Is Your Online Presentation Making a Good First Impression?

 

This week I came across an article written by Budi Voogt, owner of artist management agency and record label Heroic Recordings. The title of the article was rather eye-catching: "The Musician's Unconventional Guide to Getting a Record Label Deal." I'm not sure how "unconventional" the advice he shares is, but when combined with hard work and persistence, these common sense strategies can definitely lead to a variety of positive results.

The article is comprehensive and covers just about every aspect of an artist's career plan, so if you're an aspiring artist or musician, you definitely want to check out the entire article. Of course, I am going to highlight the parts that refer to an artist's image (see excerpt below). It's a career strategy Voogt lists as one of the basics, with a focus on an artist's online image/online presence.

Presentation:
You know the saying ‘First impressions last’? It’s true… and highly relevant when you’re trying to get signed.

When you manage to get a label to listen to your music, chances are that they are going to catch a glimpse of your online appearance. And if they don’t, they will definitely look you up if your music has intrigued them. You want to make sure that the impression you leave is as good as can be.

Here’s the minimum of things that you should have sorted out:

• Social Media
  Set up accounts under your artist alias on at least Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Soundcloud. Make your specific URLs the same for each platform… so if you’re www.facebook.com/thebestbandever, you want to try and have www.soundcloud.com/thebestbandever too. Then, interlink everything. All your profiles should have links to your profiles on other platforms, your website and email address.

• Own a domain
  You should have your own .com domain. It just looks more professional. If your band name is TheBestBandEver, try going for www.thebestbandever.com. You can get .com domains for as little as $10...Now all you need is a website on there… you can build one yourself or run with WordPress or Tumblr if you’re not that tech savvy.

• Artwork
  Everything has to be visually pleasing too. You should have a logo, some decent photographs and possibly artwork for your releases. Make sure these are all set up correctly on your social media sites and website. If you have mediocre designs or did a half-assed attempt at crafting something yourself, ditch it. You’re better off with no design than ugly design – it looks cheap. Ideally, you want to find a designer who can specifically cater to your needs and with whom you can develop a long-term working relationship...

I can’t stress enough how essential these basic things are. If you have checked and sorted out everything, you should now have built a decent foundation. You’ll look more professional to both a label and your fans.

Voogt's article goes on to also discuss how to think like a label, determine your targets, set yourself apart, build relationships, and more. It's worth taking the time to study it and apply the advice to your own career plan!

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