Posted on May 30, 2019, 12:00 am
It’s cool to say you’re an artist endorsed by your favorite brands right? It makes you feel more “official” and gives you that little taste of “I made it” and credibility behind your name. I’m fortunate enough to be a part of some great smaller/major companies and I’d like to share some of the methods that I have used. I hope this article will help guide you to land some of your own deals!
Tip #1: Think Business! What Do You Have To Offer?
Every company is a business and spends a ton of money on building products, paying employees, etc. so they can’t give free products/big discounts to everyone. Go to the company’s website, look at their artist roster and compare yourself with their artists. Are you doing similar things? Why should they endorse you? You don’t have to be famous or playing a stadium tour but you can’t just be playing your local bars/venues either...Many of us have played a show at the world-famous Roxy, Viper Room, Whisky-A-Go-Go, etc. on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. That’s not enough to land a deal with a major company. Also, don’t be afraid to name drop! When talking with musicians, it’s not cool to name drop, let your playing do the talking but when trying to land an endorsement deal, let them know any big artists/youtube stars/etc. that you have played with. Stay humble but hit them with your best stuff. Make them want to endorse you. Don’t be upset if you don’t land a deal right away. Keep plugging away until you land a great gig/tour or grow your social media following and it will eventually happen.
Tip #2: Research
Research who is in charge of Artist Relations for the company. Send them an email and add them on social media if possible. Don’t annoy them by sending a billion emails a week, just introduce yourself. Make sure your email is to the point and include a quick promo video of your accomplishments. Whether they accept you as an artist or not, your name is now familiar with them. You’re already one step closer. Make sure to stay in contact and send them updates whenever you do a big show. This will help you land a deal in the long run because you now have a connection with the company and they have seen you working hard for it.
Tip #3: The GOLDEN TICKET...TELEVISION!!
A company LOVES T.V. exposure. Playing on Television such as Award Shows (Grammy’s, AMA’s, CMA’s, Billboard Awards, Disney Awards, BET Awards) or any of the Tonight Shows (Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, James Corden), Good Morning America and the Today Show is almost a guaranteed “in” with a company. This is your chance to email the company letting them know that you’re about to play on T.V. for over 100,000 people watching and you want to use their product! Make sure you contact them within a timely manner though. Don’t hit them up the day before and expect them to bend over backwards for you, especially if it’s your first time dealing with them. Smaller local T.V. Stations will not have the same clout as a big Award Show/TV Show but it’s still worth hitting the company up. They may still be interested and it will keep you on their radar.
Tip #4: Take Pictures!
A company loves to see pictures of you using their gear. Make sure the pictures are worth sending though (good quality). Take a picture at every performance you do and the bigger the venue/crowd, the better the picture looks. Choose only a couple to send over to the company and if it’s really good, they may even repost it. This is another great way to make sure the company stays familiar with your name. Even if you already landed a deal with them, the company still loves to see great pictures showing off their products. They can use it as promo material. Just imagine your favorite company using a picture of you for their promo.
Tip #5: Think Outside The Box, Social Media Has Taken Over!
Social Media is another great way to think outside the box. Offer your services and tell them you will make a demo video of the product and post it on your YouTube/Facebook/Instagram demonstrating all of its functions. This works great for smaller companies, especially if there isn’t any videos out there yet for the product. You most likely won’t get it sent to you for free but you will probably get a good discount and the company will now have a demo video for their product. It’s a win win situation for everyone. Make sure you’re tagging the companies on social media and posting pictures using their products. If you have a large social media following, that will help with the deal too because it’s more exposure for the company.
Ending Statement: Every Company Is Different
Some companies require you to have a huge gig/tour before considering endorsing you but others will endorse you for just playing at local venues and working hard. Also, it is rare for companies to just send you free stuff. Let them know you love their products, you’d like to become an artist for them and ask if you can get an artist discount on the product you want. It shows that you’re still supporting the company and not just trying to take advantage of them. So, what are you waiting for? Put together a promo video and start sending out emails. You have nothing to lose! Best of luck!
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