Marketing, Branding, and Identity in Music

In this next section, I'm going to chat with Charlie about:

• Marketing
• Branding
• Identity
• How artists create a visionary sense

This encompasses understanding or tapping into a zeitgeist as part of the package that takes pure talent further into the realms of success.

Talent is a Gift, Success is the Job

Charlie, you've titled this course "Talent is a Gift, Success is the Job." What do you mean by that?

"It's exactly what I mean. You can be a very talented songwriter, artist, producer... anyone who, with a pair of hands and a little bit of brain, can produce something interesting. It doesn't have to be beautiful or exceptional, but something interesting. However, if you don't find a way to make it accessible to the market or the consumer, even worse, real talent stays in a little studio between you and your friends."

You can't just expect to be talented and walk into a record company office or even a film production office and say, "Hey, I'm talented. Sign me."

"There's more to the package. Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that."

Understanding Branding and Marketing

You've shared seminal moments in your biography about understanding branding, logo, image, and the package that comes with talent as success. What does that mean to you? How do you define marketing and branding?

"I think I'm not a marketing man. I work a lot with marketing professionals, and let's face it, marketing can be a very bad word because it implies applying concepts learned at university and dumping a lot of money into it, hoping for a hit or a successful product."

To me, marketing or branding is what you apply to your talent to make it interesting and to get noticed.

Examples of Branding

• If David Jones had called himself David Jones and not David Bowie, I don't think he would have sold the same amount of records.
• Iggy Pop, if he was called James Osterberg, he might evoke thoughts of an osteopath.

"James Osterberg sounds a little bit like an osteopath, a shrink, you know, psychoanalyst. But Iggy Pop? That's intriguing! Automatically, in the mind of an average teenager like me, somebody called Iggy Pop is like, wow, I want to hear that."

What else comes with the package?

• The first thing is the name.

Some people are lucky, they're born with a great name.

• Frank Sinatra is very musical.
• Frank Zappa is very musical.
• Miles Davis is very musical.

But if you call someone Reginald Dwight, you've got a problem.

"I don't think that Elton John, if he had called himself Elton Reginald Dwight, would have sold the same amount of records or had the same type of attention. Because Elton John is a very strong brand; it's a very strong name."

Powerful Branding Examples

Kiss is a perfect example.

• The way their logo was designed, even referencing controversial elements, immediately grabs your attention.
• Think about their titles, such as "Kiss Destroyer", you can imagine the effects it could have had in the 70s on a 16-year-old in America.

"Immediate attention, you know? That's branding."