What's in a (Band) Name?

Is it just me, or have music listeners become more fickle over the part few years? It could be the "scene" I ascribe to - to use the general and crude term, "indie" - but I get the sense that music consumers these days are much more in-tune to the industry than ever before. Because of this, music marketing has become increasingly more difficult. Under traditional models, a CD only needed one "good" song to sell a million units, but with the proliforation of iTunes, Napster and music download services, people only pay for the songs they actually like. In the context of physical (er, digital) CD sales, this means music biz peeps need a new strategy.

Ok, how about backing up the process? After all, since downloading and purchasing of physical CDs doesn't drive the industry anymore, bands need to get attention for other reasons (ie concerts, music spots in TV and film, etc). What is the easiest and most immediate way of attracting people to your band's music? You judge a book by its cover, of course - get a good name.

It sounds so simple, yet its one of the most complicated aspects of music marketing. Not only do consumers demand ever-increasingly unique names (The "Somethings" and the "Somethings" isn't going to fly anymore), but they also demand that, phonetically and visually, it appeals to their subculture (generally, the genre from whenst you came). Let's look at a few examples. And please keep in mind that most of this is subjective - you may draw something completely different from a name, and I would encourage you to push back on any of these explanations:

- Motion City Soundtrack: to me, this says driving or moving music (motion). "Soundtrack" says something that is user-friendly on a daily basis; something easy to integrate into your life. Once you combine the visual elements of the font and colors (click on the name for a link to their official page), I really feel it invokes the overall feeling of the music - unique, yet poppy and friendly.

- The Raconteurs: Jack White's band. The name means someone that tells anecdotes and storeis in an amusing way. If you haven't heard them, what does the name invoke for you? Spoiler: they're a quirky mix of fan-friendly guitar work, unique song structures and raw recording sound. However, the visual element of their marketing campaign really drives it home - the old bluegrass, gypsy look to their album cover and website pics helps to convey the idea that they're just slightly off-center.

- He is Legend: One of my personal favorite bands of all time (constantly playing on my MP3 player). While their name rings true to their sound, they've significantly changed their album art and look for each album making them some sort of freaky southern-metal chameleons. By the way, check out the promotional pic on the online store page - priceless.

Of course, what your fans demand from your name depends on your genre. In the metal scene, people want you to be more outwardly agressive with you name (ie Deathklok - yes they're real and recently had a highly successful sold out tour - and Dragonforce). Using a combination of words and phonetics, I think some bands owe some of their initial notice to their name. Whether subconscious or otherwise, we do judge books by their covers.

Let's play a little game. Below is a list of band names that are probably still pretty "underground" to the general public. I'd love to get some feedback on how they hit you initially. Ask yourself, are you drawn to a certain name initially? Why or why not? Did you find a band that you actually liked, but otherwise would have avoided because of the name?

The rules are simple - you can look up their page to peek at the art, but you MUST mute the sound. Happy Hunting!

The 20 go to 10
The Advantage
Aesop Rock
Bound Stems
Duck Duck Goose
Earl Greyhound
Free the Robots
Future Rock
Hadouken!
Man Man
Maps & Atlases
Mass Movement of the Moth
Sky Eats Airplane - Electro-core
The Snake the Cross and the Crown
Wild Beasts