On Music Copywriting and Copywriting for Musicians (Not Copyrighting)

Michael from Musibility contacted me recently, asking some relevant questions about copywriting, music, and the nebulous area I inhabit where the two intersect.  It turned into a full-blown interview, which I found interesting enough to save, document, and post below:

Q: I found that you’re a musician as well as a copywriter.  I thought you’d be the perfect candidate to know both sides.  Let’s say there’s an artist who has an album releasing in 3 months and has a mailing list of 3,000 fans.  The average artist would probably just email saying “coming out soon” a few times, maybe give updates as to what is going on with the album artwork or the studio progress..  and then finally announce the release.  What could a well written sales copy do for them? 

Aaron Poehler: Actually, as a musician, copywriter, and former music journalist I’ve experienced all sides of the music promotion game and seen some of the best and worst of each.  What professional copywriting can help you achieve depends on two things: 1. where you are, and 2. where you want to be.

In the example you gave (artist who has an album in 3 months, a mailing list of 3,000 fans), this artist has probably developed a certain rapport with their fans via email/twitter updates or face-to-face at shows.  In this situation, hiring the wrong copywriter could be worse than hiring none at all.  If what was previously a friendly discussion between artist and fans suddenly becomes a high-pressure ‘hard sell’ campaign, longtime fans are likely to be put off and irritated, while chances of actually getting new music sales may be no higher.  Music copywriting must be carefully tailored to work in tandem with who an artist is, what they wish to convey with their music, and the image (or lack of same) they project.  Otherwise it’s just going to be good money after bad.

On the other hand, very often artists lack the perspective to effectively market themselves and their music.  They try and cram every aspect of their music into a marketing medium which is suited to convey only simple thoughts and messages, and are unable to reduce their creativity to a simple tagline.   That’s fine; it’s not their job to do so, it’s a musician’s job to make good music.  A good copywriter can help connect that music with people.

A good copywriter can also help keep you from sounding like a complete idiot.  I know when I was working as a music journalist I could tell from a quick perusal of a onesheet bio whether an album was getting played or going straight into the trash.  Certain phrases and presentations telegraph amateurism and wannabes; needless to say, no one wants to come off this way, but the majority do.  By hiring the services of a skilled, experienced copywriter, you automatically put yourself ahead of 95% of the pack.

Q: How would you recommend an artist to go about finding the right copywriters, rather than bad ones that would hurt the effort or just editors posing as copywriters?  How much would they cost?

Aaron Poehler: There are really no shortcuts to finding a good copywriter — or perhaps more importantly, an appropriate one.  Word of mouth is always a good sign, so ask for recommendations, but if you don’t know anyone who’s used copywriting services that may not be helpful.  In that case, try to find someone with experience in the field who has professional work samples somewhat in line with what you’d like.

How much it should cost is literally impossible to say without knowing the scope of the project — I’ve done everything from help bands come up with appropriate names to writing press releases and bios to crafting entire advertising campaigns.  It shouldn’t cost more than you’re willing and able to pay, but jobs can be either billed hourly or on a per-job basis.  It’s generally a good idea to get at an estimate before committing to a particular individual, and make absolutely sure you have the money you’re committing to pay and you’re not spending mythical back-end dollars you think will come rolling in someday.  If you stiff someone, word gets around quickly, and that’s really not the kind of word-of-mouth any musician is looking for.

Q: Sounds very reasonable, I like that you don’t fluff it up.  When I was researching “copywriting for musicians” (interchanging a lot of words) I couldn’t find many that were specialized in that area until I found you.  Copywriting is often confused with copyrighting.  [AP note: you’re telling me!]

So if a band is in the infancy stage a copywriter (maybe even a branding agency?) could be a major help to the “stickiness” of the band name and image. But for a formed band they will often be broke and spending their money on microphones, amps, etc.  So someone like you probably won’t be affordable to most bands during that time because they’ll be saving up for releasing an album or EP.

But lets say they saved up $5000 for an EP and marketing campaign.  I would assume that before they ever step into the studio that they should see someone like you that knows how to do a good campaign.  What can they expect for $1000 to someone like you(qualified) and $4000 on their EP?  Is 20% a good amount to spend on marketing an album?

Aaron Poehler: These questions are getting into the marketing end of things rather than copywriting.  A copywriter is not an advertising agency; I don’t place ads or set budgets for advertising.

I would also say your assertion that marketing should be taken into account “before they ever step into the studio” is completely wrong.  Get the music right first, then figure out how to market it, not vice versa.

A copywriter will write something for you when you know what you need: press releases, blog posts, ad copy, whatever.  But you have to know what you need, it’s not a copywriter’s job to tell you.

Q. You’re right on about getting the music right first.  I work in a recording studio and I’ve seen artists who aren’t ready, it’s an expensive nightmare for them.  I’ve also seen good albums released with no money left over for marketing them. Unfortunately in those cases by the time enough money is available to market the album, it’s 6 months old and lost it’s buzz. 

Can you give an example or two of phrases that go in the trash versus those that were ahead of the pack? 

Aaron Poehler: These things tend to come in cycles, where for six months or a year, people will be trying to hop on whatever they perceive as the current trend either in terms of music or in how they present themselves (image/marketing/etc.).  Problem is, if you’re imitating something that’s currently popular, you’re already old hat by default — and out of the race.  Hopping on today’s fad is a sure route to sounding dated and ridiculous tomorrow, and fashionable types hate nothing more than last season’s look.  Be who you are, not who you think people want you to be.

I realize that isn’t very specific advice, so here are a few real-life flags that let me know without fail a band or artist does not have their act together enough for me to waste my time on their music:

A. Ridiculous lists of influences.  I’m sure you genuinely believe your music was influenced by everything from Duke Ellington to Ray Charles to Faith No More to Paul Simon to John Zorn.  However, if your band sounds like Phish crossed with the Grateful Dead, that’s what you should say.

B. No one cares that you got a music award in elementary school.  So did everybody.  It’s not amazing that you’ve been playing the piano since you were 8.  You are not a child prodigy unless you are in classical music.  (Even then, you are not a child prodigy.)

C. Describe the music.  It’s not “like nothing else ever heard before”, trust me.

D. Don’t say how the music is “definitely going to set the world on fire.”  No it’s not, and if it was, I’d have heard of it.

E. Don’t plagiarize.

F. The more elaborate, glossy, and expensive the presskit, the shittier the music.

G. Don’t forget to include all relevant information: at a minimum, website, email, phone, and US mail contact info.

H. Don’t take it personally when someone doesn’t like your music.  More importantly, when you do take it personally, don’t pretend to be “a fan” and write the reviewer to complain because he or she will laugh at you and tell all their reviewer friends.

For more information about my professional copywriting services for musicians and others, check out the professional page of this site at http://www.aaronpoehler.com/professional.html.

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