Internal Branding for Musicians: 33 Questions to Find Who You Are as an Artist

Okay, so let's talk about branding.

I know, I know, it sounds boring. But stick with me for a second.

A lot of musicians think branding means picking the right filter for Instagram or finding the perfect font. And then they wonder why nobody remembers who they are.

Here's the thing. When you skip internal branding, it shows.

You jump straight to the visuals without figuring out who you are first. It's like trying to promote a song before you've written the lyrics. That doesn't make sense, right?

What is internal branding?

Internal branding is everything that makes you who you are. It's your values, your stories, your influences, your struggles and your personality.

It has less to do with how you look, and more to do with what drives you and what you stand for.

Why it matters

This is what makes people care about you, on top of listening to you. It shapes how you show up in the world, and it's what helps strangers relate to you and turn into fans.

Your internal branding is the foundation of everything. If it's clear, your external branding becomes magnetic. If it's missing, no strategy in the world will save you (unless your music is truly top-notch, and in that case you don't even need social media).

The 33 questions

So where do you start? These questions are the foundation of your voice, your strategy and your brand. Your answers will give you a clear picture of who you are as an artist.

Your music journey

• How did you start your music journey?
• What inspired you to pursue music?
• What was the defining moment that made you realise music was your calling?
• How has your music style changed over time?
• How do you feel about those changes?
• If you could pinpoint one or two key differences between your early music and what you create now, what would they be?
• Where do you see your music career in 5 years? And in 10 years?

Your audience

• What's the first thing you want your audience to know about you as an artist?
• Who are your fans right now?
• What kind of people connect with your music?
• What are the main struggles or emotions your music addresses for your audience?
• Who is your ideal listener?
• What do they look like, and what are they passionate about?
• Who is definitely not your target audience?
• Who is your music not for?

Your influences and genre

• Which artists or brands do you admire the most, and what about them inspires you?
• How would you classify the main genre and subgenres of your music?
• How does your music stand out from others in your genre?
• What is your unique selling point?
• Why should someone listen to your music instead of someone else's?
• What core emotion or feeling do you want people to experience when they hear your music?
• How would someone describe your music to their best friend in one sentence right now?

Your personal history

• What childhood experiences or memories have had the biggest impact on your music?
• What obstacles have you overcome in your personal life that influence your music today?
• How did your environment or community growing up shape the stories you tell in your music?
• What was the hardest moment in your life, and how did it affect your music?

Your core values

• If you gave a TED Talk 25 years from now, what would the title be?
• What are your core values as an artist?
• What principles do you refuse to compromise on?
• What is your mission with your music?
• What makes you feel proud and fulfilled at the end of the day?
• What trends or clichés do you want to avoid in your music or branding?
• What story do you want your music to tell, and how do you want it to affect your listeners?

You answered them all. Now what?

I used to fill out exercises like this and then do nothing with them. They just sat in my notes app forever.

Then I found a way to use the answers. I turn them into content, the lazy way.

Take your answers and drop them into ChatGPT with this prompt:

"I'm a [your genre] artist. Here are my answers about my music and story. Create 10 Instagram reel ideas that show my personality and connect with fans who like [your genre]."

And just like that, you have content ideas for weeks. You're welcome.

If you'd rather start from ideas that already worked for other artists, The Content Vault has 308 of them with examples, and you can match them to your answers.

No time to write it all down?

Record yourself talking through the questions on your phone. It takes maybe 15 to 30 minutes, and then any voice-to-text app turns it into text.

I did this when I was too lazy to type, and honestly? My recorded answers were way more honest than what I would have written.

That's 15 to 30 minutes for something you'll use your whole career. Yeah, it's worth it.

You have the chance to build a fanbase that understands who you are and what you stand for, and it starts with getting clear. Once you are, the next step is figuring out what makes you stand out.