5 Ways to Build an Authentic Brand as an Independent Artist

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5 Ways to Build an Authentic Brand as an Independent Artist

Building an authentic and aligned brand as an independent artist is possibly the most important aspect of being a musician in the new world. I just got off a call with our?Artist Sanctuary Membership?with a Certified Playlist Curator, who said in order to create success especially in light of AI and the fact that anyone can create a song is that there is only ONE YOU.

The main battle is finding a way to be yourself. Sounds simple but somehow is deceptively difficult to achieve. The goal is to be you, unapologetically. But seeing yourself objectively is not easy to do.

Creating an authentic brand is possibly the new golden ticket, if you have the right elements. Let’s break it down and see if you’re on the right track!

1. Define Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

Your USP or what I often call your “Differentiator” are the key elements that set you apart from other musicians. It could be your unique sound, personal style, story, or even your values and beliefs. Take some time to think about what makes you unique and how you can leverage this in your branding.

Try this:

• Identify your unique sound:
• Genre:
• Sub-genre 1:
• Sub-genre 2:
• Use these sites to help: https://cyanite.ai/ , https://www.submithub.com/whats-my-genre
• Write out your mission statement to identify your unique values and beliefs. Start with writing out an Artist Mission statement. Why do you do music? What got you started in music? Was it a difficult time in your life? What was happening in your life that led you to be a musician? There is important information in the answers that will help lead you.
• Create a Pinterest board of your unique personal style to flesh it out more! Get creative and allow yourself to identify what you really love regardless of current fashion trends. To stand out – you want to focus on being a trendsetter not a trend follower. This requires an awareness of current fashion trends but getting ahead of them not copying them.
• Write out your story – how you came to be a musician. Include the odds you overcame to find the story!

2. Identify Your Unique Musical Identity and Develop Your Sound + Direction

You are the architect of your music. Every artist has a vision in their head of what they want. The problem is it’s deep in their brain and we need to bring it out. But one thing is clear. You are the architect of your sound. Yes, a producer can help, but if you don’t know what you want, it can make a mess of things.

Someone said this to me early on and it stuck. “Find your genre and stick with it.” It’s true we need to land our music in a lane.

• Look at the Grammy categories and start there.
• Then add sub-genres and write out a description that includes the instrumentation and layers that you hear.
• Make a playlist of songs that have the sound you are looking for.
• Follow your instincts musically.

Knowing what you want and how to get it is the key to finding your sound and direction.

• Take time listening to the sound of music to find your direction, not the lyrics or vocals as much.
• Listen to the sound of the instruments and production. Make a playlist of sounds you want on your record.
• Narrow it down to 20. Write out notes of exactly what you like about each song – Capture timestamps of instruments and elements you want to bring into your sound.

Spend ample time working on developing a sound to achieve the vision you hear in your head before you start writing or make your record so you have a clear direction of what you want and where you are headed from the start.

For more help with your sound and direction, we take you through a step-by-step process in our Signature Songwriting Circle.?Click here to learn more here.

3. Create Your Visual Identity

Your visual identity is a big part of your overall identity. It is often the first thing people see even before they hear your music. To help your visual brand identity stand out, spend some time identifying what you like and envision. These elements should be cohesive and reflect your music and personality. Your visual identity should LOOK like your music SOUNDS.

Visual identity includes elements like your band logo, album covers, merchandise, and social media graphics.

For more help with your visual brand identity – get my Brand Module inside my Step Up to the Spotlight Artist Development Program.?Click to learn more about our Free 10 Day Trial here.

4. Develop Your Voice

Your voice is how you communicate with your audience. It is two-fold.

Your actual voice and your brand voice. Since I talk a lot about your actual voice in my Blogs and materials, today I’ll focus more on your brand voice.

Your brand voice should reflect your personality, ideas and values. Whether you’re communicating through your music, social media, or interviews, your voice should be consistent and authentic.

Spend time on your artist mission (#1 above), and getting your values and vision into your songs and music in a way that represents your artist identity (#2). Then work on the copy for your website, bio, press releases and social content that reflects and resonates with your artist identity and brand effectively.

5. Find the Right Audience

Finding the right audience is key to creating a successful music brand. It starts with knowing who your audience is. You need to understand their tastes, preferences, and values. This will help you create music and content that resonates with them.

The key is to understand that your audience is people who share similar interests and values. To make this super simple, basically, your audience is a version of you.

Start by profiling yourself. Create a “Listener Avatar” Profile.

• My Listener is xxx (fill in the blank).
• They live in xx (fill in the blank).
• They love xx music (fill in the blank).
• They follow these brands… (fill in the blank).
• They follow these artists … (fill in the blank).
• They go to these music venues to see music … (fill in the blank).

Keep building out the Listener Avatar until it really reflects the ideal Listener of your music. The more specific you get, the clearer your marketing voice will be. You need to know who you are talking to to craft successful brand content that speaks directly to them. Avoid trying to reach everyone or cast your net too wide, no matter how diverse your followers might be. The key to marketing is to identify your niche audience and speak directly to them for the most success.

JOIN ME EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 12 pm Eastern for my Weekly Livestream: Join me on?YouTube?(and Instagram, Facebook) – where I discuss the Blog of the Week followed by a short Q&A where you can ask me questions.

JOIN THE?ARTIST SANCTUARY MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP?FOR MUSICIANS Step inside a global community of like-minded artists, combined with customized coaching and transformational tools to amplify your authentic voice, rise above industry noise, and achieve true artistic fulfillment. Ignite your creative power and build a lasting impact as a visionary artist.

About Cari Cole

Cari Cole is the CEO / Founder of caricole.com and CCVM: Label Without Walls. She is a Holistic Vocal Coach, Artist Development Expert, A&R Director, and Songwriter based in New York City helping artists for the past 38 years. She is a mentor for Women in Music and The Association of Independent Music Publishers. Her latest venture, CCVM a label services company, provides artists with a seamless path from creation to completion. After 30+ years of observing the overwhelm and challenges that artists face, Cari pulled together the best top creative professionals and designed a new approach to supporting our artists.

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