setting aims is a WIN WIN!
Finally I have objectives, S.M.A.R.T objectives. Smart stands for:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic and
Timely
These sit just under my aims, each time I reach a SMART objective, I set a new, higher objective that coincides with my ultimate aim.… And so far, that is my basic plan for not only reaching my goals, but also to measuring how quickly I get there… Because I will get there.
…Because its time to embrace the future of our Industry
Lets face it, you are the future of our industry. Its going to be up to you to shape the way generations of musicians, artists and performers think about their art and how best to go about developing and distributing it.
Do you want the future generation of artists struggling, still pondering the right course of action to take? No, of course we don’t.
That doesn’t help our industry at all.
You can make sure they don’t have to by putting this to practice and proving that thinking and acting like a brand is a sustainable way for all muso’s to live their dream and fulfil their music career goals. Its time to become a brand.
Ask yourself this:
Do you look attractive to an Angel Investor?
As always, thanks for taking the time out to read this article and I welcome any comments. Cleaus N.Browne
