Artist Branding & Positioning | What Kind Of Artist Do You Want To Be?

Okay, so you wrote a song. Now what? Today we'll be navigating the Asian music industry together and discussing our very first topic: artist branding and positioning. Or in other words, 'what kind of artist do you want to be'? Before you hit submit and deliver your new track out into the world, it always helps to think, even in very informal terms about how you would like your music to define you. Sure, sometimes it works to go with the flow. But a clear artist positioning will give you a much-needed compass for the road ahead.

Our Hard-and-Fast Steps To Understanding Your Positioning

Step 1: Brainstorming Your Positioning

Think about how you would like to be viewed as an artist. Be it by genre preference, style, voice, or certain musical elements, figure out who you are, and what makes you unique. If your mind is still blanking, try asking friends and family for their honest opinions, and see how these comments sit with you.

Are they on point? something you've never thought of before? or just completely off the mark?

Remember to take your emotions out of the picture for this exercise, It's not going to work if you get offended at their comments. Instead make a mental (or actual) list of the qualities or descriptions of you as an artist that sat right with you and those that didn't.

Either way, it'll give you some food for thought and allow you to use the process of elimination and your intuition to narrow down to where you'd rather be and where you'd rather not be as an artist. Finding what defines you as an artist is an ongoing process. And this brainstorming exercise is just one way to help you get started.

Step 2: Articulating Your Positioning

If you've gotten this far, the next stage would be articulating this branding in a succinct manner. Like a variation of a Unique sales proposition. I.e., try to sum up yourself as an artist in one or two sentences.

USP example:

Wang Leehom is a Taiwanese-American singer-songwriter and multi-hyphenate who was one of the driving forces that brought Mandarin pop music to the wider world. Popular for his full-throated ballads and east-meets-west musical fusions, he is one of the reigning kings of contemporary Mandopop.

The USP should be a list of the most pertinent and unique features of you as an artist. Keep that in mind while you come up with this. Again, take your time as it's not going to come immediately or overnight. But once you have it, it'll inform the core focus of your forthcoming strategy. Try it yourself!

Step 3: Competitor research

The last and final step is competitor research. Now that you've learnt how to objectively articulate your description as an artist, it's time to pit yourself against the competition.

Think of artists who fit into several categories: artists that you aspire to be like, artists that you are similar to (in some ways), and artists in your niche. Draw a Venn diagram and note especially if there are any artists who are in two or three of those categories simultaneously (especially look out for artists you are similar to, and artists in your niche).

Pay extra attention to these artists, what they're offering, and question if your USP is different enough from theirs in order for you to stand out. Note any interesting points or projects they’ve worked on which may (or may not) work for you.

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