Thoughts/advice on branding myself as an artists?

[Rane]

Hi guys! I'm working on some upcoming releases and I'm struggling to commit to my artist persona/brand. My thinking so far has been that my real name (Sean Miller) is too common to secure branding assets (urls and such). Sean Miller is also really saturated on streaming services, resulting in confusion in searches and with release attribution. I sketched out a branding concept for myself under the alias Elias Volte, but I'm hesitant to commit to it and personal friends seem to have a hard time giving unbiased feedback. I also considered just using "Volte" but there's multiple artists in that name space as well.

A few questions I'd like love to get some unfiltered and honest input on:

• How much of an issue do you think the uniqueness of an artist name is for discoverability and recognizability (also not getting sued)?
• Do you think using my real name, Sean Miller, would be a hinderance for me?
• Is my proposed alias, Elias Volte, believable? Cringe? Don't hold back.
• The E in Volte is silent. Is that confusing?

Here's a screenshot of my artist concept page. Link: eliasvolte.com



I super appreciate advice, feedback or criticism of any kind!

 

[200man]

IMHO just my 2 cents blah blah blah what do I know anyway
Your persona is too obscured….unless that is what you are going for…lose the sunglasses….lose volte…but I’m okay with Elias Miller

…or not

 

[Rane]

IMHO just my 2 cents blah blah blah what do I know anyway
Your persona is too obscured….unless that is what you are going for…lose the sunglasses….lose volte…but I’m okay with Elias Miller

…or not

Appreciate the feedback! That makes sense. The character is a bit generic/lifeless at the moment. Elias Miller would have 4 syllables, though. Two to three syllables is generally considered best practice.

 

[ElectricPhase]

First thought....the name and photo combo doesn't evoke any particular style of music. That could be either good or bad depending on what you intend.

 

[pauly]

How bout “Rock Hardman”

 

[chris]

i definitely read it as Vol-Teh. but "Volt"spelled like that may seem cringe. but sometimes the mispronunciation is an opportunity to start a conversation.

for the persona thing, the real name does seem "generic" but it depends on what you're going for.

will you be an artist that isn't approachable in persona, or one that would talk to people a lot? if the first, the new name kinda gives that feel. if the second, a more common name feels more approachable, easier to talk to, know etc. hopefully that all makes sense.

maybe describe what the artist/persona would be/feel like at shows/in videos? easier to comment on the name knowing that stuff.

 

[Rane]

First thought....the name and photo combo doesn't evoke any particular style of music. That could be either good or bad depending on what you intend.

Yeah, I don't have a specific genre in mind. I have two metalcore songs in the works and two that are mainstream synth based pop stuff. I'm doing one-off singles to start. Most of this is just a personal project, but I wanted to flesh it out properly either way.

i definitely read it as Vol-Teh. but "Volt"spelled like that may seem cringe. but sometimes the mispronunciation is an opportunity to start a conversation.

It did occur to me that the mispronunciation might work as a conversation piece. I own the URL and socials for Volt with no E. Is it dumb not to just use that?

for the persona thing, the real name does seem "generic" but it depends on what you're going for.

will you be an artist that isn't approachable in persona, or one that would talk to people a lot? if the first, the new name kinda gives that feel. if the second, a more common name feels more approachable, easier to talk to, know etc. hopefully that all makes sense.

maybe describe what the artist/persona would be/feel like at shows/in videos? easier to comment on the name knowing that stuff.

My stuff is more on the aggressive/intense/dark side for the most part. No plans to really play to the persona off stage, but the music definitely lends itself to a more complex character.

These are great questions. Definitely helping me think through this a bit.

 

[chris]

Yeah, I don't have a specific genre in mind. I have two metalcore songs in the works and two that are mainstream synth based pop stuff. I'm doing one-off singles to start. Most of this is just a personal project, but I wanted to flesh it out properly either way.



It did occur to me that the mispronunciation might work as a conversation piece. I own the URL and socials for Volt with no E. Is it dumb not to just use that?



My stuff is more on the aggressive/intense/dark side for the most part. No plans to really play to the persona off stage, but the music definitely lends itself to a more complex character.

These are great questions. Definitely helping me think through this a bit.

ahh ok if he's gonna be a "metal dude" or similar haha the Volte works or the Volt works too if it's gonna be intense stuff. maybe on the nose, but if it delivers it should work out.

Elias Volt! aggressive dark music! if it keeps up with that i think it works

 

[Rane]

ahh ok if he's gonna be a "metal dude" or similar haha the Volte works or the Volt works too if it's gonna be intense stuff. maybe on the nose, but if it delivers it should work out.

Elias Volt! aggressive dark music! if it keeps up with that i think it works

Progress! I'm going to mull over dropping the E for a bit, but that may be more sensible. Not a single person has pronounced it right the first time, and it doesn't quite flow properly with the pronounced E... But, as you mention, Volt is kind of "I see what you did there", which was why I added the E. lol.

 

[unix-guy]

Honestly, your forum handle "Rane" is pretty good, in my opinion.

Again, you've got the possible spelling challenge, but likely a lot less potential conflict with other artists.

 

[Patzag]

Honestly, your forum handle "Rane" is pretty good, in my opinion.

Again, you've got the possible spelling challenge, but likely a lot less potential conflict with other artists.

I was going to say the same thing. Rane has a great sound to it. I’d listen to Rane before Volte. Don’t ask me why!

 

[Rane]

Honestly, your forum handle "Rane" is pretty good, in my opinion.

Again, you've got the possible spelling challenge, but likely a lot less potential conflict with other artists.

I was going to say the same thing. Rane has a great sound to it. I’d listen to Rane before Volte. Don’t ask me why!

Funny, I've had people pronounce that as "Ran-eh" as well. Damn those E's. I actually did consider trying to use that name, but I thought it might be too easily read as the feminine Renée. There's a few artists using that name, and it's also more competitive SEO wise. It's not totally out of the running, though. I'll have to give it some more thought. I've been using the Rane handle all around the internet since I was a teen.

 

[chris]

yeah Rane works for me and i've always pronounced it as "Rain".

 

[unix-guy]

Funny, I've had people pronounce that as "Ran-eh" as well. Damn those E's. I actually did consider trying to use that name, but I thought it might be too easily read as the feminine Renée. There's a few artists using that name, and it's also more competitive SEO wise. It's not totally out of the running, though. I'll have to give it some more thought. I've been using the Rane handle all around the internet since I was a teen.

Rāne?

That comes with other challenges but also adds a bit of stylistic element.

 

[unix-guy]

yeah Rane works for me and i've always pronounced it as "Rain".

Same... Maybe depends on where you're from geographically but I'd think that short of A-A-Ron's teacher most in the US would pronounce it the same.

 

[Patzag]

Nope. Rane, as in rain like @chris said.
Easy to remember, evocative, pleasant.

 

[rickboot]

Elias is 3 syllables. Rane is only 1.

Appreciate the feedback! That makes sense. The character is a bit generic/lifeless at the moment. Elias Miller would have 4 syllables, though. Two to three syllables is generally considered best practice.

Elias is already 3 syllables, but it doesn’t matter. I vote Elias Rane or Rane Miller.

 

[Patzag]

Prince, Cher, Sting, Pink, Rane …

 

[slimefuzz]

Purple Rane?

 

[Rane]

You guys just might have me sold on using Rane. I'm going to sleep on it.