Diana
Krall & The Importance Of Branding
Not
everyone likes thinking about art in technical terms. For many
artists, 'branding', 'marketing' and 'advertising' are corporate
words that have no place in the creative sphere. But the music
industry is changing, and without a proper understanding of these
concepts, artists can get left behind. In fact, the success of every
single business in the world - whether it's a corporate giant like
Coca-Cola or an unknown rock band gigging the club circuit - depends
enormously on developing an understanding of the importance of brand.
Branding
has been playing on my mind ever since I came across the cover of
jazz singer Diana Krall's new album in a high-end department store
recently. I hadn't heard the music, and I knew little about the
record, but I got this unshakeable feeling when I saw the album
cover. The advert was clearly just one element of a larger marketing
campaign but, studying it closely, I couldn't help but feel that the
branding wasn't right for the artist. She was being presented as a
pop star, it seemed to me, and her true spirit - that of a serious
jazz singer - appeared to have been lost somewhere along the way.
Now
I'm far from an expert on this subject (and I'm probably simplifying
the issue) but, as my grandmother used to say, "Advertising is
the core of a business". And it's truer now than it ever has
been. When you start out as an artist you have to remember that, on
top being your own brand, you need to have some kind of strategy for
building that brand, for nurturing and developing the ways in
which fans see you, feel you and connect with you. It's this magical
process - the intangible way in which people develop a connection
with an artist - that leads to fan loyalty, and ultimately to record
sales. The image you project is a delicate combination of who you
think you are and who others think you are, and this can
be very difficult to get right.
Once
you do get it right, however, you can feed it into everything - your
image, your logo, your attitude, your way of speaking, writing and
performing, and much more besides. It'll also inform the way you
present yourself on the web, and as a result strengthens the
relationship you build with your audience. Essentially, branding is
the way in which you convey who you are to your fans. It's as simple
as that.
Now
and again, a well-branded artist builds the momentum to achieve a
market crossover, conquering different genres and attracting new
followers. This is wonderful when it happens organically, but if the
artist themselves isn't satisfied with the success they've achieved,
their true spirit can get lost and this can upset their original
fanbase. Ultimately we'll have to wait and see if Diana turns up at
the Grammys again in her (in my opinion) somewhat unconvincing pop
guise - or whether we're more likely to see her prancing around the
stage like Beyoncé in a sold-out stadium. Only time will tell…!
