Branding

Branding is very important in todays music business, in this generation not only is the music that is the product being sold but it is also the artist, they change and remould themselves to become something that record labels can sell to an audience, marketing becomes completely necessary because even if you solely just release good music and you do not brand yourself, even as a niche artist it can lead to a dry career. No matter what the audience, people expect to be sold a persona, something they can identify with and that is why branding can make or break artists in this industry.
One way to successfully brand yourself as an artist is to identify what identity you belong to, make people who have the same identity as yourself your target audience, people crave music they can relate to and they also consume brands that signify themselves.

Another way is to create emotional music, it doesn't necessarily have to be sad but It should invoke a reaction from a member of your target audience and have them feel a certain way, whether it be happy or sad. This can be done by creating meaningful lyrics, intelligent lyrics or even funny lyrics.

You must attach this identity into everything your music connects to, be it the way you play your guitar, how your website looks, your clothes or even your hair. In the music industry everything comes as a package, its not as easy to just 'sell' music anymore, people need to take in your whole essence to admire you, this is why fabricating one that can guarantee you sell is crucial, music is like a business, it constantly evolves and if you are too slow you're out.