The first step towards a brand.
February 3rd, 2010 by Jim Clark
I’ve decided to take a cue (and an idea) from Mindy Gledhill by trying to figure out what defines me as an artist in the minds of my fans and potential fans, aka “my brand.” I haven’t done much with branding myself as a musician, aside from using the name “Ukulele Jim” — which, in retrospect, may end up hurting me more than helping. I may have boxed myself into the “novelty” arena rather than trying to appeal to the masses as a “singer songwriter.” But hopefully I can get past that “too late now” hurdle by developing a bit of branding that I can use to market myself better.
As Mindy explains: “so many artists (and people in general for that matter) are not specific enough about who they are and what people can expect from them. When people I meet learn that I am a recording artist, they almost always ask what genre I sing and who I sound like. Many artists (including me, at one time) want to believe that they don’t sound like anyone else out there, but I have learned that potential fans lose interest if they can’t walk away with a firm idea of what you stand for.”
These words are well put, and they have inspired me to try and find my own brand and come up with the perfect pitch. Like Mindy, I’m hoping that having a pitch will help me define myself to fans and important people in the music industry.
This is where I need some objective help from you. The first step is to try to figure out where my music fits.
So I ask you: What artist(s) do I most sound like? And as a bonus question: What genre would you define my music as?
(If you’d be so kind as to leave your opinion in the comments below . . . Thanks!)
As a fellow “Nom de Plume” victim – I can relate. But rather than worry about who you sound like, try to be explicit about your influences…
For example, “drawing from the Western singer/songwriter tradition of Steve Earle, Gil Landry, and Kris Kristofferson, Grumpy Coyoteadds his own style and the eclectic instrumentation of the ukulele, mandolin, and guitar… blaa, blaa, blaa”
That’s a bad version, but I think you get the idea of the example.
What you want to do is suggest a genre, and give a reference artist or two without saying “sounds like”. In my opinion, this should be the artists you draw the most inspiration from…
I hope this is not a duplicate.. the first time didn’t show up. Anyhow, rather than box yourself in.. UKULELE Jim.. consider your full name like many famous artists. You could play any instrument or mix genre’s as you like. That’s my thought and I think it’s correct.
That’s kinda what I was worrying about too. Unfortunately I’ve already released my first album as “Ukulele Jim”. I’d have to yank it from everywhere and re-release it.
John Cougar did this back in the 80’s. He went with a phased approach.
Go with Ukulele Jim Clark for the next record and then drop the Ukulele prefix on the third release.
That’s not a bad idea. Kinda makes consolidating things on iTunes/Amazon/etc a bit difficult, though.
I listened to a few of your songs tonight and it reminded me of a song at the end of 50 first dates (one sec i’ll look it up)
Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
This >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAIKznMPXUk is what your music sounded like to me.
You might want to research how this guy brands himself.
Best of luck!
Thank you for the comparison; I find that quite flattering. “Bruddah Iz” became famous based on that song — he could have called himself anything and it would have still been what it was.
I have a zillion thoughts on this topic, but I’ll try to organize them and be brief.
First, you are looking at this from the wrong direction. Forget, for now, figuring out how to define who you are. First define your audience. Who are they? Why do they like you? What do you do for them? Everything comes from there. I have some first-person stuff I’ll save for private conversation, if you’re interested, but that’s where you need to start. My answer to this question: “We do a mix: jazz, lounge, rockabilly. Our bandleader says we’re ‘Lounge with an edge.’ Jen brings the edge – she’s like Amy Winehouse. I have about as much edge as the Lennon Sisters, but they still let me play with them.”
People are buying a fantasy from you. And for what you have to sell, “Ukulele Jim” is ok. It says non-threatening dude with a schtick. There is a “Ukulele Man” here, and people love him. LOVE him.
http://www.myspace.com/ukulelemanandhisprodigalsons
But his “thing” is not the comparison you’re getting here. You’re getting compared to attractive youngish men (Iz excluded for sure) that play guitar and sing about their emotions. Ukulele Jim And His Tiny Fascist Killing Machines could be a really awesome fun party band like Prodigal Sons, but your music would need to go in a different direction.
If you want to be one of those Guys That Sings About His Feelings, there is for sure a certain image that goes with that. A chubby middle-aged balding dude singing about his feelings is usually singing about equality because he is a folk singer.
I hope that all made sense. If you’re interested in more of these ramblings, you know where to find me.
I am NOT balding!
At this point I think I may stick with Ukulele Jim for a while.
My music resonates well with kids, which is why my next album is going to be a children’s album; so the name fits well with that genre already. Someone looking for an “acoustic pop” album might skip past a Ukulele Jim CD, but someone looking in the “children’s music” section would likely pick it up. Then maybe their parents will get hip to the rest of my stuff.
There’s already some level of market penetration as Ukulele Jim, albeit rather small. At least 90% of the Google searches for “Ukulele Jim” actually have something to do with me. For better or worse, it’s out there.
And to go back and pull my albums off of iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, Rhapsody, etc, etc, etc, would be a monumental and expensive feat. I’m not sure it’s worth it at this stage in my so-called career.
People may hear the name and think of a novelty act like “Tiny Tim”, but if I can get them to actually listen to a song or two they’ll come around. For now, I’ll let the music speak for itself.
Anyway, thanks so much for all the input. It’s really helped to open my eyes as to what potential there is for me as an artist.
I agree with Dan – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole came to mind first, and not just because of the ukulele, but also the vocal quality and style. I went back and listened to the rest of Jim’s songs and there were all kinds of cool similarities with other artists, but he definitely shows his own unique style throughout. One of them had hints of early Billy Joel, another one was kind of Jimmy Buffet, and yet another one reminded me of Jim Croche and/or Cat Stevens. All in all, I think that Jim has a damn good sound of his own – it’s called “Ukulele Jim”!
We like it! More – more – more!