The rise of the brand & artist partnership

Given the rise of the internet, consumers have been able to control the type of media they consume now more than ever. As a result, learning how to properly market yourself as an artist will play an integral role in your brand’s overall growth and success.  You’ll need to understand the different marketing avenues available to best allow you to grow your brand throughout the different stages of your career. As you begin to build that initial fanbase, you’ll need to spend a considerable amount of time producing consistent content on social media and engaging with your potential fanbase.  Building relationships with fans, industry contacts, artists, and other brands early on is also something you’ll need to consider as you develop a strategy for your brand. If you think about it, the success of the first three relationships move directly through you, however, the overall success of the final relationship moves through you as well as the brand you have entered into a partnership with. Entering into a brand-artist partnership can provide immense value but should be well planned and in mutual agreeance on both sides.

The most successful partnerships always benefit both parties. They tend to naturally complement each other, cater to a similar culture, and are always relatable to the target consumer. For an artist, partnering with another brand can help increase engagement, provide some financial stability, and gain new fans, while the company enjoys increased revenue. The brand you develop a partnership with will also have an established market and audience of its own that you now have immediate access to. You can leverage this relationship to help grow your own fanbase. Some creative partnerships also come packaged with financial incentives, but just remember, the relationship itself is what holds the most value. Partnering with another brand is often accompanied by a marketing campaign tied to the culture of both brand and artist, and can increase consumer engagement because of this. But being that music is all about culture, it will be important to remember to align yourself with a brand that shares similar values as yourself.

Brand-artist partnerships aren’t necessarily a new thing, but marketers have opened their eyes to the power of music as a motivator for its customers. The branding business generates roughly $2 billion in revenue for the music industry, including music tours, advertising, films, endorsements, festivals, venues, and TV programs.  Great brand-artist partnerships build a unique experience for their customers. Artists can help be a face for the brand and add personality to their products. The act of partnering with other brands helps give attention and interest that might not have been previously attainable. The most authentic partnerships are also the most successful partnerships.  An authentic partnership comes more natural and involves a mutual culture on both sides.  The first time U2 and Apple paired up was in the iconic commercial for the iPod and their hit single “Vertigo”. On the other hand, their more recent partnership wasn’t seen to have the same success. The free U2 album with the release of the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch had some people up in arms. Thought to be an amazing offer, the automatic download ended up being more intrusive than anything.  And some partnerships just don’t make sense. There was interest in a Coca-Cola and Ellie Goulding partnership but it never panned out because the singer/songwriter doesn’t drink the soda. The importance of aligning yourself with a brand that has a similar culture will enhance the experience for the consumer and gain far more success.

Brand-artist partnerships are on the rise and continue to become more influential than in the past. The relationships once thought to be only attainable at a very high level, have now become a plausible option for artists of all sizes.  Although it may take some time to find and form the right partnership, the relationship and message should come naturally. Just be patient and trust your process, over time you’ll recognize the potential for a brand partnership that just makes sense. Keep in mind your potential fans are faced with high volumes of advertisement traffic daily and have learned to understand when a partnership is authentic or not.  So, invest in building relationships and networking early on in your career. These will be fundamental building blocks for greater opportunities down the road.