In this section, I will be appraising how branding and image can affect the way audiences perceive music and artists. This will include a look into how the use of both websites and social media can help with branding. I will also evaluate the success of brand development and apply this to my own Artist Profile, which I will develop throughout the module.
Branding is about Identity.
We affiliate ourselves with brands whose ideology mirrors our own.
(Pulit, 2018)
The This Is Music 2022 report highlights the importance and value of an artist’s brand and image. It explains that the way that your branding looks, places you culturally and can help you get placed in streaming playlists and festival lineups.
Brand and Image are… commercial assets in their own right
(Njoku-Goodwin, This Is Music 2022)
Paramore:
According to Sexton (2018), “The name ‘Paramore’ came from the maiden name of one band member’s mum, with the spelling ‘paramour’ meaning ‘secret lover’.” Throughout the years, Paramore has opted to adapt their logo to the theme of each album. For example, Riot!’s album cover was its name scribbled and mostly in all caps, leaving almost no blank space. It connotes chaos, which is something that goes hand in hand with ‘riots’. They copied this idea for their logo to carry on the theme across their brand in that era of their music.
The band name logo can be seen in the official audio videos on YouTube.
Throughout the years, the band has changed its logo a multitude of times but always aims to stick with its monochrome theming. This is something that many other bands and artists do not do, as a consistent brand and logo enable the brand to be recognizable by its audience. Other examples of Paramore’s logo include:
This was the first logo that the band used. It is “sophisticated, elegant and minimalistic”, which may have helped the band seem older and more experienced than they were at the time (In 2004 at the beginning, frontwoman Hayley was only 15 years of age). (Paramore logo 2022)
Following the album cover of Brand New Eyes, Paramore’s logo was adjusted to include butterfly wings. I think that this was a great way to tie in the band with their work. As this was only used as a logo for a short time I believe it was most likely a marketing decision to direct fans to their latest album subconsciously.
A final example consists of three bars in black and white.
Most people believe that the three lines represent the remaining three members of the band. This logo gives a modern edge to the branding and is easily adapted as the band evolves.
Recently, they have changed the way that their website looks. It is reminiscent of ‘old school computers’ and uses the same font as computer coding at that time. It is plain white and simplistic. This could have been a conscious decision to say that they are getting older and aren’t the same rock band teenagers they were in the early 2000s.
The reason why I chose to look at Paramore is because Haley Williams not only has her band but has also dabbled in a solo career. This applies to me as despite my solo performances I enjoy working with bands and would like to be a part of a band at some point. However, I will not be taking inspiration from the promotional techniques that she used to promote her solo career because it was not as successful as the Paramore promotion. I think this may have been because of a funding issue or certain fans boycotting her move to solo out of worries the band would split.
Anne-Marie:
Anne-Marie is very particular about her branding. She uses pastel colours, most of which are pink, and chooses blocky and simple text. I like this and think that I would like to imitate this with my own branding, as these are colours that I like and create a more positive connotation rather than what I would typically wear, which is a lot of black clothing and is therefore a much edgier look.
Another thing Anne-Marie does is TikTok. Her branding on TikTok is very successful because she engages with her audience. A great example of this is in the above-linked video, where she shows a snippet of a finished song “Psycho” saying that she had finished it due to her fans making it “pop off” or become popular. However, she also posts TikToks that are playful and resonate with the public. Like this one:
She even does a basic “Try-on haul” video that can be popular with a younger female audience to advertise her clothing collection.
Anne-Marie’s branding is very current and modern, reaching audiences of a younger demographic by using primarily TikTok and Instagram, which are popular social networks for targeting a youthful audience. As I am a young person myself, I think it is a good idea to use these for my own promotion.
Brand development:
Twitch:
“Twitch is where millions of people come together live every day to chat, interact, and make their own entertainment together.”
Twitch.tv
To me, Twitch is an online streaming platform used mostly by gaming influencers to live-stream their gameplay to their fans. However, it is also used by many musicians. I find that Twitch users tend to have very good branding.
In order to develop my branding and image as an artist, I need to develop a logo. My ideas are to use pastel colours and pixelation. This is because it is an aesthetic that I like and am drawn to but it ties in with my love of gaming too, especially the indie game genre. I took my inspiration from Twitch streamers, as a lot of them use a portrait design that is typically animated or drawn to look like them. They also add text and movement to their logos to make them interesting, especially when used in stream breaks and watermarks to define their image. However, I also wanted to use a solid dark colour like black to create contrast. Black not only stands out but represents the music that I like such as alternative rock and emo.
An example of a Twitch logo that has become particularly famous is Ninja’s. He uses primary colours, which are both bright and complementary of each other. The main thing that sticks out in his logo is the hairstyle, something that Ninja does with his own personal hair and therefore ties himself to his brand. I opted to do the same thing in my logo, going for a ginger colour as this is what colour my hair is currently. In the future, though I may change this to a slightly darker shade to both make it more realistic and also stand out more.
I also love Loserfruit’s branding. She ties in her “fruity” name by having a strawberry as a mascot/logo.
So, why Twitch? Well as a musician, Twitch can allow me to reach an audience of people live. This means that as I develop a fan base, I am able to interact with my followers in real time, answering their questions and performing via requests. Another reason why this is relevant to me is that Against the Current’s lead singer, Chrissy Costanza (among many other artists such as Michael Clifford and Geoff Wiggington to name a few), is a Twitch streamer. She uses the platform to connect with her fans who enjoy gaming but also as a way to promote her music and tours. This means that I would be able to reach an even bigger audience with my music if I began to stream, both gaming and acoustic performances for example.
https://www.twitch.tv/chrissyofficial
According to a report by SuperData Research, the global gaming market was valued at $159.3 billion in 2020.
(Divers, 2023)
Another avenue into the gaming industry is the soundtracks used in and created for games. Patrick Bartley is a prime example of this, as he is a saxophone player who is involved in game music. The song “Dire Dire Docks” from Super Mario 64 is a wonderful example of his work.
Merch:
If I were to merchandise my branding, I would most likely create a vinyl record release or some art prints. These would follow the pastel colour scheme of my brand, using lilacs and black to add contrast. I like what bands such as The Faim have done previously, where they release an art or photo book looking at the band’s past, a tour memory book, a studio recording session documented, or something else. These add a personal touch to merchandising, particularly if they are part of a limited release.
Interview Practice (Draft One):
After watching this back, I realized that the backing track didn’t really fit with what I was saying. Having piano playing when I am discussing my influences are female alternative artists like Paramore and Pale Waves, I requested that the editor change this to something in the alternative/indie genre instead. Another thing that I noticed is that in the side profile shots, there is someone’s jacket on the chair. This makes the video have a much more unprofessional feel. I also do not like this camera angle anyway and I feel as if the straight-on view is much more professional. It seems as though the angles switch a lot and too often also. However, the front-facing angle reminds me of the quality of some early noughties artist interviews that you might see in older documentaries or on old-school MTV.
Although it is a coherent interview, I do not think I will use it for anything. My hair looks a little bit messy and I don’t sound very confident in my words. This interview also does not make sense for my brand. As I am not a well-established artist, it does not make sense for me to have been interviewed. I am also not using it to promote a release of any kind. Therefore, instead of asking the media students to make changes, I will just use this as personal experience and not as part of my self-promotion.
Other Examples of Interviews:
This interview with Vanity Fair allows both Billie Eilish and her fans to watch her grow as a person and a musician, year by year. I like this because it is quite informal and relaxed. The plain background allows the viewer to focus solely on the interviewee, having no distractions around.
On Chicken Shop Date, Amelia asks her interviewees questions in a subtle and conversational manner, like that of a first date. I thoroughly enjoy this type of interview due to its relaxed state. It makes an interview fun rather than nerve-wracking. These are also very short and do not allow time for viewers to get bored.
In the future, if I am to do another interview, I would like it to be in a more relaxed setting. This will allow me to come across as much happier and more interesting.
Marketing Strategy:
Having a marketing strategy is very important because it means that you can define your aims and plan out exactly what goes out and when. For example, you may strategize that as many people as possible will listen to your new album when it comes out. In order for that to happen, you need to analyze your previous analytics and come up with a successful strategy. Many famous artists and bands have done this, mostly with the help of a marketing team. But even as smaller independent artists, we can learn from them.
The Sandbox 2022 report, breaks down some of these professional campaigns. An example from this report is Nova Twins’ campaign. With a budget of between £10,000-15,000, they were able to increase their following on Instagram by 58.4% among many other following increases of up to 86%. As well as over 10 million streams across their entire album campaign. This was a small budget in comparison to that of larger names like Iron Maiden, who had £50,000 to play with. But their success is evident and most likely due to their appearances on Radio 1’s Hottest Record In The World with Clara Amfo and their tour with Bring Me The Horizon.
Nova Twins’ success shows me that even with a small amount of money put into getting your brand out there can make a huge difference. For my own brand, I would like to invest small amounts of money during key times in my career, for example, an upcoming performance, to gain a larger audience.
Bibliography:
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