What A Strong Artist Brand Actually Looks Like (The Artist Rise #042)

What A Strong Artist Brand Actually Looks Like

Welcome back to The Artists Rise! This week we're digging into what an "artist brand" really is in practice.

Spoiler alert: It's more than just curated cover art and color schemes.

The Myth

If you think about branding, your mind instantly jumps to the Nike's and Starbucks' of the world, reciting slogans and picturing logos that we all know like the back of our hands.

And that's exactly what branding is in business form, but what about for people?

Branding for businesses is NOT the same as it is for individual artists or bands. It's not that simple.

Sure, artists can have logos and color schemes they like to live in, but there's a bigger conversation to be had when it comes to real branding.

Branding In the Wild

Have you ever been talking with a friend and one of you says "that's on brand" in reference to something either you or someone you know does? Like they did something or said something that is just so fitting for there personality that your reaction is simply "that's so like you".

That's the kind of brand we're talking about here. The personality, the energy you bring, and the vibe you present yourself with.

Now granted, these things are harder to capture than colors and fonts. But there's an easy way to reframe your thinking when it comes to your own brand.

"What Impression Am I Leaving?"

Your brand as an artist is simply the impression that you leave with your audience.

It's how you're perceived. In reality, that's all business branding is too, it's just more clear cut than what it is for artists.

Think about this: when you think about artists like Taylor Swift or Lady Gaga, what are some things that come to mind instantly?

You come up with answers without even thinking about it. Taylor Swift and the "eras" or all of her relationship songs, Lady Gaga with her extravagance (who else wears a meat dress?).

All big artists have something that is their leading impression. And while in a lot of cases there's something visual attached, it's sometimes as simple as the vibe and energy.

Take Noah Kahan. He's made a massive name for himself just by writing sad, honest acoustic songs. He's not doing anything fancy visually to stand out, he's just him, but from top to bottom, his impression is the same.

The Missing Step

A lot of artists know at their core who they are as artists. It's in the music, it's a large piece of who they are.

But most of them aren't taking the time to actually define it.

As human beings, we're too complicated for all aspects of ourselves to be captured in one brand, so it's important to actually take the time to define what the artist version of yourself actually looks like.

That's your brand.

Without defining your brand, it constantly evolves with little iterations that aren't even on your radar, just like how we evolve as people.

It's like trying to remember the dream you had last night that you didn't write down; it keeps fading further away from its original form and eventually turns into a vague version that barely resembles the actual dream.

Branding isn't supposed to be guesswork, so why are artists winging it all of the time?

Branding Brought to life

Look at your music, revisit old songs from earlier stages, and see what is at the core of your catalog. Find your why.

Your brand is already there within you. You just have to define it.

And once you define it, then it's time to bring the branding into practice.

Show up with the same kind of content. Deliver new music in familiar and consistent ways. Make sure that everywhere you exist on the internet matches who you are.

Because branding, in its simplest form, is just consistency.

Go back to square one. Define your foundation. Then build from there.

The Big Question

I'll leave you with this one rule of thumb:

If you showed someone your Instagram profile, a new TikTok post, or your website, would they be able to instantly recognize that it's you?

If the answer is no, you're venturing off course.

If that last question made you think, I made something for exactly that moment. The free Social Media Audit Checklist takes 10 minutes and tells you clearly where your brand is landing and where it needs work.

Grab it now