Jul
204 Laws of Choosing the Right Artist Name
Filed Under (Trademarking) by FuNkwoRm on 20-07-2009
Choosing a good artist name is as important as your music. With the internet being a major source for the way people discover and share music, not picking the right name can cause huge problems for your marketing and promotion strategy. Here are a 4 very important things you should take into account when selecting one.
1. Is your name easy to pronounce?
Having a difficult name to pronounce makes it harder for people to pass along info about you by word of mouth. This is not to say that there haven’t been artists who have made it with complex names, it just creates an added obstacle when trying grow your fanbase. If you have a complicated name, provide a phonetic spelling with it to help new fans get it right.
2. Is your name too common?
I once worked with an artist named “Mystery”. This was a bad choice for a number of reasons. For one, this name is not search engine friendly. No one will ever find you if you were “Googled”. In fact, it will be hard to find you anywhere. If you’re going to pick a common name, choose a different spelling to make it easier for your fans to find you. Also, names like these are most times impossible to trademark.
3. Will you want this name in the future?
For example: You may not want a “Lil’”,”Young”, or “Kid” in your name when you get all grown up. It’s just something to think about. Carrying around a name that uses a trendy word can make you look dated too soon when everyone stops using it. Example: Lil’ Swag (hope that’s no one’s name. I didn’t Google it before I wrote this.)
4. Check to see if someone else has the same name!
Nothing could be worse than having the same exact name as another artist in the music business. This not only confuses your fans, but it can also bring a lawsuit against you. See my post on trademarking.
If you’ve put a lot of years building your career with a difficult name to market, then I suggest that you change it or add to it. It could be making it harder for you to achieve the success you want and changing it could help you avoid any potential legal problems in the long run.
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More useful information for up and coming artists! Love how you tie one article into another, while including the link (Choosing the Right Artist Name and Trademarking). It seems like an artist wouldn’t choose a name that includes “Lil” or “Young”…Don’t they see other artist usually drop the “Lil” or “Young” later in their career. And, by that time…they still can’t get a fan-based following outside of teeny-boppers and screaming little girls.
Reply to kasey
What do ya know…there’s two cats on myspace named Lil’ Swag lol
Reply to Deft Flow
OMG! That’s fucking hilarious!!
Reply to FuNkwoRm
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Reply to uberVU - social comments
Yea I know all about tha too common name but I didnt choose my name myself, I got it many years back doin a lil time freestylin n rap battles every1 was callin me Lyricaly-Flawless n i liked it it stuck, But i thought it was too long n i didnt want it to be just a rap name i was cocky in tha day n was just sayin im tha shit im Flaw-Less… N now its been so many years its hard ta jus up n change it Im tha Original… n tha other nick names i have is Eazy-D from tha gurlz (self explanitory)n D from my Folkz…D more common than even (Shorty) for example, I dont want people thinkn im bitin Eazy-E I use it still jus as a AKA or BKA tho…N its jus wat every1 kno me as so changn really isnt an option
Reply to Flawless
I’m thinking of just giving up on trying to find a good rap name. My name was origonaly CodeRed, but then one day i found a bunch of rappers on youtube with that name. So then i decided to change it to Anonymous, thinking that nobody would call themselves that. ive had that name for almost 2 years now but yesterday i found out that there is already like 3 guys calling themselve that. i dont know, Im thinking of changing my name to V3RBZ but its probly already taken.
Reply to MC-W
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Reply to Deborah Vachon