Getting a reputation is more than having followers or building a fanbase. Having a good reputation as an artist can lead to business deals, collaborations, and fan building, among many other benefits. In this article, we share five tips for building your reputation as a recording artist. Want more insights like these? Read all of our free artist resources.
1. Establish a strong social media presence
Being active on social media increases brand awareness. You should use social media as an opportunity to show off your accomplishments and use your experience to help your followers. Did you book your first show? Share how you did it. Make a new song? Show your fans the process behind it. Do you do charity or volunteer work? Do you have a strong political stance? Share your views and contributions and encourage others to do the same. Showing you are open and a caring person on social media helps you build your reputation.
2. Go to concerts and support other artists
Take every chance you can to go to concerts of similar artists and the artists that you like. Concerts are essentially networking opportunities for artists. In addition to meeting artists and other creatives, you can use concerts as your chance to hand out business cards to concert goers and ask them to listen to your music. This is one way to get your brand into the hands of potential fans.
3. Opening for other artists
Supporting artists on their tours or as an opener at their show can turn that artist’s fans into yours. Not only can you use this as an opportunity to promote yourself at the concert, but you can use video footage and photographs to market yourself on social media and YouTube. Opening for other artists can help prove your stage presence and video footage of you performing, whether it’s opening for other artists, at a showcase, or an open mic, talent buyers and booking agents want to see that you won’t freeze up on stage. Sending these videos and photos to those stakeholders can help you get booked for more shows.
4. Invest in public relations (PR)
The goal of public relations, or PR, is to help businesses, brands, and individuals communicate with and better understand and reach their audience. PR is important for spreading your brand message. It is often necessary to reach the public where they are most easily swayed if you want to influence their opinion. There are many uses for media coverage, including showcasing a new product, service, or project or introducing new audiences to a client as a leader in their field. It can also be used for damage control. Firms that specialize in public relations can help change a negative image of companies and brands that are in hot water. You can rebuild your brand’s image and put it back in the public’s favor with the help of a good PR firm. Read more about how PR can help you build a reputation in this recent article.
5. Get a feature or collaborate with a big artist
Getting a feature with a big-name artist can help explode your music career overnight. It can drive streams, sales, and fan building. We recently published a case study on how we helped an artist go from under 1,000 monthly listeners on Spotify to over 300,000 in only a few months through a strategic collaboration. In addition to growing your fan base and making you money from that song, a collaboration can influence fans and assert yourself among higher-profile artists. Growing as an artist requires social climbing and continuously working with bigger and bigger artists to reach more and more listeners. Read more about the benefits of collaborating with other artists in this case study.
Build a reputation with the help of an agency
At DCR, our goal is to help you navigate the music industry more confidently and successfully. Whether you have a negative brand image you want to improve or you are a new or emerging artist looking to build your reputation, our artist development services can help you take the right steps to accomplish your goals. Read more about our artist development services or contact our team to learn more about how we can help you.