Part of having a successful career in the industry is the ability to market yourself and stand out from others in the modern music world. Being able to brand yourself through an online portfolio, a blog or website is a good way of branching out and exposing yourself to a wider audience. Through a website or blog on a platform such as WordPress, I will be able to present a concise view of who I am as a musician. Through my own website, I will be able to advertise myself and my brand – a regular teenage girl who makes songs about the musings of what she knows about the world. As an individual who is self-employed, the internet is an advantage as it enables me to reach people who may not live locally, expanding the audience that engage with my music. Employers generally look for artists who are reliable and have skills they can build on, such as the ability to play or produce their own tracks. It is import you showcase these skills and demonstrate that you are a desirable candidate to potential employers and industry professionals.
CV JUSTIFICATION
A CV is a snapshot of your musical career to date. On this document I can state my main instrument, any other instruments I play, and the genres in which I specialize. I can also compile a list of my gigs and highlight other skills and achievements as a CV is designed to help you stand out from other applicants. I chose to make and place my CV into my blog as it gives easy access for employers to see what I have accomplished. As a CV is usually the first basis of introduction and contact in an employee-employer relationship, it is important to sell/market yourself appropriately by tailoring it to the job roles you wish to fill. It is important to place the correct information onto the CV, in order to give yourself a higher chance of employment. As a freelancer, I will have to regularly update it with note-worthy positions and achievements. These positions would be in chronological order so the employer can follow my employment history easily and will also highlight my most impressive gigs, while keeping everything to the point, making it easy to assess from a glance. My CV currently highlights performances I have done in the past, including an ABBA tribute at Woodlands School. The skills I have chosen to highlight include modern foreign language (Spanish), and creative direction in areas such as music video production. It also highlights my leaderships skills through roles such as Choir leader and Deputy Head Girl, a role that saw me oversee a team of student leaders.
APPROACH TO IMAGE
My approach to image and design, although to an extent is aesthetically pleasing, is not to the standard I hope it would still be when developed to its full extent, as there should be a clear difference between the work of someone who specializes in website design and someone who is learning as they go. Once I believe I am earning enough in my career, I will invest further into the layout of my blog.
I am firstly comparing my blog to that of Camila Cabello- a Cuban American singer-songwriter. Although this layout and color scheme is not entirely what I would go for if I had the skills and money to present my blog this way, this site is still an excellent example of image and design correlating perfectly to artist and brand. Cabello’s website currently reflects the aesthetic of her album ‘Romance’ this is seen in through a color theme of red, black and nude plus gothic roman font. The dark theme could also reflect an ongoing trend of ‘dark modes’ in websites for example Twitter and Instagram, where the appearance is inverted so the background is black and text colored. Recently, this has gained popularity as it improves visibility and can be helpful to those sensitive to light. Her theme overall helps to brand this era of music as more passionate and sensual. The darker aesthetic doesn’t entirely appeal to me and as I have no album to draw layout inspiration from, I have decided to stick to the aesthetic of my YouTube channel by sticking to darker images with bursts of color and reflect more of an ad hoc, playful and unbranded feel.
Cabello’s blog contains many images of her, and as she is an established performer with a large following her cover image is that of her album while her logo only states her name. The ratio of images I have of myself to those she has is currently one: fifteen, this is because she has her Instagram feed linked to the website and has more professional photography for her artwork for singles. The main difference between her cover art and mine is that all cover art for my singles and videos is created by me using Adobe Creative Suite and photographs I have taken. Unlike Camila, I would much rather have graphically designed artwork or more personal photographs that are edited by me. Overall, I feel that my blog is more suited towards my personality and the way I wish to be represented. I believe it gives forth a feeling of small-town charm, bordering ‘girl next door who records covers in the corner of her room.’
On the other hand, Alessia Cara’s website follows a lighter color theme of yellow, greens, pink/red and black. This not only loosely reflects the color theme of her last two albums and EP but also the youthful, uplifting, pop vibe her songs have. The brighter colors work nicely for the way she wishes to portray herself to her audience, as she commonly refers to herself as ‘a regular person who makes songs”. This is shown through the creative approach of her homepage such as the sketches of stars, hearts and flowers plus the brush font. Her approach to image is quite natural and less professional than Cabello’s as her main header image is one taken by her friend using an iPhone camera. Cara’s page- also unlike Cabello, lacks as many images of herself, as there are only six and she does not have a gallery on the site. Cara’s cover images and the logo also feel more DIY, and very similar to art class sketches further helping brand herself as ‘the girl next door’. The homepage of Alessia’s site allows for easy access to her latest singles and videos, upcoming tour dates and a short bio that highlights her achievements; unlike Cabello’s, it is less clustered and has a more concise breakdown of her brand and latest works. There are immediate links through the form of a slideshow, where you can stream or download from her latest additions to her discography. To the top left-hand corner, there are also icons with links leading to her store and the widgets on the homepage, this is effective as you do not have to searching for her social media pages and can instead have easy access.
I believe that having links helps simplify the viewing experience for employers and fans as it gives them a direct link to the information, they want instead of trying to sift through everything, to find one line. Ideally, I would have my links to the top of the page as the side bar on Cabello’s blog blended into her image and I was unaware it was there. My blog does have a version of this add on, but the links are limited to SoundCloud and Youtube.
Many artists throughout their careers struggle to find a niche, but it is important to find your own identity within a genre and in the music world in order to build a brand off of it. Although many artists are branching out into various genres ad business ventures, the most marketable artists tend to have a certain persona and float between certain genres. For example, Ashley Frangipane is professionally known as her stage persona Halsey and is known for making songs commonly categorized as angst-pop or alternative, but on her recent album she ventured into country-influenced pop with her song ‘you should be sad’.
Having a brand also allows for companies to reach out for sponsorship and collaboration, an example of this is Camila’s partnership with MasterCard. Through this partnership MasterCard holders who are fans of Camila have access to fan presale, among other things.
As of this moment it’s not difficult to establish a brand for myself, as through my website I can showcase the unique selling points of my songwriting and style when covering songs by other artists. However, there are other unique aspects of my blog, for example there are educational videos and information on safety within a studio- 5 TOP TIPS- but also a showreel of cover snippets to give a flavor of what I can do. There are also articles within my blog to highlight my knowledge on issues such as performers rights, and other legalities I could be subject to at some point in my career. Through articles on the Musicians Union and Performing Rights Society, I will be able to deter ill-intentioned employers who want to exploit those they hire through clearly showcasing my knowledge on artist protection. Another way of branding is through ‘artist eras’, for example visual concepts and aesthetics surrounding an album that can be used for merchandise and tour visuals, as well as costume and set when filming for music videos or performing on shows. Cabello’s current era of sound and aesthetic follows themes from the renaissance period and romance era of music. This is portrayed through many aspects of her marketing such as album artwork and the invitations used for listening sessions to the album release video and original teaser posters. This was done as most songs off the album talk about love, therefore making Cabello and her team believe that promotion would be better used if they showcased it through a specific time period. Eras and themes help give unique selling points between older discography’s and newer albums. I have established a loose theme for my blog based off past works that I’ve created and used colors that establish the tracks perspective and my personality musically at the time of their creation.
Themes are common across the industry, whether that is to promote a certain LP, EP or single. An example of this is Matt Maeson’s trilogy of releases Who Killed Matt Maeson, The Hearse and Bank on the Funeral. A common theme in his music throughout his career has been how he openly talks about how detrimental his own mindset and actions are to his wellbeing. The basis of it is Matt Maeson burying Matt Maeson, which when linked to lyrics about ‘bruises on his conscience’ and ‘dancing after death’, has become part of his image. I hope later in my career to be able to give myself more of an established theme using imagery related to more popular tracks, allowing for things that haven’t really been done before to establish an image for myself as an artist. It’s not too early to take career risks but it is better to wait until I have a stable support base.
Camila uses her website to promote her music videos and behind the scene footage connected to them, whereas I use my blog to promote my cover videos and tutorials. This makes it clear that her job is supply and demand, as she provides videos to entertain her audience but mine are more suited for engaging potential employers and fans, this outlines that we have different target audiences.
A piece of marketing that my blog is yet to have are links to social media sites such as Instagram and Facebook. At some point, I do intend to add these, among others as social media is a crucial part of marketing broadening your base in a modern world. This part of Camila’s blog shows the viewer her Instagram feed, as it is linked to her social media. Images of Cabello are a predominant part of her website. From these photos you can see the way in which she markets herself, as she displays her personality, her current era and events she’s participated in recently for example The Better than, Better now riff off with James Corden and her Grammy’s performance, plus an image from Save the Children and quotes from authors and people she looks up to. All these things can give someone viewing the blog, an idea of what the artist is about. Putting social media links onto my blog, would show those who view it my achievements and other things such as visuals regarding my brand. As I believe the gallery is a little too much, I would link my social media profiles in icons on the page, making them easily accessible, through immediate access.
On the other hand, Alessia markets herself quite simply and a little more laid back as she isn’t too fussed about popularity. The way she markets also reflects the brand she originally garnered attention for, it’s very ‘girl filming covers in her bedroom closet’ and creating videos using her phone, than big budget pop star as she doesn’t believe she should be judged for the superficial but on how talented and capable she is on making thought-provoking art. Alessia’s brand is very inclusive of different ages, backgrounds and situations, this is evident through her music videos and the lyrical topics discussed in songs for example Scars to You Beautiful– released in 2015-takes aim at society’s beauty standards and the deleterious behaviors many take to fit in. This song was used by I AM THAT GIRL for their manifesto and further marketed her as more of an empathetic friend than an established pop star like that of Camila Cabello.
Overall, there is very little marketing for Cara and her brand as she enjoys being an understated artist. Cara’s website reflects the theme of her last EP, with its bright colors, sketches and summery feel. As Alessia Cara paints in her free time, her team have found a way to incorporate her personal touch through the drawings. When more established I would very much like to present myself this way and find things that can be added that tie into my interests and attract employers.
Unlike Camila who uses images of herself, quotes and organizations to present herself, I find less photos and more personal additions such as home-made lyric videos and bright color themes, are more unique selling points when promoting yourself. (Alessia’s original videos were done by her and up to recently OKAY, OKAY was filmed in her car.
Neither of these websites have educational or informative aspects such as Tutorials, making them differ majorly from mine. A merch store is another aspect that they have, that is not present in my blog. Through a merch store, fans can purchase digital and physical copies of records as well as items of clothing with lyrics that relate to previous albums and colors and imagery that reflect Alessia’s brand.
Through my blog, I hope to brand myself not only as a singer-songwriter but also an educator through my tutorials; for example, my Steelpan tutorial can give the impression that I am well versed in playing to an employer.
Both Cara and Cabello’s blogs lack as much personal information as mine, allowing for their privacy and a separation of their personal and private life. I need to improve my contacts page, to avoid giving away too much information for example instead of having my CV as a blog post, it can be sent to potential employers on request. As for right now, as a freelancer, it is important to keep this set up.
My blog shows through my CV that I have had an opportunity in my career to perform and write, in various areas. However, there are no pictures from these events present in my blog the way they are available through Cabello and Cara’s social media, for example their Grammy performance images and footage from concerts- Alessia was on a world tour until recently. On top of the lack of performance footage, I don’t believe I have a large amount of credible experience to talk about in detail, like that of established performers. An example of opportunity presented through Cabello’s website is her tour date display. Through this widget fans can buy tickets and those signed up to Camila’s fan club can access fan presale and reserve extra tickets and purchase them before general public sale. There are currently 48 dates set for tour, stretching over the U.K, Europe and North America, with dates set for South America to soon be released, maximizing the exposure of her artistry but also giving her more tour experience as a solo artist and showing employers she is capable enough as a performer to book multiple venues for shows.
Opportunities to showcase her talent and perform solo are important to an artist like Camila, as she was once in a girl group. Now as a solo artist she has the opportunity to showcase her songwriting and personal sound, at shows such as Billboard’s Women in Music. Touring and live performances also allow for footage that can be uploaded to an artist’s YouTube channel; these videos are usually used for reaction videos by YouTubers such as Keisha Erin, where performances are watched for the first time and critiqued genuinely. Depending on the visuals and creative direction of the performance, the videos can trend on platforms such as Twitter and YouTube once again giving artists the opportunity to expand their audience and showcase their skills, an example of this is Camila Cabello’s performance of Havana at the 61st Grammy Awards, in which she collaborated with J Balvin, Ricky Martin, Young Thug and Cuban-American jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, to bring Latin flavored pop to the forefront.
Collaborations can also maximize opportunity, especially in the charts. For example, ‘Old Town Road’ by Lil Nas X, although a hit before, went #1 on the Billboard charts after Billy Ray Cyrus featured on the remix version. The remix charted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for a record-setting nineteen weeks. The collaboration ultimately helped push forward the songs popularity and helped Lil Nas win his first Grammy award.
Beside tour and collaboration there are also other opportunities that can be taken to expand your audience and gain experience in the industry. An example of this is Alessia Cara’s future hosting position of the Juno Awards 2020 and her work penning songs for the Walt Disney animation movie Moana and the Netflix series The Get Down.
As I am not as established as these artists opportunities of that magnitude are yet to approach me, and I therefore look for opportunities that are local to my area for example Thursday night Open Mics at Henry’s Kitchen and the EDSA showcase. To improve my website, I can include a calendar of different events I take part in and include links where tickets can be purchased and information on running times etc. can be found. I think that my branding idea could potentially be successful and as I am a music student, I will gradually find more things to incorporate into my career and blog. I believe that I have consistency in font and color throughout my blog but as I grow as an artist would like to adjust my color scheme, font and theme.
Aaliyah Claxton Freelance Blog 