More Than the Music: Why Branding Matters for Artists

The first artist whose branding made me pay attention was Ariana Grande. This is not just because she is personally my favourite artist, but because people instantly associate her with her high ponytail and thigh-high boots. Bunny ears also became part of her image during her earlier eras. Ariana was one of the first artists who made me realise that a musician could be recognised by more than their music or face.

To me, an artist’s brand is not just a logo. It includes their personality and overall look, but it can also appear in smaller details, such as a favourite emoji or a phrase that fans immediately recognise.

Branding matters because it helps an artist remain memorable. We live in an era where the music industry is crowded with excellent talent. This is exciting for us as listeners, but it makes building a lasting career much harder for artists.

Streaming and social media have made discovering new music easier than ever, but they have also made it easier for listeners to move on. People can go from one song to another within seconds, meaning artists are competing for more than streams. They are competing for a lasting place in someone’s mind.

Talent may earn the first listen, but a distinctive identity helps people remember who created the music. Without that identity, even an excellent artist can become associated with one successful song instead of a career that audiences want to follow. When I discover an artist, it is usually their personality or visual world that makes me curious enough to look beyond the first song.

A good example of this is Sabrina Carpenter. People recognise her through her blonde hair, pastel colours, playful song titles and stage styling. Her case is especially interesting because she had already spent years releasing music before achieving her major breakthrough.

The rebrand played an important part in helping her reach a much wider audience. She and her team understood who they wanted to attract and exactly how to reach them. Her girly aesthetic, paired with funny lyrics about dating and disappointing men, gave her a much clearer position in pop music. Audiences were ready for it. It was the right branding at the perfect time.

However, artist branding can lose its impact when audiences feel they have seen it somewhere else. Madison Beer is an interesting example because, despite her talent and experience, her visual identity has often been compared with other pop artists.

Earlier in her career, comparisons were made with Ariana Grande because of styling choices such as high ponytails, oversized hoodies and thigh-high boots. More recently, some fans have compared elements of Madison’s Locket Tour with Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet era, particularly parts of the stage design and styling. A Reddit user make the following comparison:

Whether those similarities were intentional is not the main issue. The fact that audiences noticed them shows how difficult it is for an artist to own an identity when its strongest features are already associated with somebody else.

Madison Beer is a very talented artist with years of experience behind her. However, she is sometimes reduced online to being “the pretty one”, which can take attention away from her music. She also has a strong presence on social media, especially TikTok, which could be used more to her advantage.

Her audience has already seen a side of her personality online that is not always shown on stage. Nowadays, listeners want to feel as though they know the artist, so showing more personality can make a big difference.

Although the Locket Tour aesthetic suits her, parts of it feel familiar because similar ideas are already being used. I think a more distinctive direction for Madison could be an ethereal fantasy aesthetic, using white and lighter colours. This would be similar to her Victoria’s Secret performance styling, which suited her extremely well while feeling different from what other pop artists are currently doing.

Overall, I think the best artist branding begins with personality. Colours, outfits and hairstyles may help people recognise an artist, but personality gives them a reason to care. The best branding should not turn an artist into somebody else. It should make what is already interesting about them easier to see.