Personal branding
artister som varumärken
The purpose of this thesis was to study the importance of an artist?s personal brand from a record company and artist management perspective. We also aimed to investigate how these companies work to create and maintain an artist?s personal brand. The study conducted was a case study based on interviews with staff members of a major record company, Universal Music AB, and an artist management, United Stage Management Group AB. Our study has shown that personal brands play a vital part in the success of the artist both short-term and long. The brands help artist managements to exploit opportunities in a more beneficiary way for them and the artist as well as aid record companies to sell more units. These are, put together, key factors for the use of personal brands. The study has also shown that in order to build a personal brand into a lasting and important advantage over competitors it has to be made legible, authentic and credible. Further on our study has shown that record companies and artist managements do see artists from a branding perspective in some aspects but, according to our understanding, not from the most vital viewpoints to be able to benefit from the idea of an individual as both person and brand.