As I push forward in 2011 I’ve had to think a lot about what im doing, where im going, and how im going to get there with my music.
In doing so, I’ve realized a name isnt enough. A name is something everyone has, even if you change it for the sake of a profession. It’s still just a name.
What I need isn’t a name. I need a brand.
Brands produce things. People develop “brand loyalty”.
I now realize I need to become a brand if I want to be successful.
This realization has given me a profound perspective on my “name”
I used to go by the name ‘Teiresias’ (I blame getting into the internerd and signing up to forums when I was abnout 16 and reading lots of Greek Myth at the time) No fucker could pronounce it, knew what it was, and I got to hating it.
I’m now Sherlock Ohms, people remember it, I’m getting more bookings and I prefer the name - enough that I’ve sorted out the URL, and email addresses using it. Having a blog has helped my google coverage and getting a good graphics designer to do my card has helped …
It depends on how well you’re know under your extant name …
personally i like names that immediately give you a sense of what the artist is about… but that’s not for everybody, it’s pretty subjective i suppose.
one thing to keep in mind
if you have a certain audience you’re targeting be mindful of your demographic.
for instance a lot of house and techno artists use their full name, like Richie Hawtin and Carl Cox.
a lot of breaks & electrohouse artists use almost music-related superhero type names like Stanton Warriors, or funny/ironic names like Deadmau5
I guess it’s about what kind of persona you want to project, when I see a name like Richie Hawtin the first impression is that this guy is serious, not much of a goof on stage, probably isn’t going to show up in an elaborate costume etc.
where as when you see a name like Deadmau5 or Bloody Beetroots you get the impression that they are projecting more of a playful, theatrical vibe for their persona.
Agreed. If you’re serious about your DJing, It certainly helps to stop and think about your name/logo/branding. I think there was an article about that too on the frontpage.
And as strange as it sounds, having some marketing knowledge does help you in that way. It only takes a few days to write a solid marketing plan which does give you an insight into your market, niche, competitors.
Of course, don’t live by a marketing plan, but use these insights to find your sweetspot and rock it the fuck out!
Ha I think alot of people have went through this stage.I remember asking the same question and a buddy told me, don’t rush it something will come to you. About a year later the name sidetrakd just stuck! Every time I was going into my studio I’d say to my girlfriend " back in a minute or back in a bit " only to get sidetracked and appear hours later!
A title given to something represents its distinctive label, so in a way the name is the brand. Its kinda the same thing or they o hand at hand with each other. When you think Ean Golden what do you think? His brand.
I’ve done bit of digging and compiled all the blog posts i could find on self promotion, branding, getting gigs, etc. while some of it goes over similar stuff in some articles… it’s still all worthwhile reading. This is something i’ve been meaning to do for a while, and xtianw has given me a reason to do it!
(in no particular order)
How To Be A Successful DJ - Part 1
How To Be A Successful DJ - Part 2
How To Get Gigs In Hard Times
Build Your DJ Career
The Value Of A Name
The Power Of A Name
Self-Promotion Tools For Working DJ’s
Self-Promotion For The Working DJ
How To Get Booked - Build An EPK
Publicity For The Working DJ
Where To Build Your Public Fan Base Online
Three Tips For Winning The Crowd Over With More Than Just Music
How To Launch A Club Night - Part 1
How To Launch A Club Night - Part 2
Building Your Club Night & DJ Career With Guest DJ’s - Part 1
Building Your Club Night & DJ Career With Guest DJ’s - Part 2
Get a mask with a shitload of lights is all I can think of. That and lazers, lots of lazers.
I know, I’m no help…
How about an ironic branding? I had a friend that had a tattoo that just said TATTOO with a blue stripe above and below it like how grocery stores used to have their own generic brand of something that just said BEER, SOCKS, etc. Anyway it was memerable and people would refer to him as the guy with the generic tattoo tattoo. So maybe just
i always see xtain name as X-Tina. I can see a graphic designer making a huge mistake on the flyer when putting his DJ name. I told him he should just use his name. I have his different option, he just doesnt want to bite.
I spoke to a rock producer friend of mine whos day job is marketting and branding for companies whos businesses generally have trouble not pissing off the general public (think financial sector and big pharma).
he gave me some really solid ideas. were fleshing them out over the next week or so.
I used to dj/mc under the name tekki, nowadays I see too many people adopting the tekki- likeness. (Teki Latex, … and even another D&B dj in the UK called Tekki).
There I decided to take on something more close to my real name and came up with Leslie Jones(restricted sessions).
It works for me, now hoping that this will catch on to the public too.
My “DJ name” is a take on my real name with inspiration taken from this quote out of DJ’ing For Dummies:
“The idea is to create a set that tries to elicit emotional and physical reactions from the crowd; in other words, they dance all night, and smile all night.” - John Steventon
Mike Miles became Make Smiles, lol. I like it and find it to be clever. Plus smiley faces are everywhere so hell yeeeeee.
Thanks man, actually, if I’d go by my mother’s maiden name, I could go by the moniker Leslie Ballintine.
In stead I chose to use my daughter’s second name. (She’s called Riley Jones, Jones is not her last name either. )
)