If you’re a professional musician and/or a music content creator with a growing platform, having more equipment at your disposal isn’t a bad thing. However, paying for it all isn’t always viable and that’s where endorsements come into the picture, but what are endorsements exactly?

An endorsement deal is typically an arrangement between an “influencer” and a brand, where the influencer publicly recommends and promotes their support of said brand’s goods or services. In exchange for the promotion, the endorser typically receives compensation in cash or in-kind (i.e. the brand’s goods or services). In the context of music gear, the “influencers” are musicians and artists, the brands are your favourite Musical Instrument manufacturers (PRS Guitars, Taylor Guitars, Ernie Ball, etc.) and your compensation in-kind would be the products that these brands make. 

We won’t dive into the specifics of endorsement deals here, but we will look into some good practices and considerations when applying for one. 

1. Know the brand and their products

Before reaching out to any company, it’s crucial to have a thorough understanding of the brand and their product line. From the get-go, this might sound like a silly question, but ask yourself — how well do you truly know your favourite brands? Does Fender just build strats and teles? Is MONO simply a gig bag manufacturer? 

Familiarise yourself with the full range of products, their unique features and the target audience they cater to. This might include a broad understanding of related brands (for example, Fender Musical Instruments owns Gretsch, Jackson, Charvel and more) and in some cases, sub-brands (like what Squier is to Fender). 

Having a good understanding of your favourite MI brands serves two purposes. Firstly, it will help guide you towards brands that you can resonate with. Secondly, when you attempt to connect, this knowledge will demonstrate your genuine interest in the company and its values.

2. Understand what the brand is looking for

Every brand has specific criteria for selecting brand ambassadors. Research the brand’s existing endorsements and partnerships to identify the qualities they value in artists. Tailor your pitch to highlight how your activity (content plans, upcoming shows and tours, etc.), music style, audience, and image align with the brand’s objectives.

For instance, many instrument manufacturers will want to know if your work will help increase the visibility of their products on stage. Live music drives the MI industry and guarantees thousands of eyes and ears are focused on the looks and sounds of the latest guitars, basses, drum kits, etc. A well-planned touring schedule and festival placements can help you stand out against other aspiring artist applicants.

However, this doesn’t apply to every MI brand across the board. Consider, say, an effects pedal company. Effect pedals and pedalboards are in general not as “visible” on stage as your guitars and basses. An effects pedal brand may value partnerships with adept, digital content creators instead. These could be artists who are able to create high quality, engaging social media content to help demonstrate the best sounds and features of different effects. If an effects pedal brand is constantly sharing well-produced content from artists, and you couldn’t edit a video to save your life, then this may not be the brand for you (unless you feel like you have something different of value to offer).

What’s also important to note is that a brand’s artist engagement strategy can and will change. Make sure you do your research, do your best to speak directly to what you believe are the business’ needs at the time, and demonstrate how you can fulfil them.

3. How willing are you to be a “complete” brand representative?

So you’ve done all of your research and understand the full range of products your favourite brand manufactures. How many of these products would you end up using given the opportunity?

Securing a brand endorsement goes far beyond receiving free or discounted gear. Consider whether you are willing to fully embody the brand’s values and actively promote multiple products in your performances, recordings, and social media content. Letting a brand representative know that you love and can promote multiple products will always get you further than “Hey, I noticed [insert brand’s most popular/common product], can I try one?”. Remember — brands will always seek out sustainable, long-term partnerships with artists who can authentically represent what they do.

Here’s a good and simple litmus test to see if you’d be an authentic brand ambassador — ask yourself if you’d continue to purchase from said brand even if they weren’t interested in working with you!

4. Make a good impression

Building on the previous point, make sure you are intentional in your approach. It’s easy to look at trends and identify the latest, coolest products, but that is far from enough. A good artist endorsement application is not that different from a good job application, so make sure you have a CV or portfolio to share and a strategy to get noticed. 

Look for official application portals (if they exist), or take the time to connect with the artist relations professionals behind the brand. A professional and well-prepared email can go a long way and at the very least, leave a good impression. Do NOT expect that a casual Instagram DM will get you attention! Industry professionals can tell when you’re not prepared and trying your luck for freebies. 

5. Didn’t get a response or got rejected? Don’t take it personally!

If you’ve gotten this far, sent your best application and faced rejection (or never heard back at all), please don’t take it to heart. The reality is that your favourite brands are likely receiving hundreds, if not thousands, of artist endorsement applications every year so competition can be stiff. 

Perhaps your time hasn’t come yet. At the end of the day, brands are still businesses and have to make the best decisions for themselves. However, business priorities and budgets can, and will, change all the time. Take heart in the fact that you’re putting your name out there in a positive way and opening doors for future partnerships when the time is right. If there is an invitation to keep in touch, that also provides you with an opportunity to demonstrate brand loyalty and career growth down the road. 

In my experience, some of my most impactful artist relationships took years to develop and when they finally came to fruition, produced mutually beneficial and incredibly inspiring outcomes.

Trust the process!

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About the author:

Benjamin Mah is a musician and marketing professional with over 6 years in the Musical Instruments industry, specialising in social media strategy and artist/influencer relations. In his line of work, Benjamin has had the opportunity to collaborate with some of the best touring/recording musicians in Hollywood and countless content creators around the world.

As a musician, he is an active bass player in the Singapore circuit, supporting artists like Benjamin Kheng, linying, Marian Carmel, and many more. Benjamin is also a founding member of Singaporean band, Astronauts.