A successful music career is not based solely on your music. It’s also based on how the public perceives you. Your brand – and how you present it — will immediately tell potential fans who you are and what you do, before they ever hear your music.

A concise brand is extremely important in gaining credibility and recognition. The more often people see and recognize your brand, the more likely they are to purchase a cd or buy tickets to a show. As we discussed last week, every musician should develop a brand, and you’ve likely already decided on an integral part of your brand: your band name.

This week, in part two of our branding series, we’re going to talk about logos. A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial businesses, organizations and individuals to aid and promote public recognition. Logos can be purely graphic (symbols/icons like the Apple symbol) or they’re composed of the name of the organization (FedEx, for example).

Your logo is the foundation of your brand and will help inform potential fans. Because you want potential fans to remember you, it’s important to use a consistent logo on every piece of material (social media included) to help increase your brand recognition.

Before you create a logo, consider the following:

• Your band name. If you haven’t decided on one, now’s the time. Do you want your name to be part of the logo or do you want a purely symbolic logo?
• Consider your unique selling points as a band. What sets you apart? How can you convey that through an image? How do you want to be perceived? Does your logo accurately portray that?
• Consider your audience. Know their likes and dislikes. It’s important that you like the logo, but it’s equally (if not more) important that it’s something your fans can identify with.
• Take great care in choosing fonts and colors. What do certain fonts say about your brand? Does it present you as gothic when you’re actually pop? Do your colors convey earth tones but you’re an industrial act? Make sure the fonts and colors accurately portray your sound.
• Consider the logo’s usage. Will this be something for your website only or for merch, web, social media, posters, etc? Determine the usage so you can inform your designer and they can be sure the design will work across all uses.

When in doubt, keep your logo simple and readable. Think about the most recognizable logos out there—they’re also the simplest. As an independent artist, a logo is one of your greatest assets and a big start to building your brand, so be sure to take the time to make it great.

Tell us what you think! Do you have a logo? Was it difficult to create? Does it accurately portray your sound?

Up next: Changes and trends in the indie music scene.

The SongCast Crew