“Dropping Gems” a show by artists for artists
So, we are working on producing a show that gives you inside tips and tricks to helping you speed along your career in art and music. More details on where and how you can catch it are coming soon. In the meantime, we want to give you an example of what you can expect. The concept is lifted from a popular series of blogs we had written back a year or so ago, check it out…
Artists have an enormous powers. Don’t sleep on it. The labels from the majors to the indies will have you believe that you need them to fulfill your goals. Everybody say BUUUULLLLSSSSHHHIIIITTTTT!!!!
Lets talk about the power you have as an artist. First, lets recognize that you are what’s called a “sphere of influence”. This means that those that hover around you whether they be your fans, your entourage, people who see you at shows, people who see you on myspace/facebook/youtube are exposed to and impacted by your decisions whether it is wardrobe, opinion, car choice, basically…and please give me the license to use the most played out term in the music biz…your lifestyle. Remember terms are like gear when everybody is rockin it its played out, everybody is talking about “selling their lifestyle” but, no one knows what it means, REALLY.
Its imperative that you realize your value in the marketplace. You can sway decisions that consumers make much more effectively then an ad on television can because you have loyalty. Again that loyalty comes from fans, real friends or myspace, partygoers, people you meet, etc. We have all heard about the millions that are spent on Super Bowl ads and maybe you are not a colossal sporting event and you won’t attract huge dollars but, you are target market dream. Your niche is something that advertisers will pay a premium for, because you got that loyalty, because you are a sphere of influence. Harness your power.
So, allow me to display if I may the way to get your brand in gear. Take a month and write down everywhere you go, what you buy, what you wear, what websites you visit, what you eat, what you drink…not what you wish you could eat/drink/wear, but what you honestly rock/do. You can’t sell Gucci on needing a new bag, when you don’t rock a Gucci bag already UNLESS you are rocking a China knockoff special from Patapsaco or North Point (and if you are holla I may have some better deals for you…haha) and your lifestyle truly has you among those that are rocking Gucci and they are rocking the real shit and you are faking it till you make it. ONLY then do you have a case, but showing up at the local club with 500 other fake it till you make it types does not get the job done.
Okay, that settled get your list together, and start to segment things. Example: how many days you rockin your fresh pair of dunks or how many times did you eat at 5 Guys (that’s the joint) or how many times did you hit up Starbucks for a chai tea or how many times did you hit up the cleaners to get your gear looking right for the weekend? Global to Local there is money everywhere, don’t get yourself completely trapped on the national brands. Next identify what was going on around you when you were engaged with these brands, were you on stage? Was your picture taken or video done and did it make its way to YouTube, Myspace, Facebook? What kind of comments did you receive? (Master your media, that’s another story for later) Were you at a party, who else was at that party and by who I don’t mean celebrity necessarily it always helps but, I mean who in terms of what did the crowd look like? Was it mixed race, what was the DJ spinning, what kind of venue was it in? Was it a “cool party”, big points come when you are embedded in the “cool”.
Now, once you assembled your list and detailed all the goods that were affiliated with that list you are ready to make the approach. Now focus on one brand that you know would make sense and put yourself in their shoes. Remember when you enter into a partnership with that company/store/whatever and they bless you with their hard earned cash or goods you have an obligation to represent. You cannot get arrested in your fresh new Dunks, bad move. Think like that business, what is affiliating with you going to do for their sales? Also, keep in mind if you are going after squeaky clean brands and you have a not so squeaky clean myspace page or website you will probably lose. Either clean yourself up or you are looking at the wrong partner.
After you have thought like that business, and lets use the cleaners as an example, you craft your proposal. The approach is very similar to sending your press kit to a label. Start with a title page (Microsoft Powerpoint is best for this btw), that title page should have that company’s logo and your logo and it should say “proposal for a partnership between Artist and the Cleaners” and the two logos should be side by side below, not touching, but side by side. This begins the sales process; they start thinking in terms of you next to their brand. Some people like to put the two logos together small at the bottom of every page, I don’t make a habit of this but, I can see the good psychology of it.
Next page should be brief bio about you, highlight the big things you’ve done and the follow on media that resulted. Examples:
-Released album to a dress to impress crowd at Loft Party in the arts district, pics featured on myspace page and received 15 comments from attendees
-Opened up for Lupe Fiasco (GQ artist of the year) over 1000 in attendance, featured in local paper as result
-Blah Blah, Blah Blah
-More Blah Blah, Blah Blah
-Not more than 1 page of Blah Blah Blah though
Notice how I use the terms “dress to impress crowd” and mention the GQ thing with Lupe, remember if you are thinking in terms of getting dough or free cleaning from your Cleaners you need to be thinking like them. They are not going to be selling much to your dirty grime club goer, they need to see where the money can come from. Plus, since this is a local person, telling them you have 100,000 friends on myspace means nothing but, the 15 comments from party attendees tells this Cleaners that you are getting follow on from the locals that were at that show. Feel me?
After your bio page, you show your planned upcoming activities and what those events/functions will be about. Then you hit them with with what you are looking for and why…example:
Artist is proposing free cleaning for 6 months in exchange for a banner placed on artist website, a blog written on artist myspace page proclaiming the artist support that the Cleaner is extending (Cleaner contact info would be helpful), and a small coupon for an agreed upon amount between artist and cleaner to be placed on the next flyer that the artist is showcasing in the local area. Last, explain where and how the flyer would be distributed.
Doing the above paragraph in a more bullet-pointed fashion will make it easier for the Cleaner to assess and should serve you to close the deal. Further, a representation of the flyer or previous flyers and an example of where the coupon would be placed will help.
Finish the proposal off with a little bit of jazz, you are an artist after all, you want them to believe they are affiliating with a “sphere of influence” and they want to know you are on the inside, giving them a white piece of paper will invoke no emotion.
The very last page should have your contact information.
The whole proposal for something like this should be no more than 5 or 6 pages. Of course, you got to have some hustle to you in order to first get in the door and then close the deal. That part is the hard part.
Feel free to post your questions below…
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Specializing in Hip Hop music, art, and culture, we strive to capture the spirit of a brand and channel that energy into all forms of media and enterprise.