Imagine the following scenario: you consistently release music, you put together quality visuals, you even run marketing and promotion campaigns but the needle got stuck and you’re not seeing considerable progress. That happens for one reason and one reason alone: you fell into a branding routine. Art is ever-changing and your branding has to reflect your evolving music that has a life of its own. Read on to discover the 7 surefire indicators of needing a major change in your music branding and how to fix it!
7. It’s mostly a copy/paste approach when it comes to your ads.
If you’re not putting in any thought, if you’re not questioning the value you’re getting per click, impression, sign up, and just blindly copy/paste what worked in the past, you’re LOSING DOLLARS. You have to consider if the song you’re releasing is appropriate for the usual audience comprised of women age 18 to 30 or if your new narrative is a better fit for mature men who’ve lived life. Every song story is unique and while the general fanbase should be homogeneous, your money is better spent if you readjust your target audience every time.
6. Your brand mission does not represent who you are anymore or what you talk about.
Sure you might have started out as the pop singer who brings positive vibes to the table but now you’re leaning towards experimental jazz and your website, photos, message, colors, persona, online impression do not reflect anymore who you are in the present moment. That needs to change. Rework your entire bio if you have to but don’t let your music be different than your brand message.
5. You don’t get excited when clicking your own social profiles and website.
You don’t need to have a narcissistic personality disorder to be able to enjoy your own website experience. But your social media presence combined with your website should be exactly that: a top-to-bottom, start-to-end personal experience for the existing fans and newcomers. If there’s no intention behind every single aspect of who you are as a musician online, get back to the drawing board.
4. You get neutral feedback from your top supporters.
Your day ones know you and what you’re about. They know when you’re doing great and they know when you’re slacking. You’ll very evidently feel a difference in attitude and feedback when your branding is limping. They’ll leave polite comments and likes instead of hearts. Be very afraid when that happens. You want your biggest fans to RAVE about your music, website, merch, social media posts. If their excitement is fading, it’s high time for reinvention.
3. Your visuals are outdated.
Musicians and music artists per general get very lost in their art. Photos from two years ago might seem like done a week ago. Do an inventory check of the timeline of your photos, videos, design, templates, themes, and be honest with yourself. Are these essential elements still up to date with the rest of the industry? The business changes every single semester. Actually every single week but more evidently every single semester. So stay with both feet on the ground and be extremely honest with yourself.
2. Someone with credibility actually told you you could do better.
This one hurts! But if you’re lucky enough to know someone who does professional artist development, branding consultation, or marketing strategizing, humbly ask for their opinion and take. it. seriously. These people get paid a lot of money to be honest and improve companies, artists, and public personas. If they agree to professionally criticize you for very little, or even for free, you take that seriously and work on it. Do NOT ever defend yourself when you’re talking to someone with more experience than you. They’ve heard it all under the moon and they’re not there to make you feel better about yourself but to tell you black and white how things are. If you’re not ready to take your music brand to the top levels, work on your insecurities first otherwise you’ll get stuck at riding with amateurs forever.
1. You’ve changed locations.
Hear us out for a second. Even if you’re a medium-size level artist (more than 100k fans but less than a million), you’re still subject to the algorithm and your posts will suffer or benefit depending on the location you’re in. So if you move cities, or worse, countries, rebranding your message to accomodate the new crowd is a prerequisite for you to smoothly continue evolving your fanbase. Don’t waste your budget on your previous audience. Social media will be of higher value if you embrace the flow and your new dot on the map.
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Blue Rhymez Entertainment 