“What kind of music do you play?”
How many times have you heard this question and how many times have you answered: “It’s hard to describe,” “It’s a mix of different things,” or “It’s unique/experimental/different/eclectic.” Musicians aren’t always good at describing their own music. Some feel their music speaks for itself. But the trick is, nobody’s going listen to your music, if all you can say is “it’s different.”
Tip: Practice describing your music. Ask your friends and fans to help. Gather all the best adjectives and descriptions and make them a part of your descriptive arsenal, so next time someone asks “what do you sound like?” you can say . . .
“We’re a swampy southern rock band with syrupy synthesized twists.”
Can you describe your music in a way that makes people eager or excited to hear it?
Make sure, whenever you write a bio, press kit, email, review (or anything else that concerns your music), that you infuse it with the same creativity and passion you put into your music. And don’t be afraid to ask your friends and fans for help!
Filling out your CD Baby style description
The style description on your CD Baby page in excellent place to hook potential buyers on your sound. If you leave it blank or simply write something vague or dull, it can hurt your sales.
Also, when music fans use the search function on CD Baby, all the words in your style description become keywords that can return search results. So a well-crafted description rich with good keywords, can extend the reach of your music at CD Baby.
If you had just a couple seconds to tell a potential customer about your music, what would you want them to know? What do you think they would want to know?
Its always surprising how many artists leave this section blank or just put Rock or Pop as opposed to something more interesting. If you’ve failed to take advantage of the style description on your CD Baby page, it’s possible that your missing out on people who might be searching for music like yours!
A Few Pointers
1. Use good keywords
These are descriptive words that would make someone want to stop and listen to your music. What would get you to stop and listen to an album in your genre?
2. This is not a bio
The style description is a couple sentences about this particular album. Use the bio section to convey deeper info about the artist and their musical journey.
3. Ask your fans
If you’re still stumped, ask your fans on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. Ask them to write a description of your music.
Style Description Examples
Here are some notable examples of interesting and useful style descriptions to get the creative juices flowing as you craft your description.
Artist: The Tikiyaki Orchestra
Album: StereoExotique
Description: Blending elements of lounge, surf, latin, jazz, and Hawaiian music, The Tikiyaki Orchestra is the perfect soundtrack to your TIKI BAR, LUAU or SPACE AGE BACHELOR PAD. A sonic adventure to a far away South Pacific island.
Artist: Sara K.
Album: Made in the Shade
Description: Intimate and laid back, this newly released folk/blues SACD Surround Sound recording features concert harp, smooth vocals, new songs and new arrangements of earlier songs, taking you once again to the desert Southwest.
Artist: James Yuill
Album: Turning Down Water for Air
Description: Like many music lovers of his generation, JAMES YUILL has a passion for both the emotional songwriting and atmospheres of artists such as Nick Drake, Radiohead and Sufjan Stevens and the visceral beats and dynamic rhythms of Justice, Chemical Brothers…
Artist: Sub-Motive
Album: Chasing Memories
Description: Face-melting guitar rock chopped and sauteed with heart-wrenching ballads, and elegantly garnished with thoughtful lyrics. 0 carbs.
Artist: California Gold
Album: California Gold
Description: This California based trio creates a unique acoustic sound with pianos, guitars, ukuleles, and uplifting harmonies.
Don’t be afraid to commit to a description, as the good news is that you can make changes to it at anytime! It is important to note though, that it will take our system about 24 hours for your new description to show up in search results at CD Baby.
Happy selling!
Sell your music on Amazon, iTunes, CD Baby, Rhapsody, Napster, Spotify, and more!