Professional headshots are necessary in many careers – musicians are no exception. If you have been to music school and are surrounded by aspiring professional musicians, you will be pressured into getting a headshot done. In general, getting headshots done is a good idea. In this guide, we will cover whether to get headshots taken,…
At music conferences, image and branding is one of the most often discussed topics. Everyone understands how important it is, so organizers always put together a couple of panels on the subject. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never come away from a conference on image and branding feeling better off. The thing is,…
Artists need a visual brand to support their music. Often, it’s the music that gets people to check out an artist, but it’s the brand that keeps them interested. Think of the millions of people that follow Taylor Swift on Instagram and Facebook. Or better yet, think of the millions of people who follow every…
If there’s one thing we know about promotion and branding, it’s that visual marketing works. The problem is that most musicians aren’t graphic designers. The software can be learned with a lot of patience and time, but many of the programs are too confusing, under-powered, or unreasonably expensive to be practical. Becoming a Photoshop guru…
A great brand takes a lot of brains to come up with, and even more to execute properly. You need great ideas to create a brand, and you need some know-how and a whole lot of determination to make it happen. However, a good brand goes hand in hand with good music and a successful…
Have you ever been told that your artist name sucks? Do you find yourself having to tell people over and over again what your name is? Or do people frequently misspell it? Have you thought about changing your name? I say do it. Don’t delay, do it now. There is never a “good time” to…
There’s an age-old debate in the music industry: is it better to try to appeal to everyone, or to find an audience for the unique music you create? First of all, not even The Beatles are liked by everyone, so appealing to the entirety of the human race is a ridiculous idea. But even if…
Does what you wear as a musician really matter? Through the decades, artists have donned disco costumes, leather and spandex, jeans and flannel, hip-hop fashions, and more. And, in a way, it seems as though we ran out of ideas in the 2000s, when people started taking cues from previous decades – especially the 80s…
We’ve all heard about the effectiveness of social media for marketing purposes. But how effective is it really? The answer is simple: it depends on how you use it. A lot of musicians create a fan page on Facebook and a profile on Twitter because it’s expected. Beyond that, they don’t have any strategy to…
Are you trying to figure out what you should wear to your next gig? Is your on-stage image lacking something? It’s a good thing to be thinking about, because your live show isn’t just about the music you play. Your fans are going to be paying attention to a variety of other elements like your…
Today we’re going to look at how to write a bio for musicians and other music industry figures. If you want to write a bio, you have to get into the minds of your readers. Most musicians tend to think that their biography is about them. However, the reality of the situation is that your…
As someone who works around musicians a lot, there are a few mistakes which I commonly see made. One of those mistakes is not getting professional band photos made up. Many instead opt for photos taken on their iPhone, or their mate’s consumer camera. While these often aren’t the worse quality images with today’s technology,…
Want to know how to trademark your music name? This is what I’m going to show you how to do today. Look below for a step by step guide to trademarking your name for musicians, as well as a look at the difference between trademarks and copyrights. This guide was written by myself, Richard Jefferson,…
As you start to get more noticed in your music career, you’ll no doubt start to come across people who are negative about you and your music. That’s just the way it is. No matter how good you are, there will always be a percentage of people who don’t like what you do and end…
Getting good pictures to represent you as a musicians is important. Sure you can get away with a half decent picture taken with your sister’s iphone when you’re starting out. After all, having a picture of yourself is better than not showing yourself to fans at all right? That said, when you want to start…