Branding Pt. III: Define Your Audience

We’ve discussed the importance of how you’re seen. Now we turn to the question of who is going to see you.

What if the people marketing Justin Bieber had decided to target senior citizens as his audience? What if the people marketing Susan Boyle had decided to market her to thirteen year old girls? The success of an artist, independent or otherwise, is largely determined by where your biggest efforts are placed. You could have Justin Beiber perform at retirement homes across the country, and I’m sure they would have thought he was a ‘nice boy’, but he wouldn’t have been an international sensation. At the same time, you could bring Susan Boyle in to perform at every junior high school in the country, but my guess is that, as phenomenal as her voice is, most of the students wouldn’t really care about someone who looks like their great-aunt (the one with the cats). 

Modern success for an independent performer hinges less on your ability to reach an audience, and more on your ability to reach the right audience. People are so inundated with new information and media every day that they only remember a small fraction of what they see and hear – usually the things that are most relevant to them. Choosing to seek out a very specific audience you know will most likely respond to what you do will help you achieve more success with more efficiency, and help you connect with a loyal, lifelong fan-base.

Many artists play whatever concerts they can find, and I understand the impulse. In the beginning, this is the way to become good at what you do. You want to be playing as much as you can, having the experience of being on stage. In my recent interview with Jeff Riddle, Jeff refers to the 'fog test', that exists for most new businesses - (“When [artists] start out, they work with anybody that will pass the fog test – meaning, put a mirror up to their face and if they breathe into it and it creates fog then they work with them.”)  But don’t spread yourself too thin, especially as you begin approaching music as a long-term career. Remember that people often discover new music through their peers – people in their same age group or community. If you’re playing for people in their teens one night, college students the next, and their parents the night after that, you might do well with each crowd, but how are people in different areas supposed to talk about you or send their friends to your show, when it’s a different crowd, venue, and vibe every time? Your music may be universal, but you’ve got to pick a specific audience to focus on, and the more specific, the better.