This course shares practical tips and strategies to help you take your first step into launching your career as a musical artist. We’ll cover everything from developing your unique identity as an artist and how to lead a band all the way to planning and recording your first independent record with the help of crowdfunding. The course curriculum is modeled from the real-world experience of Leah Waldo (also known as the emerging country artist, Elisa Smith) and features interviews with industry executives, artists, producers, and engineers — all designed to help you navigate the music industry.
Partnering With Brands
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Del curso dictado por Berklee College of Music
Navigating the Music Business
50 calificaciones
De la lección
Your Brand
Now that you have a strong foundation (your IVI), we'll discuss building your brand and your fanbase. We'll go over tips for building a presence on social media and how to connect to your fans and potential business partners on a personal level by learning how to network effectively. Finally, we'll discuss the trend of artist-brand partnerships and why a brand partnership might be a smart move for independent artists.
Conoce a los instructores
Leah WaldoCourse Author
Berklee Online
[MUSIC]
So in this segment, we're going to talk a little bit about partnering with other
brands to further your brand.
So I'm joined here with Stephen Canfield.
He is currently the Vice President of marketing for WeTransfer, and prior
of that, he worked with Red Bull for five year to develop on the music strategy.
So Steven, thank you for joining us today.
>> Yeah, of course, glad to be here.
>> So what exactly is sponsorship as it relates to artists and brands?
>> Cool, so I think sponsorship in general,
probably the best way to look at it is.
It is a brand who is investing at an artist or
an event ultimately to reach their business objectives.
That sort of in its broadest form, right?
But I think probably what's most important and relevant for
this topic is good sponsorship.
And generally good sponsorship is one that lives between the objectives in
the brand and the objectives of the artist,
with the relationship that sits in between that help to accomplish both.
>> So why would an artist decide to work with the brand in the first place?
>> Ultimately is an artist, and
I mean you generally are in need of two main things, right?
So I think one is amplification or promotion, and
the other which is resource.
Money to help fund a tour, money to help fund a music video,
to help fund a new record or whatever it may be, right?
So I think generally speaking, there's two things that brands have.
One is money, to help you realize those objectives.
And with that comes the caveat that they're trying to do something with that
money too.
because they're meant to invest it in advertising program or
something like that that's going to make their board happy.
The other thing that most brands have that you might end up working with is a level
of resources that lead to promotion.
So if you consider someone like Nike,
the reality is they have massive social channels.
They also have a level of spend that they will do behind a campaign that will get it
out to people that you may not reach otherwise.
And some of them, I think the ones that most people
are interested in with partnering with, also have a dedicated consumer base.
So if you think about someone like a Converse,
there are people that love Converse.
And those are people that, if you're not reaching them already,
you can actually reach them through that brand.
>> That being said, do you think that a brand can break a band
in the sense that record labels use to or are responsible for?
>> To be candid even though I think it would be a really convenient answer
to say yes.
I think breaking a band is really hard and takes a lot and a lot of different people,
and a lot of different touch points.
So the artists that tend to do well, and tend to kind of get into that public
consciousness, are just seen a lot, in a lot of different places.
If you think about an artist that you fall in love with, you probably see them 30,
40 times before you actually press play and actually listen to them.
So I think one place where a brand really helps is it's another place that you
can as an artist, create a touch point.
But I think there are things that a brand lacks as it relates to
breaking a brand, right?
So radio, great example of something that you're going to need a label for
generally.
And a lot of music, as much as radio is sort of moving away from being as relevant
as it once was much music in the top 40 today is still driven by radio,
which is an important metric in driving charts.
>> So I want to take a couple steps backwards, and
just kind of have a conversation around howa band decides to work with a brand.
Or even starts to identify the types of brands that they would want to work with.
>> So I mean I think it first starts with who you'd like, right?
So I think there's this traditional stigma about artists not selling out, right?
But I think it's always an ironic conversation,
because you know the artist they're talking about not selling out?
They're already wearing a pair of Converse, and
already playing a certain type of instrument.
And already sort of have a affinity for certain things, right?
So like they're drinking the orange juice, wearing the shoe, doing the thing, and
talking about how they hate brands.
Which is sort of the basis of living in society, right?
>> Right, right.
>> So I think a key first step is to just think about what you actually like,
what brands make sense for you as a human being?
What fit with your values, what fit with the values of your audience?
I think another question is, what brands have something that you need or want?
And that's not just money, because I think if you're just going after the money,
so is everyone else, good luck.
You need to really think about other things that a brand can offer, because
that's what that package is going to look like when they offer it to you.
And I think you also want to think about who you're a fit for, right?
So just because Red Bull has a good amount of financial resource and
a good amount of promotional resource.
You may not be an artist that's similar to other ones that they've
covered in the past.
There may be a moment in time where they're promoting primarily urban and
hip hop artists, and you are a hard core band.
Then it's probably not the right time for you to reach out to them.
It's not to say that you shouldn't meet people and have conversations,
because you always should and that's the best way to learn their objectives.
But I think it's a bit of common sense,
it's the same as if you were to meet someone on a human level.
You'd be thinking about would this person be a good friend to me?
Would I be a good friend to them?
>> Right.
>> Are we into the same things?
It's sort of all the same types of concepts.
>> So what can kind of a burgeoning young band that's just kind of starting out,
what are some steps they can take as they're kind of developing their identity,
their image?
What are some things that they should be thinking about?
Or steps they can take to kind of think about the future of positioning themselves
to be able to partner with the brand and make themselves more attractive to brands?
>> Yeah, another important thing to think about is just they had
the negotiation, right?
So generally speaking,
if you look at most negotiations the party that reaches out to the other party
is immediately on their back foot when it comes to the relationship.
>> Right. >> Right?
Because you're sort of chasing them.
So I think you want to get a place as an artist where brands are reaching out to
you, and you have a choice between multiple that you can use.
And decide what's waiting on your timeline, that's the goal, right?
That's not always possible, and there will be times that even the biggest artists in
the world have to reach out and ask for
support on a music video that might be over scope or these types of things.
But I think most important is the general things that I suspect the classes
is covering totality, right?
So I think a big part is the creative,iIt's actually your music of
course, what it stands for, what it is.
The audience, they could come around I think,
as well your brand is very important.
That's the first thing that they're going to look at and
it's something that they're going to think about.
There are brands that want people that are more controversial to work with.
There are brands that don't, that should factor into how you work with them and
if you work with them.
I think another thing is your following,
this is a case where if you don't have an audience,
there are certain things that you can do with the brand that may be fine.
Like syncing your music onto a commercial, they're not necessarily looking for
a massive audience behind that.
And in some cases, actually it's better for them to have smaller artists.
Because they don't have the budget for some bigger ones for sync.
But if you're seeking sort this big massive tour promotional support and
you're playing 200 person rooms, that's harder to justify in the brands mind.
because over 20 days at 200 people,
the realities are just not reaching that many people.
So getting you audience big is another big part.
I think another thing that they're going to think about generally is
the type of fans that you're reaching.
So you want to have good understanding of who your fans are.
It's one thing to have a small fan base, but
if you're able to say to a potential partner, your fans, sort
of this is who they are and this is what they represent, this is their purchase.
I mean that's especially true in the dance music world.
So there are lot of sort of more cred dance
artists that have pretty production leaning fans.
So their fans are very into audio, they're very into making music themselves.
So then it's very easy for an artist like that to say, hey,
I don't have that many fans.
But the ones that I do have all have the potential to be using your gear, right?
Which is different than an artist that may be a bigger artist, but
has fans that are not into that.
So I think it's a lot just about sort of matching in that way.
>> So at the end of the day do you think it makes more sense for
an artist to work with a brand first or
to kind of try to go after a record deal first or do you think it matters?
>> I think it depends artist to artist.
And I think it well depends on what stage you are, what you need.
Maybe it worth even speaking to some trends as far as where labels are very,
very helpful now versus brands, right?
And vice versa, so I mean a good example,
we spoke a bit ago about radio and how that's changing.
So labels traditionally are who drive radios or who drives distribution?
That's what they do better than anyone, and well frankly continue to,
because there's a lot of money infrastructure that goes into both.
If those are relevant to you, you probably want to think about a label first.
So if you want to be a mainstream artist first,
you're probably going to need a record label.
or 10 years with no sleep on the road, becoming a massive band,
and a lot of talent and a massive fan base, right?
Yeah, I think another thing that labels are doing increasingly well,
is servicing as it relates to digital platforms, right?
So where radio is changing a bit.
One thing that's coming up and
filling that void of the marketplace is playlisting on platforms like Spotify.
And then is a RapCaviar is a great example of that.
There's a person that programs that, and
he is one of the biggest taste makers in America right now.
because it something makes that ultimately will generally
become a reasonably big song.
Labels are probably going to help you with Spotify servicing much better
than a brand would.
So there's those types of traditional things.
I think another things is if you need a record with great songwriters and
a massive team and a massive set of producers and those types of things.
That's something that a label can generally help you get done.
And sort of help to give you that time and that creative resource to do it.
It's not to say that it always works that way.
There's a lot that you have to do to get the time and the attention of the label,
so that they actually will take a bet on you.
But the likelihood of a brand sort of saying, we're going to set you up in
a studio for six months on a project, connect you with multiple songwriters.
Connect you with multiple different producers,
let you record 28 different songs, decide which ones do you want.
It's pretty slim, there are maybe one or two brands that we do that and there are.
But there's two brands and those slots are getting fought over really, really hard.
I think to the flip side, where a brand helps in a way a label might.
The reality is speaking to the point of time, a lot of artists just need time to
figure out what they want to be and what they want to do.
And I think in some ways what you need is little cash infusions to keep you going.
And there's cases where if you do the right thing, be the sync.
If your fan base isn't there yet, there be some other, sort of even branded show.
There maybe a lot of money that you can get from that, that can keep you going and
continue to sort of give you better broadway, that's very helpful.
Sponsored tours is another thing, like if you going under a bigger tour, you might
not be able to make the numbers work based on the production that you have.
Sometimes a brand can come out at that point.
Another big thing is music videos, so
I would say that's the number one thing that people reach out to us for.
>> Last but not least,
what advice would you give to kind of young artists who are just starting out,
who are just kind of trying to figure out what the heck they're doing?
[LAUGH] >> Yeah.
>> What would you share with them?
>> In relation to the brand world or just in general?
>> Yeah, well or both, yeah.
>> I think the delicate dance you gotta figure out is knowing your value, right?
Because there's a certain point where it's a level,
if you're going to reach out to your brand.
It's very important that you know what you can offer to that brand and
what you can't.
Because that will show a certain self awareness in the room and
the negotiation that I think the brand will appreciate.
The delicate part of that is, if you're always thinking about your value, and
always sort of thinking about well, would anyone actually care about this.
You're not going to have the sort of confidence you need to innovate and
get to the next step in your career.
So I think you have to really go back and forth between certain types of meetings,
where you're being very upfront and saying, here's what I have going for me.
Here's some things that I could use your help with and
places where I'm not quite where I want to be yet.
But I'd rather you know that upfront, which I think is going to help you get
that second, third, fourth deal with that brand on.
But then those are places where you have to be massively ambitious and not care and
just sort of push through.
And I think that's a really key part of going to the brand world.
So I think you sort of have to find that balance in the right moment to take
advantage of both.
But it ultimately comes down to knowing yourself, knowing your audience,
knowing what you want to accomplish.
And then using multiple parties,
not just brands to help you get there because you will need help.
I mean I think there's yet
to be a case study where anyone has done it on their own.
There's certainly that narrative that artists have shaped, but
everyone of them has had help.
In the form of individual people that have given them advice,
in the form of companies that have taken a risk.
In the form of labels that have taken a risk, in the form of festivals that have
taken a risk, to help them get where they want to go.
>> That's great, that's super, super helpful.
I think that what you've been sharing is very much what I've been working through.
And kind of what I'm trying to share with the people that are taking this course
,and watching this video.
So thank you so, so much for joining us and sharing some of your wisdom.
>> Awesome, thank you so much, appreciate it.
>> Thanks Stephen, take care.
>> Yeah, thanks, bye. >> Bye.
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