I will start by saying that I could talk about this topic all day long because it was the bane of my existence for many of my music career years, and it has been apparent through my students that I am not the only one who has struggled with this. 

Choosing a genre to release your music in is easy for some, but for others, it can be an absolute nightmare. 

But, if you choose to sit on the genre fence, you are drastically reducing your chance of success. If you’ve read my other blogs, then you would know I absolutely LOVE sayings, and my favourite one that relates to this topic is “if you’re for everyone, then you’re for no one”. The more specific you can be about the market you are targeting, the better chance you will have to grow your fanbase. 

When I started writing and releasing music, I had always been a singer. I trained with some brilliant teachers and learned everything I could. I wanted to be able to sing most genres, and I...

I think it’s safe to say that we have all heard of McDonald’s and KFC, but…have we all heard of you? Probably not! So why has everyone heard of Maccas and KFC but not little old you?

It’s not because they are food and you’re not! There are tons of burger and chicken places that are freaking amazing, but we haven’t heard of them. The difference is the marketing of their very clear brand. 

I try not to talk to technical because when I first started out I didn’t know what the hell any of these words meant, and I didn’t really care either because I just wanted to release a damn song. But, it became very apparent over the years of my failure that I did need to care, so much so that I needed to dedicate time to learning all about music marketing. It’s funny because back then, I bloody hated anything to do with the biz side of music, but now, I am totally obsessed with marketing, not only music but business in general. And in...

Do you ever find yourself reading music career advice or listening to advice, and they talk about branding and how important it is to a hugely successful career? I sure did.. I'm like ... well I'm not a box of Coco Pops, and I'm not NIKE so why the hell do I need a brand.. and for that matter what is a brand?

Look, you will be told many things throughout your career by many people who might have some knowledge, but no experience, or maybe vice versa, but one thing they aren't wrong about is branding, and it's importance, so what is it?

Think of your music career as an entity like NIKE or McDonalds or Target, you sell music, so in essence, you have a business, so you must work like one. 

These days the world is one of consumerism. I wish I was listening to my year 12  business teacher more when he was delivering this information. What does that mean? Well, we, as a world like to acquire and consume things, and there are many, many, many things out in the world ready...

After chatting with Perrin Finlay-Brown from Market The Music, we now have an understanding of what a brand is and why we need one! Perrin is a marketing professional with over a decade of experience working with branding and has combined his talents for marketing, management and graphic design to create a company that develops and promotes the career of an artist. 

I asked a plethora of questions relating specifically to independent artists and their need for a brand. Here are the key takeaways:

1. What is a brand? A brand is the way in which you present your package as an artist to the market. The holistic delivery of that package will help you carve out your little space within the industry. This means analysing yourself and creating a brand from who you are. Looking at everything from the sound that you have, the way you dress, how you talk, the way you interact with people and generally how you present yourself. 

2. What is a...

After many years, mistakes, and a tonne of money wasted, the most important thing I have learnt is that there is a process and you need a plan! That is why I have developed the 5 Step Plan To Independent Recording Artist Success.

The 5 Step Plan is a 12 page PDF download that moves through the 5 important steps that an independent artist must follow to successfully build a career in the music industry. In this video blog, I discuss the following 5 steps.

• Know who you are as an artist (Positioning)
• The importance of quality (Your Product)
• How your audience sees and feels about you (Branding)
• Preparing to record (Pre Production)
• Taking your product to your audience (Marketing)

Download the FREE PDF below to learn about them in more detail.