They say confession is good for the soul, so here goes nothing. I, Saqqara M. Grant, have not been taking care of my brand as well as I should. There I said it. I hope that no one will judge me.
During the last 12 weeks, I have embarked upon a journey that has taken me from thinking like a small business owner to full fledge brand conglomerate. Along the way, I have continued to share my gems of brand wisdom with you but it wasn’t until last Tuesday that I realized that I needed to do more. It has been 6 months since Brand Your Music started and to be honest, like many of you in your own careers, I didn’t know how it was going to pan out. I thought I had a solid idea and a good outlet, but I didn’t anticipate the rapid growth of this movement. I created and adjusted my overall brand strategy along the way, got some really interesting feedback from some of you, and ultimately learned where my brand strengths and weaknesses were.
The point I’m trying to make is that your brand cannot stay the same forever. Realistically, if you want to continue to make an impact on your core audience and appeal to new ones your brand image must evolve. Your brand has to have a makeover every now and then. The change can be as big as rethinking the complete image of the brand (new band logo, a completely new style of music, new look for your band, etc.) or as small as changing the way you connect or interact with your core audience. With that said, I am extremely excited to offer you the new Brand Your Music.
Feel free to offer your feedback on our Facebook page or tell me directly on Twitter.
Based on your extensive consumer research, you’ve found that your ideal consumer is Natalie. A 31-year-old professional who enjoys spending time to connect with her friends on Facebook and likes the fan pages of artists like Kem, Jill Scott, and Ledisi. Natalie also likes to listen to internet radio stations like Pandora while at work, and prefers to listen to XM radio on her drive home. Her salary is more than reasonable, so she has extra income for recreational activities like concerts. Natalie often attends local outdoor festivals and has traveled with her friends to the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans the last three years. This description gives you an idea of what your ideal consumer profile should read like. Obviously, the more detailed the research the better the consumer profile.
In the ever-changing world of the current music industry, artists are constantly looking for ways to promote themselves. Today’s artists, signed and unsigned, are using the mixtape to its greatest advantage. Originally intended to showcase a DJs live mixing skills, the mixtape has evolved into a promotional tool that is essential to today’s artist no matter what the genre. The mixtape, as a part of Hip-Hop culture, goes back to the 1970s during Hip-Hop’s emergence on the streets of New York. Fans of artists like Afrika Bambaata and Kool Herc commonly recorded their live shows and eventually spread the tapes around to other fans. This, in turn, widened the reach of their music. The mixtape has now become a staple in the music industry with artists like Rasheeda releasing volumes of her “Boss Bitch Music 1 and 2″ to create anticipation for Volume 3.
Releasing a mixtape can benefit an artist in a few ways. First, most mixtapes are free. This allows the consumer to try out your style of music without any “buyer’s remorse.” The last thing you want is for a dissatisfied fan to hit their social networks and spread their distaste for your music. Of course, everyone is not going to take to your brand of music but at least they won’t demand their money back. Second, if your mixtape is “hosted” by a well known DJ it strengthens your overall promotion*. You (the artist) are essentially using their (the DJ’s) status to solidify your place in the music business. Third, if your mixtape generates enough buzz it can position you to be able to tour or do spot dates (a single show). A successful mixtape can generate serious interest in your music from fans and industry professionals alike. So what’s the key? Good music. If you’re actually good at what you do, people will gravitate to you.
*Before we go any further, a distinction must be made. There are mixtapes that are just that. A mix of songs, typically of a certain genre, complied on a CD. These can sometimes be hosted by DJs but most times they’re not. Then there are mixtapes released by artists or prominent DJs. For the purpose of this discussion, these are the mixtapes I’m referring to.
There are certain laws that are universal. What goes around comes around, what you give is what you get, and give people what they want. This last universality is the cornerstone of basic business. Find the need and fill it. How else could you explain why anybody buys anything? But while this “law” may be true, it isn’t always the right kind of mentality. Business minds think along the lines of creating a demand rooted in worthlessness and then persuading the consumer to feel that they need it. This thinking permeates every industry in the world. The consumer, nonetheless, is left to his/her own mind to distinguish whether or not a presumed need is actually a need or simply a want. When a company presents a product to you that fills a certain need, your purchase or non-purchase of said item sends a strong message to the company. Your dollar becomes a vote for their product. Keep in mind, that every business is established to do one thing and one thing only: make money. It is naive for you, as a consumer, to think that a legitimate business with expenses, overhead, and any other miscellaneous expenditures would only be “trying” to sell you something.
What does all this have to do with the music business? Record labels, music management companies, music marketing companies, and even this wonderful music blog you’re reading now are all in business to sell you something. In my case, I’m selling an idea but I’m still selling. They’re all competing for your attention, so when your attention focuses in on a particular artist from Company A, Companies B, C, and D all take notes. You ever notice how some new artists come out and they look like a knockoff of an established artist? What’s happening is that a formula is being created for success. If the R&B girl from Company A dyed her hair blonde, put on a sexy outfit, and danced herself around to the tune of moving 250,000 copies sold in her first week of release, please believe that every executive at Companies B, C, and D with a new R&B girl will market her this same way. So the big question is, who has the power? Is it the consumers who just so happen to like R&B girl from Company A, or is it because she was marketed by the company so well that it made people like her? It’s the classic chicken vs. egg conversation. Do you remember Christina Milian? What’s the difference between her and Beyonce´? Think long and hard about this. There’s no humungous difference in terms of look, talent, or personality. If this is true, then why isn’t Christina Milian as big as Beyonce´? Have we all been duped into believing that Bey is really that good?
As a person whose loses interest quickly, I always appreciate a good surprise. Learning how to capture an audience’s attention is great, but learning how to keep it is better.
As an artist, you should always push the boundaries of your artistry to keep your audience engaged. I’m not suggesting that you go to extreme lengths to do it, but you should keep it fresh. Suppose you’re a new pop singer who just got signed to a recording contract with a very well respected Hip-Hop legend. You can sing, dance, and dabble in a little acting from time to time. You just so happen to look like every other Pop star out right now (fairly attractive, good physique, and a decent sound), how do you attract an audience and then keep them engaged? Both are very good questions, the first answer has to do with image and sound. If you look like every other typical Pop star ever to touch the music industry, you have to work to create an image that sets you a part. Focus on the things that are unique to you. How many brunette Pop stars have you ever seen? Not many because the tradition has always been blonde is better. Create an image that goes against the grain of what people are used to seeing. Now that your image is created, define a sound that challenges the conventions of Pop music. Will the lyrical content be the force that drives your brand of Pop music or will it be the production? Madonna, throughout her career, has been a master of keeping her image and sound fresh. She was able to keep her audience’s attention by constantly changing. I know what you’re thinking, but shouldn’t an artist’s brand be consistent? Yes, but there is such a thing as consistent spontaneity. For instance, Lil’ Kim’s brand was outrageous and sexy. Every time you saw her at an event, she may have looked differently but her outrageous sexiness remained. Same with Lady Gaga, she’s consistently eccentric with her image and you hardly ever see her look the same.
Keeping an audience’s attention is simple: create music that reflects their lifestyle. If the music is relevant to their life, they’ll keep listening. Mary J. Blige’s audience has grown with her and her music reflects this growth. Her lyrical ideas are more mature and therefore appeal to her core audience. She may appear on records with new artists just to keep her brand in the minds of the younger generation, but she’s not making music that appeals to a younger generation specifically. To make music that your audience will relate to you have to know your audience.
Your core musical brand idea should be simple. The entire idea should be able to be expressed in a single tweet. Quickly, think of your favorite singer right now (doesn’t matter the genre) and describe their musical brand in less than 140 characters. If you can, then this artist has accomplished brand simplicity but there’s something even more important than simplicity, brand profundity. The commonly used expression A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush is simple yet profound. This one profound statement can be used for various scenarios. Now think of your own musical brand and ask yourself if it’s simple and profound? It should be both, but doesn’t necessarily have to be both in order to be successful. Simple is good enough but if you want to be the type of artist that stands the test of time, your music brand should also be profound. Think about this simple yet profound statement People only remember what you give. What will people remember most about your music?
Simply put I am a filmmaker, when I picked up a camera that is what I aspired to be and that is what I do everyday. Some people refer to me as a videographer or worst of all cameraman, but I guess they just don’t understand the full scope of what I may be doing that day. 99% of the time I have to oversee every aspect of the productions I work on, so even to just say I direct sells what I do a little short.
How would you describe your brand of cinematography?
I honestly am still looking for a way to describe by brand or style of cinematography, since this is my 4th year as a filmmaker, I think I am just starting to identify stylistic cues in my own work. It may be something more easily identifiable by an outsiders eye. I am a fan of dutch angles, wide shots and motion. Composition and finding perspectives that are unique is another element I look to highlight, I never just want to use angles people are used to seeing, so I sometimes have to really put on my thinking cap to compose a shot. People often see something in my work and say “man that camera is dope, it looks so good”! So I guess I’ll have to take those backhanded compliments until people understand there was someone operating the camera to create what they see.
What other directors/filmmakers/photographers have inspired you?
I’m inspired by a lot of people for different reasons, from the filmmaker side, Spike Lee without a question; it didn’t start that way, I’ve been aware of him since I was a child, but to say I was always inspired by him was not the case. I gained a deeper appreciation for what he does after thoroughly studying all his films, even after seeing them growing up. Since becoming a filmmaker everything is seen with a different set of eyes, then when I saw X in the 90′s or Inside Man when it came out. She’s Gotta Have It really did it for me, because that showed me what you can do when you get off your ass and make a film, just do it! He had a teeny budget and access to only a few locations, but he made something that changed the game and then kept doing it. Him along with Scorcese also let me know that you gotta bring people into your world. They both tell stories about what they know, what they can pull life experience from, in turn creating a level of authenticity in the film. A lot of what they both did early on were unique stories that were close to home.
Stanley Kubrick is another influence, he made me fall in love with wide shots and composition, also I like the abstract traits mucht of his work has. You can tell he was a fearless filmmaker who was doing it his way. Sometimes you’ll see a scene, that seems like nothing but it had a purpose in his mind and it’s up to you to figure it out or at least try. Film making in his time wasn’t about spoon feeding the viewer.
Hype Williams is dope to me because of his visual style, truth be told all of Hype’s videos aren’t or ever we’re groundbreaking in concept, but you can’t say those videos aren’t pretty to look at. His influence can be seen in hip hop videos to this day, just look at hip hop videos pre 1995, then once he really started making a name for himself observe how the visual landscape changed.
Chris Robinson is from the Baltimore area; my hometown. In addition to being dope for a long time you gotta be inspired by someone from the same place who makes a name for themselves. Also once I found out what his first video was, looking at that, to see what he has become is a huge inspiration. I’ll leave it up to you all to find out what that first video was!
Photographers, I like Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Henri-Cartier Bresson (HCB for short). There are a bunch who have photos I like, but the aforementioned have a body of work that appeals to 3 different parts of me and I feel they influenced most anybody else I could list. Avedon defined high fashion photography, his photos are timeless and it amazes me that he could do that type of work in his time period. If you put any of his photos next to a Vanity Fair spread currently it doesn’t look dated. Most of all I like his portrait work, a lot of it was based off creating moments people weren’t used to seeing from a subject and he found ways to get his subjects to drop their guard so he could create a unique photo.
Newton, changed the way people look at photos of naked women, I like how his photos are not just about the naked woman, but the environment around her. You have to search his photos to make everything make sense and observe how it works in unison. Anybody can photograph a naked woman, but that’s not how you make a name for yourself. If he wasn’t creating unique scenes and those naked women happened to be in them, no one would even know his name.
HCB, was a master of the moment. His photography was technically masterful, but also about capturing the moment that will never return. Sometimes I just like to go with the flow and capture something great that just happens. I feel you get the best stuff when you don’t try to dictate every piece of whats going on and that is kind of my approach in directing and photography. I like to explain what I’m going for and see what I get, if you just tell your talent “do it this way” you never know what you’ll be missing.
You’ve worked on projects with artists like The Cool Kids and Ludacris, what excites you about filming musicians in their element? Is there an energy that certain artists bring that makes the filming process more interesting for you?
The thing that excites me most about working with anybody, is the possibility to do something different. It doesn’t have to be different in a kooky or otherworldly type of way, but just something your fans may not be used to seeing. It’s hard these days to find new ways to portray hip hop because a lot of history precedes people in my position, often the first step is just to take a look at what those artists have done and if they are open to it, portray them in a way they haven’t been seen.The fact that most of my work features musicians is just a side of effect of working closely with people in the music industry. It is a blessing because once I started, I had a lot of access to different subjects. I’ve done at least 20-30 videos, mostly small budget stuff, but I’ve discovered along the way I’m just more interested in things that aren’t contrived. Music videos are cool as a learning tool, but even when I reach a point where I have the clientele of Hype or Chris Robinson, I don’t know how interesting it will be. If every project I do could be with someone who gave me the creative license to do what I want, that’s what would keep me interested.The artists who come with open minded energy and possibly share similar interests, those unions are going to work best.
What’s the best part of what you do? Where can people go and get more information about Artemus Jenkins?
The best part about what I do, is no matter what the project or how I feel that day, once I start shooting, any negative feelings I have fade away. Truth be told, every project isn’t my dream project, but I learn from them all and I appreciate the knowledge and opportunities they all yield. If I can constantly find joy in something I do even when I don’t feel like it, that must be what I’m supposed to be doing. So it’s been a relief to finally figure out what the hell I’m here to do. People can go to www.artemusjenkins.com, that’s where my reel is, some videos and a blog I try desperately to be good at. The blog gives a bit of a window into my interests, but like I said, I’m trying to be good at it and don’t know if i’m succeeding. Twitter I guess lends some insight, some days I say nothing, some days I got a lot to say and people tell me it entertains them so you can check that out @artemusjenkins . Aside from that google my name and see what else pops up, maybe there is a sex tape out there, that seems to be the hip thing to do these days.
The longer I’m in this business, the more I realize how much hard work really goes into it. So what if you’re an artist with a brand of music so unique it can change the world. So what, if you manage, do publicity for, or market an artist with a brand so unique it can change the world. Who cares? Of course you do, and the artist you work with does, but how do you make others care about your music brand?
First, as an artist you have to believe your music is good enough. The official term for this concept in marketing communication is called self-efficacy or do you believe you can do it? If you honestly believe you can be successful in this business, the next step involves identifying the resources that can help you achieve success.
As an artist, there are two groups you appeal to: consumers and music executives. These are the people you need to persuade. The executives or industry folk have the ability to create opportunities for you. You don’t have to think in terms of record label executives but more along the lines of personnel at music publishing houses, booking agents, and DJs. Consumers are your target audience. These are the people that stamp your musical product as something they want. If you can effectively persuade both these groups, your chances for success greatly increase.
Coincidentally, an artist can take a singular approach to appeal to both groups. There is a general approach which consists of three things 1) Being a person of your word 2) Creating good music consistently and 3) Making your presence felt. The more people see you, the more they remember your face. When they remember your face they’re more likely to engage you in conversation and during this conversation when you tell them you’re going to do something and you do actually do it, you become more memorable. Their now more inclined to oblige a simple request like listening to your music or even better without you even asking they spread the word about your music. This is networking 101.
There is another more specified approach you can take when appealing only to your consumers. I spent a whole year of my life and tens of thousands of dollars learning these techniques and it would be impossible to list them all in this entry. However, over the next few entries I’ll be able to explain the general workings of many common persuasive communication techniques. If you’re interested in specific techniques for your brand, I would like to offer you the opportunity to have your brand assessed by me. Send your info to askmeaboutmusic@gmail.com. Until then stay tuned for your tips to S.U.C.C.E.S.S.
Most musicians rely on their managers, lawyers, publicists, business managers, and anybody else to handle their own business. The savvy musician knows that it is far better to create by their own hand than rely on someone else’s. Today’s industry is much more conducive to the creation of vertically integrated entertainment companies created by independent musicians but many independent musicians are still finding comfort in having someone else do all the work. Newsflash! No one can take care of your business better than you can. If that means you need to actually read music industry books, get out the house and network with folks you don’t know, or even pay attention to a blogger who desperately wants to help build you build your music brand (shameless plug), in addition to performing and creating music, then that’s what you need to do. People will tell you that you need a team to help you and yes this is true but who will this team work for? They’ll work for you the artist. How can you know what each team member’s role is if you don’t know the business? How will you know if what they’re charging you is a customary percentage of your earnings? How, how, how? I’m not saying you need to be a master of every single aspect of the industry, that would be way too much work for you. What I am saying is that you should have some semblance and understanding of the general rules and procedures of the music business. Once you’ve gotten your foundation underneath you, then you hire experts.
An extension of the Brand Your Music column, Ask Me About Music offers more in-depth brand analysis for those who are interested in music branding.
The entries on this site are a mix of basic music industry principles (how the music industry works), marketing communication techniques (how to talk to your intended audience), and practical application (how to apply these techniques to your current strategy). If for any reason you have a question that cannot be answered by the information provided on the site, feel free to send your question to askmeaboutmusic@gmail.com.
