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Nowadays, artists have many options to help them grow their brand and become successful. First, let’s establish which traits mold a successful artist.
Talent
You must excel at your craft and have the ability to capture the audience. It’s difficult to succeed without having genuine skills, being extremely knowledgeable in your field, and the ability to set yourself apart from the rest solely based on your talent.
Consistency and Resilience
Success goes hand in hand with consistency and resilience. You need to be disciplined to reach your goals; the more you keep working and learning, the more you can grow as an artist. See mistakes as learning lessons rather than as failures, and plan your next steps. Post new content, hold live sessions, get booked regularly for gigs and, most importantly, put out new music consistently. In the long run, consistency and resilience can always pay off.
Crowd Pleaser
You need to be able to read your audience during your shows. What is their reaction to your performance, new music and your interaction during the show? This can help you figure out if you need to change certain aspects of your performance and thus help you pitch yourself more effectively.
Easier said than done with all the options and paths we can take. So here are some tips on how to implement the above:
Find Idol Artists and Follow
Find role models within your industry and ask yourself the right questions. Who are they? What is their style? How do they brand themselves? What makes them successful? How do they stay relevant? Answering these questions can help you figure out how to move forward in your career. Copying is not ideal but learning from the paths paved ahead of you could help.
Social Media
With social media playing a key role in achieving public notoriety, you want to invest your time in creating profiles that are engaging and fun. Going live on your platforms regularly and posting performances and behind-the-scenes photos or videos can have a huge impact on growing your audience and increasing fan engagement. Making your audience feel like they are a part of your journey and that they are getting a glance at your life “behind the scenes” can also help you build a more loyal fanbase.
Dress the Part
You need to find your own style and stay true to it; create a look that is yours at its core. Stage presence is very important, and part of the experience that you will portray to your audience is also visual. Be a trendsetter!
Play the Part
Ask yourself what your place in the industry is and stay true to your brand. What message do you want to give your audience? This goes further than just the music that you put out; it also means being genuine and inspiring. Create a stage presence that sets you apart from the rest.
The Rolling Stone Culture Council is an invitation-only community for Influencers, Innovators and Creatives. Do I qualify?
Sales
Be intentional with where and how you distribute your music or work with a music distribution service to help put your music out on the right platforms and make you money. Offering subscriptions on your social media is another great way to monetize. Learn how you can make money on your YouTube account. Work on getting booked consistently for shows, festivals, special events, etc. Sell official merchandise at your shows and on your website.
Contracts
I cannot emphasize enough how important contracts are; they can help you grow or the opposite. You need to fully understand any contracts that you are entering into and what their limitations and penalties are. On the same token, creating contracts for all of your business dealings can help protect you.
Keep a Ledger
You need an accountant to help you stay on top of your financial goals. Hire someone who can help you grow not only by handling your finances and taxes, but who can also help you understand the financial risks of new ventures and keep you accountable.
Networking
This can help open many doors! You never know the positive impact that the right people can have on you and your career. Go out to as many events as possible, put yourself out there, make connections and follow through. Contact influencers and other artists and ask about collaborations.
Ads and Marketing
Be intentional and realistic when you are establishing your target audience, then you can use targeted ads. Groover.co suggests that you can use social media platforms such as Facebook Ads and Google Ads to create targeted campaigns that reach your desired audience.
When done right, this can help you grow your brand by becoming more notable. Create an EPK that you can share with industry professionals. Find a hit song and make your own cover of it, then tag the artist or band to reach a bigger audience. Tagging and using hashtags in social media is a great way to market yourself by expanding your audience outreach.
Expose Yourself
Everything that I have discussed so far comes down to this: you need to put yourself out there! Attend as many events that are relevant to your brand as possible, book as many good-fit gigs as you can, share great content on social media regularly, collaborate with other artists or influencers, interact with your fanbase and market yourself consistently. If you are not putting yourself out there, how can your audience find you?
I hope that the above tips help you get an idea of what you need to do to create a successful career in 2024. You do not have to have it all figured out, but pursuing professional growth one step at a time by being disciplined, open to change, consistent and resilient can help you advance your career.
