Groover is always looking for new ways to help independent artists further their careers. Besides being a platform that effectively connects you and your music to industry professionals, our blog has many tips for you to learn more about how to further your career and the music industry as a whole. Today, we bring you an article that talks about music branding, how it can help artists’ careers and also how to put it into practice.
Every artist seeks to gain more visibility and greater credibility when promoting their music. Along with this, increasing and diversifying their source of income is part of the main goals of an artist in their musical career. Music branding is, without a doubt, one of the most pertinent paths to take, and it has been increasingly explored by companies, as well as labels and agencies that work with independent artists. Have you ever imagined your music playing in different stores, bars and restaurants? This has increasingly become a reality in the market: associating a brand with a song and/or an artist. If you don’t have much knowledge on the subject, we recommend you read on!
| Click here to watch a tutorial on how to do an outreach campaign on Groover!
1. What is music branding?
2. What do artists gain from music branding?
3. How to put music branding into practice?
4. Conclusion
1. What is music branding?
In short, music branding is a social marketing strategy. Companies have increasingly experimented with associating a certain type of music and/or artist with their brand. But why? Every song reveals an emotion. In other words, they reveal a lot about our subjectivity. When a company seeks to associate itself with a certain type of music, it aims to create a closer relationship with its customers. In addition, many studies prove the different impacts on consumer behavior. For example, an urban clothing store in a large metropolis will choose music that its customers are more familiar with. This generates a feeling of identification with that brand, most of the time in an unconscious way. Because of this, music branding has been increasingly explored by the marketing teams of companies, and the results have been very positive.
Although many of them still create their own playlists, companies have increasingly chosen to outsource music branding and playlist creation services. In order to stand out even more from the competition, they are constantly searching for new artists to attract and connect more and more with their customers.
It is important to point out that music branding goes beyond music for environments. The development of partnerships between artists and influencers and brand campaigns with artists are some examples of other actions of this type of marketing. But, in order not to confuse you, we will talk here mainly about music for environments.
Without a doubt, brands use this kind of “social marketing” to gain a loyal audience, improve their image, and increase their sales. But the most interesting thing for us is that this kind of marketing has opened up a new space for independent artists.
| Read also: 10 tips to increase the engagement of your artist profile on Instagram
2. What do artists gain from music branding?
The answer is simple: listeners and profitability. In the case of visibility it is easy to understand. You can release a song and have it selected to be part of a store’s official playlist. Depending on the number of times your song is played and the volume of people who frequent the store, you are sure to gain new listeners, or at least your song will be imprinted in the customer’s memory. As music branding experts seek to find the right playlist for a certain type of audience, the chances of you gaining new listeners increase even more. As we said above, everything is done so that customers identify with the music that will be playing when they go shopping.
In addition, music branding is a source of income for artists. This happens through the collection of copyright royalties. ASCAP, BMI and SoundExchange (SoundExchange solely collects royalties for sound recordings) are the entities that collect performance royalties in the US and on an international level. These organizations are referred to as PROs (Performance Rights Organizations). Using a dedicated device, PRO employees obtain the recordings of the songs played, collect the amounts owed by the establishment, and distribute them to the relevant people. The artist can then receive their royalties.
Important: Make sure you are affiliated to a PRO in order to receive your royalties. Also, make sure your musical works are properly registered and your information, such as bank account, is up to date.
| Check also: How to get in touch with professionals in the music market?
3. How to put music branding into practice?
Before any misunderstanding occurs, remember that we should not confuse “artistic branding” with music branding. Artistic branding is part of the “brand” or “identity” that you create around your artistic project. Music branding is different in that companies create a musical identity of their brand. Below, are some ways to put music branding into practice.
- Groover: The simplest and most straightforward way for independent artists is to use Groover. Our platform aims to facilitate this process. On it, you can send your music to companies specialized in music branding. By getting in contact with them in your outreach campaign, you will receive feedback and have the share your music in playlists for brands to see.
Groover has a variety of different companies and industry pros from around the world. A great advantage is that these contacts have points of sale at a national level as well as international. It is a pleasure to have these companies in our team of curators. Just like us, they promote the search for new artists, music, and trends through Groover.
Want to submit your music and have the chance to be added to playlists of several brands around the world? Access this link, register at Groover. Start your promotion campaign and select your perfect curators who work directly with music branding.
| Also see: Step by step: how to get into Spotify’s editorial playlists
An important point we must mention here is: music branding companies are mostly focused on brands, not artists. This is normal, since their focus is to win over other companies. The truth is that it is not that simple to include your music in these playlists. But don’t be discouraged, because the music curators of these companies have an eye on everything that is happening in independent music. The search for new sounds is an essential part of the job of music curator.
- Contact or join music branding services: There are also some companies that offer services to get your music on music branding playlists. This is certainly a valid strategy. In this case, it is worth analyzing the credibility of the company, its reach, and the clients the company works with. It is important to never forget, associating your music/image with a brand also means associating your art with certain values. So, be attentive!
- Collaborations with smaller brands: Another possibility is for you, the artist, who has contacts in the fashion industry, for example, to get in touch with smaller stores, because they often still have their own playlists and depending on the style, they might be interested in your sound. Furthermore, it is common to see some collaborations going on between small brands and independent artists; these brands have less financial and advertising power, so you will have more chances to create a connection. This has been a strategy used a lot by artists: approaching small brands to develop collaborations.
| Check out: Press Kit: tips to gain visibility of professionals in the music industry
4. Conclusion
A key tip for artists is: put the work in on your image, visual identity and promotion. Having your music playing in places is often a consequence of good numbers on the platforms or a buzz from one of your songs. So keep focusing on your musical and visual work.
| Also read: How to monetize your work as a musician?
After all, music branding is increasingly present in the market. It is important to remember: having your music playing and being associated with brands is a complementary path in your promotion strategy. It is certainly not your main focus, but it is a tool that has been increasingly used by brands. But if you already have a good number of followers on social networks, maybe it’s time to put music branding in your outreach strategy.
– Article translated and edited by Betty Gonzalez –
Submit your music to the music branding curators available at Groover!
