[MUSIC]
So, a fun and effective way to start being able to express who you are as an artist
so people can get an idea of what it is you do Is to do some artist comparisons.
Now I know nobody likes to be just compared to another artist and
think that they're copying someone.
But this actually kind of gets around that by kind of having some fun with it and
turning it on his head.
So the first thing that you do is you actually pick out an artist
to compare your artistry yourself to.
And this could be someone who obviously,
they are not going to be exactly the same as you.
But maybe they have certain elements about what they do
that is similar to what you do or maybe they have been an influence on you.
So you might want to start just jotting down some artists that you vibe with,
that you kind of see that you've been influenced by.
Then what you want to do is you want to contrast that.
So you want to get a contrasting artist comparison.
So somebody that is also an influence on what you do, and
has something to do with the work that you're doing.
But is as far away from that first artist as humanly possible so
that we have a nice contrast.
Then I want you to spend some time thinking about your unique differentiator.
And this could be almost anything.
This could have something to do with your identity, about where you're from.
It could have to do with the way that you put together different styles of music.
It could be an unusual instrument that you play.
It could be an unusual type of way that you come at lyrics or
the themes that you choose to sing or speak about.
It could almost anything, but think about what is it that makes me the most unique,
your unique differentiator.
Think artist comparison meets contrasting artist
comparison with a healthy dose of unique differentiator.
So once you put this together, you now have a pretty good idea
in just one sentence of at least where you might be heading.
Lets try this for a couple of musicians that everybody knows about,
some recording artists like Bruce Springsteen.
So Bruce Springsteen you might think Bob Dylan meets Roy Orbison,
with a healthy dose of larger than life showmanship.
When Bruce Springsteen first came out, everybody was saying he's the new Dylan
and of course he was saying I'm trying to sing like Roy Orbison.
But, of course, he had this huge persona on stage,
this larger than life showmanship that was equally important.
So all those three things in one succinct sentence, gives you a pretty good,
very tight idea of who Bruce Springsteen might be in one sense.
Then let's think maybe Bruno Mars.
Think Elvis meets Micheal Jackson, with a healthy dose of Hawaiian charm.
So there in one succinct sentence we get the whole Elvis thing and
of course Bruno was an Elvis impersonator when he was a kid.
The Michael Jackson piece, which he loves to emulate Michael Jackson, and
Michael Jackson has been a big influence.
And then, the whole Hawaii piece.
He's from Hawaii, he's got this Hawaiian charm going on.
So, okay, we're not telling you everything you need to know about Bruno Mars, but in
one sentence, you've gone from maybe not knowing anything to knowing a whole lot.
So now you try.
What I'd like for you to do is for you to choose two artists who you know quite
a bit about and you are into and try doing it for them, try doing it for them first.
Think of different artists who have influenced them and
what the breadth of that might be and then maybe what their unique differentiator is.
And then try doing it for yourself.
This can be really revealing.
I mean this can also let people know in a very, very succinct way,
at least a general idea of where you coming from as an artist.
So, I'd like for you to write up all three, your two artists and
then yourself, and then post this to the Artist Comparison Forum.
And then I would like for you to get on there and
comment on your colleagues' postings as well, and have fun with this.
I think this can be a lot of fun.
And it can really get you thinking about how to express
who you are as an artist in a succinct way.
Stephen WebberDirector of Music Production, Technology and Innovation
