In the contemporary music landscape where time is precious and attention – spans are shorter than ever before, you need to be ready and prepared to deliver a quick elevator pitch that describes your music and mission as an artist.
The pitch is one of the most important aspects of any release. Many artists overlook the importance of a well-thought out pitch and haphazardly string together a couple of adjectives as a last minute thought. If you hopped into an elevator with someone and was asked “What do you do?”
Do you feel prepared to answer that in the best way?
Here, pollen scout Georgia shares her three top tips to take your elevator pitch to the next level.
Firstly, what is an elevator pitch?
Your elevator pitch is essentially your mission statement as an artist. It forms the basis of your approach to music, the way you communicate, it will appear in your social media bios and will inform how you market yourself. Essentially it is what you will speak, write and live out every day as an artist whilst you pursue your passions and creative goals.
Tip #1: Listen to your fans
If you’re unsure where to start – take a look at what is already resonating with loyal fans! Do people gravitate to your compassionate energy? Your raucousness?
Most likely the answer is already in front of you, you just need to do a little digging. Take a look at what’s working for you and hone in on what makes you unique. If in doubt, ask some fans at your next gig!
Tip #2: Tap into what’s already there.
You might think you need to be the best, most unique artist in order to market yourself. Truth is, that might be an impossible task and might result in you coming across as not genuine. This is because you’re trying to fulfill what you THINK you need to be doing, not honing in on your strengths.
Being authentic and leaning into the aspects that you are comfortable with will ultimately be the most successful for you. If you don’t have a SKEGSS type personality, it’s okay not to pursue that. You don’t have to be the funniest, most high-energy act around, you just have to be the best, most distilled YOU version there is – tap into what’s already there.
Tip #3: Keep it concise
Choose your keywords and choose them wisely. Treat each word as being deliberately chosen, even the filler words. If you need an exercise, start by writing EVERYTHING that you think of down – key words, phrases, goals, achievements. Then rework it and refine it until you’re happy with the final offering. At the end you should have a small paragraph that outlines who you are, why you do what you do and where you are going.