If you target sharp enough, you will own your niche
Let’s say you’ve decided that your style of music should be proudly called “power-pop”.
- If you say, “We’re power-pop!” in the very first sentence or paragraph of all of your marketing
- If your email address is “powerpop@gmail.com”
- If your album title is “Powerpop Drip and Drop”
- If the license plate on your band van is “POWRPOP”
When someone asks me for a music recommendation and says they like power-pop, guess who I’m going to tell them to buy?
Have the confidence to find your niche, define who you are, then declare it again and again and again and again.
If you do it persistently enough, you will own that niche. People will not be able to imagine that niche without you.
Don’t forget you can use your city or country as a niche! Amplify your regional influence on your genre of music, and declare it to be an official sub-genre, of which you’re the originator. Think of past examples: Minneapolis funk, Seattle grunge, Korean K-pop, Icelandic avant-garde, and of course the different kinds of hip hop from every corner of the world.
You can make your own niche, if you’re brave. You might be the best “a cappella medieval metal” artist in the world.
Derek, good advice. Too often the marketing is AFTER the product, not at the same time the product is begin developed. Much like a good title of a book or headline for a marketing piece.
Even though we've been telling people we're "90's Alternative" we actually consider ourselves to be "Gothic Pop" because our songs are catchy like Pop songs but our lyrics are usually dark and depressing.
Wie sieht es denn aus, wenn man als Künstlerin den eigenen Namen branden möchste? Gilt da das gleiche?
Hi Derek,
I'll tell you the nice benefit of putting in the many hours of learning to play guitar, or learning to bang them drums: I pick up the confidence and decision making that you talk about here.
Now if only I could do something about the little blister on my thumb.
Even though we've been telling people we're "90's Alternative" we actually consider ourselves to be "Gothic Pop" because our songs are catchy like Pop songs but our lyrics are usually dark and depressing.