You're Not a Brand, You're a Stock

In the 1960s, if someone told young musicians that they had to brand themselves, and be more like brands of that era such as Tupperware (food storage containers), Tab (soda), Mary Quant (fashion) or Zippo (lighters), they'd be laughed out of the Gaslight Cafe for being the squarest thing since the cube. (Although to be fair, bands like the Monkeys were nothing if not a brand). I am talking about roots and folk music, the essence of the 1960s. It was politically charged and fervent-- the polar opposite of comfy branding. 

Fast forward to the 2020s. Take one look at marketing strategy of today, and you'll see branding yourself as imperative. Need proof that branding is a popular approach to marketing these days? Let's ask Google. When googling "How to brand yourself as a musician" there's many results, starting off with this screenshot:

The company WIX offers a personal branding guide, check it out here.

The company Looka has a branding kit, check it out here.

You don't need to look far to see that branding is a considered an important, imperative step in marketing today.

Branding is not an end in itself.

A brand is just a brand, a cigar is just a cigar. Just because you are recognizable, and have a color scheme, logo, and fonts doesn't mean your music is any good. It just means your marketing is in place. 

If the corporate mentality has permeated music, so be it. If so, then let's take that a step further. To be more than a brand or flavor of the month, you must have stock value. 

To this end, consider your music as a stock: is it rising or falling? Are you further along than last year? Would people invest in you? Once you start looking at your music as a stock, which has a value, then you're able to make strategic decisions to increase that value.