Smule

Author: Tamara Hope

We have all joined Smule:Sing for a variety of reasons.  Some of us joined as an escape from home and work responsibilities, some to get over their fear of performing in front of an audience. Many of us have joined to be part of a music community, to learn from other musicians, make friends with other musicians and to create amazing music with other musicians.  There are some singers on the app that have hopes and dreams of becoming a “famous” or “renowned” singer.  There are also those that are here for all of the above.  No matter where you may lay on the Smule spectrum, we are all here because we want to be heard.

 

That leads me into the very important topic of branding yourself as a singer.  If having a following or a fan base is not important to you, then this topic will not really matter much, but, if you here for any type of serious recognition, listen up!

 

Your name is EVERYTHING!  Because each singer is unique, it’s harder to try to explain a singer with adjectives.

 

“You know, the girl who has the soft tone, with a little bit of a rasp and great runs?”

 

That describes about a billion singers.  It’s all in the name.  Your name sells and defines you.

 

So, how do you make your brand name work for you?  The number one thing that needs to happen is that you make your brand consistent.  Social media is everything in the music world these days.  We have eliminated almost all analogue music and have gone digital. When, someone is seeking you as a musician they will “Google” your name or throw your name into a search engine.  This is why consistency is by far the most important way to make your musical name work.  You have to make your user name consistent throughout social media.

 

The second most important rule is that you make your name memorable.  Calling yourself “alpha128942onesong343green” is not going to stick.  I have already forgotten the first number, let alone the rest of the name.  This can be a challenge when you are competing with millions of other people for names.  Sometimes an underscore can easily help you pass this barrier.

 

Here is the unfortunate truth in the entertainment industry: Many performers looking for managers, agents or record deals have run into a new challenge.  They are looking for people that have already been working hard to self-promote.  You could be the greatest singer on earth, but without a following or fan base you are useless to them.  These professionals want to hire someone they think will be able to make them money.  They want to know that if they produced a product for you (album, music video, TV show, etc.) that you would automatically have buyers.

 

Many of my friends in the industry have lost out on roles because they were Googled by managers/producers/agents, only to find that they were unsearchable or that they had a minimal Intagram/Facebook/YouTube following.  This is the common trend and it is no longer a secret.

 

Branding yourself takes hard work and diligence, but an easy step in the process is to simply find a name that you would make you searchable, a name that will make us remember you, a name that we can seek no matter where we are, a name that is easy to remember.

 

Good luck Smulers! I hope this helps!!!