You Are a Living Brand (Part I)
The biggest stars are, almost without exception, great marketers; they are performers who embrace the notion that building - and maintaining - an emotional bond with their audience is critical to their success.
By Cliff Sloan
The 33.3% Formula
One of my “friends in high places” once told me that making a record consisted of 1/3 talent (songwriting, musicianship), 1/3 selling it/you to a record company and 1/3 marketing it/you to the public. And while there are always exceptions, it is an indisputable fact that, like it or not, the ability to market yourself and “connect” with your audience is almost as important (some might argue even more important) to long-term success in the entertainment business than pure musical talent.
You Are a Living Brand
Shocked? You shouldn’t be. The biggest stars are, almost without exception, great marketers; they are performers who embrace the notion that building and maintaining an emotional bond with their audience is critical to their success. And building a unique emotional bridge to your audience is the essence of understanding what it means to be “a living brand.” It’s not a small amount of work.
U2’s brilliant alliance with Apple (and beyond) made headlines in The New York Times Business section this year. The Rolling Stones’ tongue logo is arguably more recognizable than those of most Fortune 500 Companies; and Britney’s belly was once referred to as “the most valuable real estate in show business.” The list of unique emotional connections - from the Dead to Diddy, Cash to 50 Cent, Madonna to Manson - are easily identifiable and represent a virtual who’s who.
So, if you’re a serious explorer of Songwriter101, a little dose of marketing 101 is nothing short of essential.
Where’s Your P.O.D.? (Hint: it’s not in your pocket and it doesn’t play music.)
Well, you might (understandably) question, “What does that have to do with me?” Those folks are superstars and I’m an unknown entity, an up and comer. Well, in marketing-ese, they all (sometimes by design and sometimes intuitively) had something that we refer to as a Point of Difference (POD for short).
Do This Exercise!
Ask yourself (and write it down):
“What makes me different from the competition?”
“Why will I stand out?”
“Why will people listen to me or watch me perform?”
In short, what’s your POD? (Note: “I write really good songs” probably won’t cut it.)
Tip: You should be able to sum it up in one or two sentences. We sometimes refer to it as an “elevator speech.” It’s great practice for when you unexpectedly find yourself in an elevator with Tommy Mottola and he asks, “So, what do you do?”
A word of caution: If you can’t simply and concisely answer the (not so) simple POD question, no one else will either. And it’s a much harder exercise than you might suspect.
So, for example, if I were answering this question regarding a pre-superstar Mr. Bowie circa 1971, I might’ve said something like, “Forget that hippie s**t! You’ve got to check out David Bowie and glitter rock. Not only is the songwriting killer, but the shows are mesmerizing - gender bending taken to a whole new level. Theatrical, freaky, subversive, unforgettable”
Okay, not perfect I know (apologies to David). But the likely response would be “Wow, can I hear him? See him?”
Mission accomplished.
It’s The Experience
Being a brand means delivering a memorable experience, not simply a transaction. Here’s one of my favorite (and most accurate) quotes that I lifted from a great marketing book:
HARLEY DAVIDSON DOESN’T SELL MOTORCYCLES
“What we sell is the ability for a 43-year-old accountant to dress in black leather, ride through small towns, and have people be afraid of him”
—Harley Davidson Big Cheese
And so, Eminem doesn’t just sell records. He sells the ability for suburban white kids to dress in baggy pants and hoodies, walk through malls and have people be afraid of them.
The Sex Pistols didn’t just sell records. They sold an experience and a lifestyle - an emotional connection.
Food for thought: What’s experience(s) are you selling?
Posted Feb 07, 2006
Member Comments
I really liked this article! It serves as a great reminder to do your homework and always be ready and to keep bettering yourself to stay ahead of the competition.
Cliff Sloan, You’re (songwriter101) articles are the most relevant, useful and necessary of any I read. A few of us were just dancing around this topic on another thread but you set us on the straight and narrow. This article is straightforward, convincing and offers great insight. Thank you Cliff.
Cliff is right on the money, creating a specific niche by marketing yourself is what it’s all about . I can’t wait to read part II, wish there could have been more of part I.
Thanks Cliff,
Jay Boivin
Well put. A lot of new songwriters don’t seem to be aware of the business end of the music business. You can’t move product unless you market/promote it well!
Of course, as this article skims the surface of the matter, it doesn’t hurt if you’re a young single modelesque female that’s willing to show a bit of skin. The old adage that “sex sells” is still alive and kicking. It’s the POD that Madonna chose long ago and still continues to use today.
But that’s part of why we had Milli Vanilla. They did everything this article talks about; they just didn’t sing or write their own songs. In fact, a lot of recording artists will use prerecorded material for their “live” shows. So if you only write songs, why not let someone else be the spokesperson for your product?
The current industry trend is to have everything in one package. Let’s face it, it’s a lot easier getting someone to sing your songs if you yourself are a singer. Same for performing. And you will work the hardest to promote your own material. And no one has to worry about “band dynamics” if the “band” is just one person (or just a bunch of hired instrumentalists).
Perhaps Cliff Sloan’s next topic could address how non-performing songwriters can survive in today’s market. Or perhaps they just have no POD of value?
Thanks Cliff for writing this!
A lot of people in business I think have a tendency to think big, but act small. They get so caught up in tactical aspects that they do not even conceptualize a strategy. Although every great journey starts with small steps; one should always be aware of their path or at least have some direction.
This may sound harsh to those reading, but I believe one should also be able to answer for themselves (and others) the magical question of “so?”. That is what is going through a business person’s mind:?..so what?? so why are you telling me this??so what relevancy does all this have for me??so how will this benefit me??so how will this make money? Etc. It is not enough just to offer the information, you must market the benefits!
Looking forward to your next post. :)
Excellent Article… Many will find this information very valuable, if there head is truly in the game… The “music business” is exactly that, a lucrative “business”... Yes, I am an aspiring songwriter and for me “songs” come first, as that’s where my heart is, but the “reality” is you have to learn how to sell/market yourself, the whole product, if you want to stand out in a field of aspiring millions. How is someone, (be that an Label Exec. in this scenario) going to buy what you are verbally selling, if you yourself dont believe it?..
Anyhow, great article…
This article allows those who are songwriters only,know one thing. Targeting our songs to the right performing artist who’s image best fits our song is important.
I feel that when we write a tune we have a good idea who would be the best performer to promote the song to listeners.
As you write,think about which artist would this song fit like a glove.Does it fit their image? Then when the time is right you can publish it and target that performer with your song.
Performers have the image that sell. Write songs that mesh with that image and with alot of song pitches to the right people you’ve got it.
I love this business.
Awesome article Cliff.
