But, your brand is more than a name and a logo. Your band needs to become the entire
“package” and work to fulfill fan expectations. Those expectations encompass the band’s
sound, music and lyrics, stage presence, appearance or “look,” along with its overall atti-
tude. It also covers more obvious things such as printed material including business
cards, posters and other marketing materials.
Defining your band’s sound is another one of those gut-wrenching exercises artists
need to address that’s central to branding. What the heck is a “sound,” anyway? A fair
question that’s dodgy, at best, to define. Let’s define it as the elusive element that sepa-
rates your music from everybody else. It’s a somewhat abstract quality of music yet is of-
ten readily identifiable with a certain band or solo artist.
For example, Queen played an eclectic mix of music, from the iconic “Bohemian
Rhapsody,” to “Love of my life,” to “I’m in love with my car.” Although these songs are
very different, when you hear them, you immediately think, “Queen.” That’s because
they all carry the signature Queen sound. I saw an interview with Brian May in which he
described the band’s sound as, “big.” It’s something they pulled off seamlessly with dy-
namic harmonies, layer upon layer of tracks, Mercury’s voice and May’s distinctive gui-
tar style. It’s thick, meaty and unmistakably Queen.
Consider guitarists such as Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, B.B. King and a
myriad of others. Their playing style is readily identifiable. How they developed that
sound is another complex story.
If you’re focus is being a wedding band or doing covers, note-for-note, a unique
sound isn’t necessary. It can actually be a deterrent. The audience is expecting some de-