Indie Artists Need PR Agencies….Here’s Why
From running your dozen social media accounts to blog upkeep, to handling your events and appearances, should up and coming musicians consider outsourcing their marketing efforts to an outside agency?
Great bands are built on great brands.
Even if that seems like a sellout way to think of the music industry, the most anarchist fan would be hard-pressed to admit that their connection to beloved artists runs deeper than just music.
Whether it’s their “I don’t care” attitudes, their subversive fashions or just all out cool personalities, musicians are able to impact more than just their audience’s ears thanks to their literal rockstar status in our entertainment culture.
So who should hold the reigns when it comes to an artist’ branding, being as tho their image is one of the most important marketable aspects outside of whatever hit music they can create? The answer is different depending on the:
- Artist’s fanbase
- Their needs as they navigate going from unknown or indie to stepping in the major spotlight
- The long-term goals for both their music and career.
In-House PR and the DIY Approach
Most musicians are rightly concerned with the music first, so it’s not surprising that big stars usually offload their PR and fan communication duties to an outside firm or agency, but did you know that it’s becoming an increasingly popular option for indie artists as well?
Several big name “indie” artists, such as Chance the Rapper, have managed to secure branding deals with major music companies (like Apple Music or Spotify) in lieu of getting a record deal, proven that these days, music consumers prefer the allure of an “authentic” brand over the traditional style of music marketing that’s been popular for song long. This means that up and coming artists can worry less about finding the hottest bloggers and focus more on finding new opportunities to engage and win over fans.
Social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat can help musicians with fan engagement, but as those platforms become oversaturated with new artists popping up everyday, established and indie bands need to think outside of the box when it comes to boosting their street cred. Some important questions for artists to ask when trying to determine a PR strategy that will work for them:
What Kind of Fan Base Do I Want?
Thanks to Internet popularity, musicians are able to build massively loyal fan bases these days. While the overall concept of a “fanatic” has been around since the beginning of modern entertainment, some artists have the ability to win over “stans”, aka fans that are so loyal they follow their favorite artists every move.
Stans come with significant buying power and having an engaged stan-base can take an artist’s career from great to extraordinary. That being said, many major artists have lamented the lack of privacy and the high expectations and demands of having such loyal fans, so keep this in mind when thinking of your own fan outreach strategy.
How Hands On Do I Want to Be?
Some musicians love the limelight, some just put up with it in order to truly make the most of their craft. Whichever your choice is, you want to establish some clear boundaries when reaching out to a new publicist or PR team. Maybe you want to control your on fan pages on social media, or maybe you actually don’t want to post daily Snapchats to let the world know what you’re doing 24/7.
Determine whether or not you want to be a “Meet and Greet” sort of artist or if you prefer to have a more introverted persona before your career takes off — it will help save yourself, your team and your fans frustration down the line.
The next step in coming up with a solid marketing strategy for your music career is making a decision to DIY or reach out to a public relations or entertainment agency to help out with this. Many artists will choose the DIY route because at first it seems like a money saver, but in truth, sometimes going the professional route can save artists both time and money in the long-run.
Benefits of An Agency
Publicists and marketing professionals specialize in helping artists achieve strategic goals that will lead to more positive press and outcomes for their career.
While the impact of social networking as somewhat made it easier for artists to act as their own publicist, but in most cases, there is more ROI in hiring a highly skilled publicist to handle these tasks.
Despite the seemingly effortless appeal of social networking and “brand building”, most musicians are not equipped to handle the 24/7 dynamics of integrated, multi-channel marketing and communications, meaning that after a certain point in their career, most of their marketing responsibilities will be outsourced to professionals anyhow.
For example, growing your social media followers is a good plan to help bring in more revenue from your music, but an agency can help you execute your goals and build a plan that is allows you to reach this goal without spending more time on marketing than you do on music.
Additionally, thanks to the specialized training that agencies and marketing professionals receive, they’re equipped to help you attribute new success directly back to you actions on stage. empowering you to continue making the music needed to keep the revenue streaming in.
Choosing how to reach music fans can be an overwhelming decision thanks to the advent of social media, the popularity of digital marketing, and the complexity of search engine algorithms. As an indie artist, it can be difficult to give up control over such an integral aspect of your brand and career, but remember — hiring a publicist or PR agency is more than a business deal; it’s the first step in introducing your music to future fans.
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