Music Industry Blog 04
It's All Presentation
By: Matthew Mazer
Personal Image
The next step is to conquer your personal image. The following sections should help you through this process. This is what your plan should focus on for the first 30 days after initial production.
Artist/Band Picture
You should have an 8x10 black and white photo of yourself ready at all times. This photo does not have to be done by a professional photographer, but should represent what you want the world to see you as. This image should not contain obscene gestures or "set reppin". It should look professional in content, but represent your individuality. Get creative here! Even if you take hundreds of photos, be picky and get the one that best represents you.
Artist/Band Bio
Get yourself on track with industry bio standards (if your not already), making yourself presentable to record labels and venues. Most people misunderstand how this should be done. Always keep in the back of your mind that this is a business about selling product, and promote yourself accordingly. When writing an artist bio, make it short and sweet. Don't highlight how cool you are and how many pounds you smoke. Focus on things that are important to the industry, or business in general. Things that will affect a record label's opinion of you are (in order of importance) : the amount of albums sold, size of fan base, originality, personal image, and live shows.The key to a good bio is shoving as much relevant information into a gripping paragraph as possible. You only have the first paragraph to grab an A&R's or manager's attention, so you have to make it count. For example, here is what I ended up with for my bio:
"Disdain has put crowds in awe nationwide since 2003. This underground rap sensation is accredited with hundreds of battle victories, and has won a total of 14 rap contests on the east coast. Do not be deceived into thinking he is your average white rapper. Disdain is a 10 year music producer of all genres, fluently plays six instruments, and single handedly sold 11,000+ copies of his home produced CD. The music speaks for itself. It's edgy, intelligent, and contains content everyone can relate to. If this explosive artist is not part of your rap music collection already, there is no doubt he will be very soon."
Third-Person Perspective
The first thing you will notice is that my bio is written to build a mental image of the artist (me) from a third-person point of view. This writing perspective seems more credible to the reader, because it is as if someone else is speaking about you (possibly a writer or columnist).
Positive Build-Up Words
Words like "awe", "sensation", "victories", "fluently", and "edgy". These words are non-abrasive words that slide by unnoticed alone, but help build the overall picture you want the reader to have at the end of your paragraph.
Power Phrases
These phrases are still non-abrasive, but build reputability. Phrases like "accredited", "won", and "single handedly" build you a reputation in the reader's mind without them knowing it. It adds "respect" to the long list of attributes they have associated with you as an artist.
Left Hanging and Jealous
The bio leaves the reader desiring to hear the music. The last line reads:
"If this explosive artist is not part of your rap music collection already, there is no doubt he will be very soon."
This line leaves the reader remembering me. Why? The closing line contains the only abrasive word in the whole paragraph, "explosive". This makes it memorable, an old Literature trick. Also, the closing line makes the reader feel like they are missing out on something other people are enjoying. If focuses on triggering the emotion of jealousy, a key contributor to my genre of music (Rap). So, focus the closing line on triggering an emotion related to your genre. For example, if you write love songs, then the obvious choices are passion, warmth, or even sex.