Music Marketing – Choosing the right Stage Name.

Let’s talk about some Marketing Music stuff today. My aim is to help you push your produced tracks out of your bedroom and into the scene, clubs and help you create a solid and concrete foundation for your career. So, this article will focus on the stage name and its importance in the role it plays on shaping your career in the music industry and creating an image, and identity for you and your creations.

 1-    You are what your name is –

Choosing a stage name Is a very important part of building an artist image, identity. Various artists have different stage names, from Freddie Mercury to Lana Del Ray, the stage name of an artist plays the role of a vital catalyst in creating the image and the way in which the audience perceive the artist’s identity. Many artists have had their careers sky rocketed due to their stage name, the unique ring and a catchy stage name, it works in mysterious ways, ways mostly rooted in the way the brain psychology functions. What’s important is that your stage name should truly reflect your music, your lifestyle, your personality. No one would like to be a fan of a wanna-be, would they? Using a nick-name you already have could be fruitful, as even before you start marketing, there are many friends and people who know you out there who can recognize you by your nick. Consider that once you’ve decided your stage name, the name has to stick in people’s minds, hence choosing a stage name could be good or bad for you depending on what you choose.

2-  Relevance is your story –

The name you choose should reflect upon your work, so if you’re a DJ your name should sound like it’s a name of a DJ, similarly if you’re into classical music, a name like “Fresh Swag Beatz” would probably not do well for your identity and promotion as a classical performing artist. Every genre would have a require a different stage name for an artist. Hence, when you’re choosing a stage name, make sure you choose a name that closely reflects the style of music you produce / perform. Although there are no rules here, and that makes it even more confusing and challenging to choose what works the best for your career in music.

3- Timelessness –

Every century has its own different version of what cool is and isn’t. For you to be able to be in the circuit for the long run, your name should probably be timeless. Slang words are often forgotten, get old or loose the charm they had when were in their golden ages. Having a name which incorporates a slang term would mean having the name loose its charm once the slang term goes out of trend. “YOLO”, “Swag” are few I can think of, I’m sure in the next 50 years, these words will be replaced by other slang words made famous by the top artists and teen icons. So be careful with choosing a name that had been or is a slang term, for in the coming 20 years, the name may loose its charm.
Having terms like “kid”, “fresh” in your name would not be as connected to your personality when you’re not a teen anymore. So, when you reach your 30’s or 40’s, the name will just be a past thing and we’re aiming for being known for the long term here. Also, not having the cliche “DJ” before your name is not a compulsion. You could use your real name and spin it around in a way in which it makes it sound catchy and usable in promotions, online and offline.

Good Luck with your endeavors!
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