Differentiating yourself

[rdance]

this music genre/niche question is very similar to the problem of a graduate student. you have to stick to your central thesis question and find all kinds of ways to answer that one question through research and practice. the temptation most grad students fall into is getting too broad, wanting to study everything in one program, and end up not accomplishing anything profound in their thesis project. (i used to advise grad students in the humanities). as my own graduate advisor told me when was doing my own masters degree in classical philosophy, "go narrow and deep into one thing, and it will widen at the bottom." so true.

so i agree with what others said above about first having to really like and know the genre(s) of music you are writing/playing in, which will help you stand out as a writer/recorder. your good music will eventually find end uses, 'commercial homes'. then expand into related/new genres which you are also caught by, and which feel like the next logical step, and begin drilling down into them. they will also widen at the bottom.

of course this approach may take longer, but i believe it's more rewarding, and you make a more valid contribution to the arts and industry.

[HectorRContreras]

Oh I really love what you said there, dear Richard.

[Jeff196]

Its interesting...thanks for all the notes.

What I love is when people create niches...push it further out. For example, someone who is into Yoga, created a specific set of songs that fit various types of Yoga. Or DragonForce who merge D&D with Metal.

Or Jimmy Buffett - his niche is....I would say its Paradise.

The thing I love about these folks is they create platforms vs. songs. They create other products or items that match their ideas.

I find that inspiring.

[Cruciform]

There are lots of good thoughts here. What Magne said particularly resonated with me.

If you can musically differentiate yourself, and do it well, then go for it. It's worth it, I can assure you.

Develop a style that authentically expresses your inner musical voice. Yes, it will have shades of others because this is an intermingled stream, not isolated domains. There are standard genre sounds (and what does generic mean after all) but so many people already doing those sounds better than we can. I say, draw on inspirations and influences from outside your normal favoured genres and you'll find ideas, methods and sonic colours that flavour your music and make it distinct. Only use those ideas that resonate with you and aid in better expressing your inner voice. But push envelopes, subtly or obviously. Fuse styles. After awhile you'll begin to see what sets your music apart from everybody else.

* As a disclaimer, not every niche is useful. For example, writing gothic pop musical theatre based on Mongolian throat singing is very different but it might not be commercially viable.

[HectorRContreras]

I really like what you said, dear Rob.

[DesireInspires]

* As a disclaimer, not every niche is useful. For example, writing gothic pop musical theatre based on Mongolian throat singing is very different but it might not be commercially viable.

Back to the drawing board....

[cassmcentee]

@Desire


As I keep recording my own music the made-up Genre in my head is "New California Folk"
Pretty sure it's not a niche just yet
But trust me, it will!
(by the time I'm 6 feet under)

The learning curve at Taxi is about how to best use my tools for something somebody wants.

Cass

[Kolstad]

this music genre/niche question is very similar to the problem of a graduate student. you have to stick to your central thesis question and find all kinds of ways to answer that one question through research and practice. the temptation most grad students fall into is getting too broad, wanting to study everything in one program, and end up not accomplishing anything profound in their thesis project. (i used to advise grad students in the humanities). as my own graduate advisor told me when was doing my own masters degree in classical philosophy, "go narrow and deep into one thing, and it will widen at the bottom." so true.

so i agree with what others said above about first having to really like and know the genre(s) of music you are writing/playing in, which will help you stand out as a writer/recorder. your good music will eventually find end uses, 'commercial homes'. then expand into related/new genres which you are also caught by, and which feel like the next logical step, and begin drilling down into them. they will also widen at the bottom.

of course this approach may take longer, but i believe it's more rewarding, and you make a more valid contribution to the arts and industry.

I have a similar background from my day job and can very much relate to this. I think the main thing is to work on differentiating yourself, and understand that this is a process, not just something you choose.

The marketing after you've defined your self clearer, is probably more of a choice, but the really interesting part to me is the development process.

[coachdebra]

Thank you for this interesting Topic, dear Jeff.

Dear Debra, we are very grateful for your analysis here. You speak ideas that make sense indeed.

Ok; for us, here, that is Hector and Catherine :

Hector's Niche is definitively Latin Jazz, Afro Cuban Music, and Brazilian Music. But Hector can also excel in Lounge Instrumentals, Romantic Instrumentals (with a lovely Melody), New Age Instrumentals, and Piano Solos !

Catherine, she has a feel for Contemporary Avant-Garde, Abstract, and ... Dramedy ! That would be her Niche because of her confidence in those areas. But she also composed three Classical Concertos, and varied World Music : French, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, and North Native American. She does not mind trying her skills at Electronic Dance Instrumentals, and Children Music.

Actually those are your genres - your niche is about your audience.

So, for example, if you're focusing on production music and your genre is Dramedy, your niche might be music supervisors, producers and directors of current dramedy style shows and the music libraries that serve them.

This may seem like splitting hairs, but it's really helpful when you separate in your mind what you do (genre) and who you are marketing to (niche). Because you can keep what you do the same and expand who you're marketing to (i.e. add new niche markets, even "multiple" markets ) without massively expanding the amount of time and energy it takes to do it.

And using niche to refer to your particular sub-genre that is your specialty, that is your "zone" - calling it your niche, can then end up causing you to avoid the conversation of who you're marketing to.

And people make as big a mistake in their marketing, when they try to appeal to everyone or think they can market to everyone as when they try to play everything and end up doing none of it well enough to create success. Marketing that attempts to appeal to everyone ends up being boring, non-descript and not appealing to anyone.

In terms of TAXI, it's like submitting a song not because it fits the listing, but because you think it's a good song and want to place it. The song ends up being returned, not because it isn't a good song but because you're offering it to the wrong market.

If you understand your market (niche) and who is going to want your music (genre), how your music fits what they want/need/desire - you will be more likely to be successful when you offer your music to them.

I believe (you may or may not agree with me, which is fine) that when you muddy the terms in your mind, you also muddy the process and a confused mind does not tend to act.

[Kolstad]

If you are doing say singer/songwriter (genre), your niche could be both licensing for tv/film and other outlets, right?
Seems to me that you need to have a broadcast quality song either way, but can sometimes (only) licence the instrumental track.

In that scenario the audience would be both your segment in the general public, as well as music supers and music directors, right?

I can see you would want to pitch through several channels, and you can of course differentiate how you portrait yourself to the niche, yet you would still need to differentiate yourself by doing music that stands out (quality, inventive, ect).

Of course, story songs for the public market, and universal lyrics for tv/film is then a well known differentiation.

Hmm, I'm rambling. Maybe I don't get what type of information the thread holder is after.. even after trying to differentiate between genre and niche