Indie artists of the 21st generation have made astonishing impact on the conventional ways of thinking about music. More specifically, their influence has changed the way we look at artists in general. Rather than basing opinions on how talented they are, frequently music fans, and especially those of hip-hop, are weighing the morality of their support around an artist's "image". As times have changed since the days of our parents, it's hard to say what a spitting image is anymore. In the context of the music industry, this is most important for branding purposes. For that reason, we will be discussing the 4 best ways to develop a unique artist image.
1. Know yourself.
There is nothing more essential to developing your image than identifying yourself as a musician. Helpful things to consider when you are figuring out what best defines your image is to rule out what doesn't define you and work harder on what does. For example, if you are confident in your skills in songwriting but know you can't sit and write a 100 page autobiography to save your life, leave the "hard" stuff to bite the dust. In other words, take your songwriting skills and see how you can apply it to different areas of your career. Weather that means writing for another artist or challenging yourself to write 10 songs a day, focus on the positive aspects of your abilities and capitalize on them. Quickly you will realize just how much more you are capable of and hence will be able to realize who you were truly meant to be. Speaking outside of music, simply acknowledging your reliable intuitive traits can not only gain you self-confidence but greatly improves your work ethic. This website will give you all the tools for discovering your strengths. Of course, there are less taxing ways to pinpoint positive aspects of yourself so don't feel pressured to buy into anything unnecessary. The benefits to reaching any level of individual understanding offers personal proceeds unlike anything else! Showcasing your truest, most outstanding self is completely fool-proof against all odds. Real fans will respect and support your music no matter what you claim your strengths to be anyway. Bottom line, understand and trust yourself knowing that the bag (and your music career) is secured.
2. Invest in all aspects of self.
Contrary to the information you digested in our know-yourself-spill, making the financial sacrifice to better yourself for a future not fully realized yet might seem extremely intimidating, however, it's the next priority runner up in our ever important list of top ways to develop an artist image. Have you noticed how some musicians seem to have similar styles to each other? This is due to multiple factors but the point of mentioning it is that there is always a hunger for individuality in the music industry. Someone always tends to associate a certain sound with another therefore, in order to relinquish one's self from these creative limitations, it's recommended to buy into materials or services catered to optimizing elements of your artistry. Anything from promoting a project to paying for beats comes at a rightful cost when considering ways to manage a unique artist image. These costs will vary due to whatever your brand is; With that being said, the main objective when making a musically affiliated decision is to emphasize your brand in a positive light across all platforms. Make sure the investments you make feel right to your gut. If they don't, take a step back and maybe ask for outside help. However, be cautious of who you let direct your creative elements. Sometimes their motives can bring you down rather than up.
3. Practice on yourself.
Listening to your gut instinct is probably easier said than done. It gets easier though the more you dedicate time and practice to what it takes to be one of the dopest artists out there. Working on your stage presence is exactly the kind of thing to focus on in terms of developing your image. A couple tips we've gathered from experience and other sources is practicing in the mirror, video taping a performance, and choreography. Does this mean take every dance class known to man and Prince-Beyonce it out at every concert? To be practical, no. Unless your brand image is tied in with songs invoking dance adrenaline, you'll only need to know the basics; Meaning every movement on stage should be planned out and intentional. If you are in a group band, it's detrimental to orchestrate exactly how and what your performance operates as. Keeping in mind the audience at all times, deliver an experience to your viewers because they are the fore-front of your show. It's not enough to have mastered every song to every beat. Analyze your engagement on stage through video and look at where you can do better and as mentioned in point #1, recognize your strengths. Confidence is like a muscle. Pump it up as much as you can. Practicing in a mirror is effective in this way and can give you a sense of security while performing.
4. Be yourself.
No matter where you go or who you're around, emanating an artist aura will shape your image in ways you can hardly imagine! Breaking out into the public owning the fact that music makes your world go 'round (and happens to pay the bills), is just the kind of energy to deliver if you wish to attract fans. Having a presence on and off stage is how to truly tie together the pieces of an artist image. This doesn't require radical changes in attitude or personality either. Just be yourself. Obviously, we are all human. No one expects you to be the same old happy person you were yesterday. We all have our bad days. Being yourself is what music is all about, really. Legacies are not born copies of who they see on TV or the internet. Make the most out of each encounter with the people you interact with daily or at random. Waitresses, mothers, the president, your dog... the list goes on. Let everyone know how passionate you are about music and specifically yours. Be proud to announce single releases or showcases like they will be your last. Act like a big deal and become a big deal. On the other hand, it might not serve you to boast about your talent to everyone. Some people are envious of success and will wish for another's downfall. Only preach to those willing and open to listen. Forcing yourself on deaf ears may cause you to become something of a "fad", for lack of a better term. In the professional world of music especially, understand the limits to which you give and receive information. Practice and research interview techniques so you won't be caught off guard. Here is some helpful information on how to get the most out of artist opportunities we think might benefit your career now and in the future. Don't be hesitant to do some research on your own either. Ask friends or business partners to interview you and record responses to be analyzed later.