How Storytelling Separates Music Stars From Complete Unknowns

Storytelling

Your music may tell people your story, but that assumes they will listen.

Artists like to believe their music tells their story.

And it might—as long as someone listens to it. How do you plan to hook everyone else?

How does someone who encounters you on social media via random mention or sound on TikTok learn about you? If they want to support you financially or otherwise, are there clear ways to do that?

Everywhere you exist online provides space for creators to tell their stories. Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, Resso, and Tidal all have artist profiles. Anyone who finds you on these platforms should be able to learn about you, but a shocking number of independent artists continue to leave these spaces blank.

Maybe the motivation is artistic. Perhaps these artists feel the music should speak for itself, but again—that idea hinges on people hearing the music and paying close attention.

The vast majority of humanity—99.9999%—will judge you and your music before hearing a note if they think of you at all. You need to use every tool at your disposal to convey your music’s core ideas and motivations to your masses.

Your music is—at best—the start of your storytelling journey. As Music Biz host James Shotwell explains in the following video, storytelling serves a very important role in the outcome of any artist’s career. Knowing who you are is not enough. It might have been at one point, but everyone can reach anyone at a moment’s notice. Succinctly conveying your journey to others will help separate you from your peers and create a clearly defined, unique path for you through music.

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James Shotwell