Sounds Like Branding - Jakob Lusensky

Having read “The Brand Gap”, “Sounds Like Branding” seemed like a good book to follow because it specifically talks about branding with music. Unfortunately what I found was that the book more so talked about how music is used in branding, I.e. songs in advertisements etc. So although the book was less relevant to my topic then I would have liked it to be, it still had a few good points. Here are some of the key points I found in the book:

• Music Creates Identity - “music is so closely tied to our sense of identity and self. Another study by Rentfrow and Gosling shows people believe their taste in music reveals who they ‘really’ are more than films, books and - yes shopaholics - even clothes. The music we listen to seems to be a social marker telling the world who we are and what we believe. No wonder music has been at the core of every significant subculture of the last 50 year’s” - This ties in with subculture and identify theory, an idea I intend to explore in this essay. 
• Musics New Role in Advertising - “Bands and artists who might not otherwise be heard get a chance to be heard by a much larger audience by piggybacking on the marketing power of the brand.” -  While this talks about how advertising and marketing have influenced the consumption of particular music artists, it made me think that perhaps design has done the same. The consumption of any given musical act is directly related to their success; the more successful and widely known the act is, the more they will be listened to. Perhaps with some research, I could find examples of design that has helped give a musical act success or exposure, what springs to mind is large billboards - when music acts use large billboards for advertising, they can often try and grab as much attention as possible by using eye catching and bold design techniques. 
• Brand Identity - “The brand identity is defined as how a company is perceived and the values associated with it. These associations are a sort of implied contract between the company and its customers. The terms are simple. If a company does what is expected and sticks to its brand principles, the consumer agrees to stay loyal and solicit its products or services whenever possible.” - I just found this section about branding quite interesting when thinking about a musical act as a brand. This way of thinking almost suggests that brands are successful when they stay the same and keep offering the same product or service. However other quotes I’ve found on the topic suggest innovative ideas and modernising the brand are important.