Who Are You?!?!?

I've worked with a few dozen artists now mastering their music. From albums to single or EP's I've seen my fair share of different acts and personalities. The one thing that I've noticed in the 2+ years I've been seriously working with artists is how unsure they are with what they want. This isn't to say all, but I am working with independent artists, some just finishing their first project, some trying to get a song ready for radio play. But the crazy thing I've come to realize is these artists have no idea what they want their future in music to be!! It's like they are playing the lottery and just hoping something they create strikes it big! I really see musicians as a 3 class system, and feel free to debate this with me.

The first musician is the, "I just do this for fun". That's great, there is nothing wrong with being this musician. Hell, I am this musician, but I enjoy the creativity of making music and sharing it with family and friends. But I have NO aspirations to be an artist. Its not my thing. But I understand that, and if you understand that its okay. People do all sorts of things that they don't have to be a professional at, you may enjoy cycling, that doesn't me you want to compete in the Tour De France. Music is the same way. Create, spread it at your leisure and enjoy.

The second musician is the, "I should be signed". Really? I have run across a multitude of artist who have local success. Hey, your from the community, you have 30 friends who are willing to come out and support your shows, buy your releases, try and sell you to their peers. That's awesome! But guess what, no one outside of that circle knows who you are. And to be honest, your not really trying to build your fan base. You have a twitter account, or a facebook page but you really haven't engaged any response. You spam your accounts about releases and shows but you don't respond to fans. An average person who somehow discovers your music mentions you on twitter and you believe it was your right and no thanks is spread back to your fan. Thats insulting and will lead you down a road that is fraught with failure.

The third musician is the, "I am going to give this my all". This is the musician who is always looking for another way to move their band, or brand into the spotlight. They are doing all the right things. Engaging their audience, making plans and sticking to them. Being accessible. This is the direction that the new independent artist needs to take. This is the social media world we live in. The major deal blockbuster contracts are no longer being handed out right and left. The industry is being cautious. But guess what, you can be grossly successful if you market yourself or "BrandYourself" to your key audience.


lesson of the day:

Know the artist you want to become. The thing to remember is you can record 100 songs a day. They could be the best songs ever written. But guess who is going to listen to these songs if you don't build an audience? NO ONE.  BrandYourself!

Introduction!

This is going to be my blog for marketing information directed mainly towards independent artists. I will say with a little creativity most of the concepts can be formed to other venues of entrepreneurship.

A little about myself. My name is Josh Campbell. I am a mastering engineer with my own mastering company Mastering The Universe. I also do audio restoration and analog to digital transfers. I am in the process of refinishing my website www.masteringtheuniverse.com (shameless plug). Through my mastering company I have been assisting artists with marketing. That is how I came up with the idea of doing this blog. BrandYourself. 

Every single one of us is our own brand. The goal is to decide what you want your brand to be and stand for. Then how to expose that to the masses. This isn't wet spaghetti on the wall. There are very subtle but necessary steps that we can all take to further our "brand" in the right direction instead of throwing it all out there and seeing what sticks.  I'll be talking about do's and don't of social media (and no matter how much you hate it, in this day and age if you want to build your brand, you NEED it). I will discuss recent  outlets and brainstorm on ways to use them towards your artists advantage. Not everything out there is going to work for you, and there isn't any need in wasting time on a format that won't yield results. 

I will also be trying to post more light-hearted information from time to time, maybe philosophy discussion to keep everyone engaged and not always thinking about how I can further my brand more.

Lastly I will be eventually doing a second blog in-which I will be discussing more technical aspects of recording. I am not sure when I will be able to start that though.

Sit back, enjoy, discuss, build your brand and become rich and send me bags of money.