Let’s talk about subcultures. Subcultures are basically a group of people or a community that share a common similar interest. In marketing terms, we call this a “Niche”.
Subcultures
This entire time I’ve been teaching you how to target a specific SubCulture. You see, Hip-Hop is a specific type of music which makes it a “Niche”. But then there are “Sub-Niches” or “Subcultures” within it. This is why in the beginning I had you first define what type of artist that you are then to make a list of other artists that are similar to you. This allows you to get very specific about who you’re trying to target.
But Subcultures don’t only exist within music and it’s not the only subculture you’re likely apart of.
Similiar Interests
You see your target audience is very similar to the friends you choose to hang out with. You and your friends likely share similar interests which are the common bond that connect you together. In other words, your target audience will likely share similar interests as you and this goes beyond just musical tastes.
Subs You Already Belong To
You are likely already apart of several subcultures outside of music which you can use to connect with more potential fans who are like you. I’ll list a few below and make note of which you belong too.
- Sports/E-Sports/Fantasy League/Gambling
- Cooking/Culinary Arts
- Entertainment/Movies/Shows/Acting
- Games/Video Games/Card Games
- Tech/Gadgets/Computers/App and software development
- Politics
- Religion/Faith/Spirituality
- Health & Wellness/Fitness/Body Building
- Healing/Medicine/Natural Remedies/Drugs
- Business/Finance/Investing/Entrepreneurship
- Comedy/Stand Up/Improve/Pranks/Jokes
- Outdoors/Hunting/Survival/
- Guns/Knives/Compound Bow
- Lawncare/Gardening/Horticulture
- Grooming/Barbor/Hair Stylist/Makeup
- Fashion/Sneakers/Swag
- D.I.Y/Carpentry/Construction/Home Projects
- Cars/Racing/Customization/Speaker Systems
- Books/Fiction/Non-Fiction/Authors
- Academics/Math/Science/History/Astrology/Chemistry/Biology
- Toys/Collectibles/R.C Cars, Helicopters etc..
- Magic/Card Tricks/Illusions/Sleight of Hand
- Painting/Drawing/Tatoo’s/Graphic Design/Animation
These are just scratching the surface and within each of these are even more specific Subcultures you’re apart of.
Sports Specific
Let’s look at Sports as an example. This is such a huge community but how are you involved with it specifically. Let’s get more specific. Which sports are you into and do you play or just follow it?
Let’s say you’re really into MMA “Mixed Martial Arts” as strictly a fan. I mean you love it! You follow the news, you read the blogs, and of course, you have your favorite fighters that you follow as well.
Creative Engagement
Since you’re already apart of this community, perhaps you should consider creating some songs or content targeting them. Here are some creative ideas on how to do so.
Themed Songs
Make songs themed around some of your favorite fighters or teams and send it to everyone in their camp. Managers, teammates, coaches, and of course the fighters themselves. You never know, they may use it as their next walkout song or share it with all of their fans on social media.
You could target the reporters and make a song about them. Perhaps incorporate memorable audio clips from them speaking into your song. Maybe you work it into the hook, or intro/outro, or even into the punchline or rhyme scheme within your verse.
You could also target entire organizations within the MMA Community such as leading media outlets or the leagues themselves. For example, if the UFC has a big event coming up that your psyched about you could make a song that mentions some of the biggest fights on the card which the UFC could possibly use in one of their promotional videos.
Again this is all about creatively creating Win-Win situations for both you and the platform you’re hoping will feature your song or content.
It’s Not All About You
You see, every song doesn’t have to be about you. Let’s be honest, most of our lives aren’t that exciting anyway lol! And if you don’t have your own fan base “yet”, that means that no one is searching for your music “yet”.
Instead, you can look at your songwriting as a way to reach and serve your potential fanbase which are people who likely share the same interests as you. This allows people to discover you based on your common interests.
Who Are You?
So stop comparing yourself to whatever artists are popping at the moment. You don’t have to make the same type of music they do in order to grow a substantial fanbase.
A lot of artists put themselves in a box from doing this exact thing. They feel like the songs the “popular” artists are making is the formula they must follow in order to be successful. This not only isn’t true but it puts them in a situation where they feel like they have to suppress who they really are in order to succeed.
Dig Deeper
Instead, I recommend that you tap deeper into who you actually are and embrace the subcultures you’re a part of and when you’re making music, create songs that serve them as well.
This is telling them that you are one of them, and they will support you for it!
Camouflage
You see, when it comes to our natural desire to survive we tend to try and camouflage ourselves to our surroundings in order to blend in and not be noticed.
But when it comes to building awareness around your music in a very saturated market you need to do the opposite; you need to stand out! And if you’re wanting to stand out, a great place to start is simply by being yourself!
Everyone Isn’t Your Audience
Make the music that you want to hear! Rap about the things that you find interesting! And don’t worry about what everyone is going to think about it because guess what? Everyone isn’t your target audience anyways!
Remember, your target audience is people who share similar interests as you. So instead of focusing on being like other rappers, focus on being yourself and you will stand out from the rest.
In addition to your music subculture, what other subcultures do you belong to? And how do you plan to reach them? I’d love to hear your thoughts below.
Good article Colester. You took a real outer view on this one. For me I like to talk about Government classified programs, and conspiracies for example, so that’s one of my subcultures. Conspiracy theorist and so forth. What you’re talking about is a great way to get out of just the music scene, and go deeper to what we are. Good Stuff bro!