Do you have a Personal Brand Statement that defines you as a musician? If you are like most musicians/guitarists you probably have never even thought about it. This morning I attended a Marketing Seminar where the key note speaker, Valerie Pelan, lectured on Personal Brand and Visibility Management, and I sure did learn a heck of a lot that can be applied directly to one’s music career. Having a Personal Brand Statement sets you apart from 99% of the other musicians, as well as helping you to more effectively and efficiently realize your goals.
Don’t have any guitar goals yet? Now’s the time to make them. If you need help setting some solid goals check out our first Guitar Player Zen article ever here.
So what is Personal Branding?
You are a brand. You are in charge of your brand. There is no single path to success. There is no one right way to create the brand called You. Except this: Start Today, Or else.
-Tom Peters, in Fast Company Magazine
As we all know by now, the music business is about who you know more-so than about what you know or how good you are. (ie-Ashlee Simpson-[I just puked a little bit typing that])
People are judged not only on what they do but on how they do it; it is all about the opinion that people have of you. More specifically it’s about:
- Interpersonal Skills
- Personal Style
- Perception about you
- Reputation-word of mouth advertising
There are two common mistakes people make when it comes to personal branding:
- Fallacies of Recognition- Where you do not take personal responsibility for your own career and put blame and responsibility on others ( Labels, mainstream media, fans, clubs, psycho groupies)
- Fallacies of Reward-Expecting external positive reinforcement for everything (The reality is that most times, even when you are on the right track, you will not see people praising you left and right. You must develop your own internal reward system, and this is best done by breaking down your big goals into smaller steps, feeling pride and accomplishment after achieving them.)
Marketing-Branding
Marketing is creating customer awareness and demand management. If no one knows about you, or if nobody wants to hear you play, you are in trouble my friend. Proper Marketing is necessary for musical success and involves:
- Self-Positioning
- Self-Promotion
- You (are the Product)
- Place
Differentiation is also a key factor to success. It can be subtle or extreme. Extreme is definitely more noticeable.
Differentiation is all about being extreme; rewarding the best and weeding out the ineffective.
-Jack Welch
, Straight From The Gut
So how do I make my own Personal Branding Statement?
Take an honest look at yourself and what you can achieve and what do you want to say in the context of your musical career. It should:
- Tell how you are Distinct and Unique
- Tell the benefits you provide
- Tell how you fulfill a need
- Tell how you are better and different than the competition
So… What’s yours? Share with us what your statement is by leaving comments!
If you are interested in learning more about how to take your musical career to the next level and developing your own Personal Brand visit Jeffrey Shawn Music Consulting .
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12 responses so far ↓
1 Nick Calandrino // Dec 14, 2007 at 7:24 pm
My Page Tag Is “Aces High, No Limit,
Anyone who knows me knows I don’t hold back on my audience & at my age I’m not looking for a “Deal” I’m looking for another place to Play.
Here is my Mission statement.
So You are playing music for others to hear. As you begin to more clearly hear what the “dance” is about,you understand you are a soul on the journey towards your own liberation,and everything is grist for the mill, including your guitar and your guitar playing. Then you are doing what the bagavad gita talks about; you are playing the guitar as an offering to God. So you’re playing it back into the circle. And as you use the guitar playing as an act of purification, it’s no longer’my’ guitar and it’s not played for ego gratification. It’s part of sadhana (spiritual quest) it’s an offering; The whole process is an offering. Then the guitar playing starts to get pure and starts to come from a higher and higher space. If you listen to, for example Jimi Hendrix play Little Wing you will hear a being playing to God, and the circle is so closed that it’s god playing to itself. Other human beings simply listen in. And because it’s played that way, the subtle consciousness of the artist doesn’t suck another person into “being Entertained”.When you are part of the instrument of the music of God just playing to itself, then anyone can tune in and become part of that same circle; and there’s only one of it. there’s no seperation.
Thank’s Y’all, Nick Calandrino
2 David Sandusky // Dec 15, 2007 at 2:07 pm
This is great advice for all. I would add that your personal brand statement is only a statement; the experience people have with you is the brand…when they match, you are a star.
3 admin // Dec 15, 2007 at 2:29 pm
@Nick- That is one helluva comment! Love it man. I am going to use that as a post pretty soon and give you credit for it of course! I agree with you. Guitar playing is very spiritual to me. Sort of a purifying cleanser. Love that feeling when you are just in the zone, lost in the music as if you are channeling something greater than just yourself.
@David- Very great point. Creating the experience and demonstrating benefits to the fans is what true branding is about. In business, you demonstrate the benefits the customer gets from using your “brand” rather than the features you have. Connecting is the key. Thanks David!
4 Nick Calandrino // Dec 15, 2007 at 11:04 pm
Thank You Brothers, Music is not just a sound or a written symbol. Music is a force; it is the power you have to express and communicate. My communication is clear, We are all One.
5 anekretia // Dec 20, 2007 at 1:58 am
At birth, I was lucky to live, early in childhood, I was lucky to survive, but I did not truly breathe, till a guitar was placed in my hands, this is when I found my true being. I love guitar so much, I build them, play them, have had several lay next to me as I slept, and there is a connection there, beyond any human contact or understanding.
I present many emotions in my playing, and many facets of my spirit flow from it as well. All my guitar friends throughout my youth, and high school years, were busy learning to sound like someone, usually EVH, or Metallica, but I always refrained from the normalcies of it, and went on my own journey for tone and expression. I suffer for it, and it blesses me, 16 hours a day for many years I dug into myself, and my guitar, so much that I became enthralled with its own being. I have a message, mostly in notes, to deliver to the world someday
6 George Pittaway // Jan 17, 2008 at 10:11 am
I saw this posting and could not resist commenting. I have friends in the branding biz, and something probably rubbed off on me when I produced my first Guitar picking You-Tube type clip (the one embedded on my website). I think I took the concept of branding to an extreme…right down to the guitar playing archetypes popping out of a freakin’ vending machine. I can only say Jeffery Shawn must be right. Because it works like crazy. While I cannot say the clip has gone mega-viral, It is EFFECTIVE at its intended purpose-more so than if I’d just thrown the chops up on a site and waited.
7 Jeff // Jan 17, 2008 at 10:46 am
Hey George, just checked out the site. That video is great! Too funny and really is a great video for promoting your system. I will be checking it out for sure! Looking forward to more videos. The use of humor is very powerful and I was laughing the whole time.
8 David Allen Hammond // Apr 17, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Nick, you expressed so perfectly what music is to me. I know that I’ve let the commercial aspects of the business slide, but always maintained the true reason for playing and who I’m playing for. When it is clear in my mind and heart that I’m playing for god/true innerself, that’s when the music becomes a real expression. Thanks for saying it so well.
9 Vince Blair // Nov 18, 2008 at 3:58 pm
my milk shake brings all the fans to yard, dam right it’s better yours, I can teach you but I have to charge. LOL!!!
(kelis-)
Vince Darnell Blair
Studio lead guitarist
Ballad solos, R&B, Smooth Jazz, Fusion, and Hip-Hop.
Are you a producer looking to add a riveting guitar solo to your project?
Well look no further; allow me dust the competition away as I lift your bridge or chorus to new heights with a soaring solo that complements your song.
Tired of clichés? Yeah, me too. If you want that just copy and paste a riff off a music sampler and voila. But if your looking for true creativity, allow me to tailor make a guitar solo specially constructed for you.
I’m a young and experienced artist who is in tune with today’s music from the latest hip-hop and R&B to experimental soundscapes and everything in between. My session work is highly affordable and professional as I can sight read music, hear the melody by ear, and improvise.
I am the future……..
10 Amber // Dec 1, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Thanks so much for all of this. I enjoyed reading the article and the comments. All of this advice really helps…it can seem overwhelming at times to try and implement all of these tactics while simultaneously trying to write and play and book and record, etc etc…but I have taken all into consideration and am running some very interesting experiments. My wheels are turning all of the time and I have gotten some great results from following some of the advice given. Please keep it up.
11 Amber // Dec 1, 2008 at 11:03 pm
I just also wanted to add that these articles inspire me to bring out who I am as an individual in my music instead of trying to pretend to be something I’m not. I think it is important to look within and accentuate who you are and what you love-everyone is unique in their own way…bring out what makes you unique, be real and you will make a connection with who you want to connect with.
12 Jeff // Dec 2, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Thanks for the awesome feedback Amber! It really means a lot to me and I am glad that GPZ has helped inspire you. It makes it all worthwhile when we get such nice comments like yours.
Keep on doing your thing and good things will happen!
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