Why Musicians Must Have a Vision And Mission Statement

Every artist has some overarching vision that they see for their music. The challenge is publicly presenting this vision in a way that grabs the attention and support of others. 

As an artist in today’s hectic music industry, the struggle to stand out and break through the noise is a challenge even established artists face. 

Now that you’ve determined where you are and where you want to go, the next step is to revisit your WHY that we briefly touched on earlier and turn it into the guiding light of your music career. 

Now you may be wondering Why Musicians Must Have a Vision And Mission Statement? Well a vision and mission statement places purpose and intention behind how you operate and the decisions you’ll make to carve out your legacy!

But don’t stop there…

There’s one more important aspect that new and old artists tend to overlook which is the fact that you have your own compelling story. 

Why Musicians Must Have a Vision And Mission Statement

In fact, you have a story that no one else can match no matter who they are.

Why is that? The answer is simple really…

The fact is your story is unique to you and the sooner you begin to leverage your story the more successful your marketing efforts will be!

What is a vision & Mission statement?

What is the meaning of life? 

That’s the answer we’re all searching for, and since nobody’s lives are the same, you can expect a different response from each person. 

The same goes for understanding the purpose behind your music and identifying the goals you’re chasing — this is called your vision. 

Your vision is unique to you and should act as an embodiment of your values, ethics, beliefs, and artistic identity. 

After establishing your vision, it’s important to identify how you’re going to make it all come true? 

Contrary to popular belief, the idea of “overnight success” is a rarity. This is why creating a mission statement to back up your vision is so valuable. 

A mission statement should lay out the steps you will take to bring your vision to life.

Related Reading: How Your Mindset Impacts Your Music: Stop Thinking Small

Related Reading: How To Create a SWOT Analysis For Musicians – How To Guide

How to create your vision And Mission Statement For Musicians

Now using the Vision and Mission Template provided, you can start by creating your vision statement first. This shouldn’t be very difficult, because your vision is an artistic extension of you! 

Think about what you’d like to accomplish with your music career

Why do you want to be an artist? What do you want your legacy to look like? What world issues are you interested in, and how can you embed these concepts both into your music and how you live your life? 

Asking yourself these questions should bring clarity to your vision and could even bring a deeper purpose to your work. 

However, don’t overthink it. Not everyone is out here, creating music that will spur a revolution or abolish world hunger. 

If that’s you, then great! 

If not, that’s perfectly fine too. Again this is YOUR vision for success and no one else’s. 

It should feel natural and not forced.

Vision Statement Examples:

Tesla – To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.

Tesla Logo

Nike – Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world

Nike Logo

Now that you’ve settled on a clear vision for your career, the next step is creating a mission statement that will put you on a path towards success. 

When creating your mission statement, you want to identify what you need to do to bring your vision to life. 

What are things you can do, related or unrelated to your music, that can put you on the path towards achieving your vision? 

What are the conventional steps you need to take to execute your vision? What artists do you look up to, and what did they do to get to where they are today? 

Thinking over these questions should help you come up with a strong foundation for you to start strategizing a plan that works best for you.

Mission Statement Examples:

Tesla – To create the most compelling car company of the 21st century by driving the world’s transition to electric vehicles.

Nike – Create groundbreaking sports innovations, make our products sustainably, build a creative and diverse global team, and make a positive impact in communities where we live and work.

Your Unique Selling Proposition For Musicians

This is so important as this is what sets you apart from the rest of the pack and makes you, well, unique. 

To help you get a better grasp of this concept, I would like to bring your attention to a man by the name of Neil Patel. 

Neil is a New York Times bestselling author and considered one of the top 10 marketers of our time by Forbes Magazine.

When he describes what a unique selling proposition is, he states the following:

“A unique selling proposition is what you stand for. It’s what sets you apart from others because of what your business makes a stand about. 

Instead of attempting to be known for everything, when you have a unique selling proposition, you stand for something specific, and it becomes what you’re known for.”

Although Neil is referring to businesses, you as an artist need to make a mental shift and start considering your music career as a business as well. 

Knowing what you stand for as an artist and what makes you unique allows you to be more focused and targeted when crafting your marketing and branding strategies.

How To Create Your Unique Selling Proposition For Musicians

Now you’ve already been through a ton of self reflection and analyzing the landscape around you. You’ve defined your WHY through your vision statement and established a mission statement for how you plan to make it happen. 

Through all this pondering you’ve probably identified what makes you unique or what separates you from the rest. You can take the road of some wild gimmick, which is perfectly fine, but just know that it can be exhausting trying to maintain an image based on gimmicks. 

If something glaring doesn’t come to mind, there is no shame in being genuine and authentically YOU. 

YOU’RE UNIQUE!

And while it might not seem like it now, someone out there will resonate with you, your music, and your story! 

So never be afraid to keep it simple and be yourself. Define what makes you unique and create the story and perception you want others to have of you. 

Are you ethical and kind or are you in your face and irrational?

Regardless of what you decide the key is to know and craft the image and story that works for you as an artist. 

If you don’t take the time to do this, and just expect people to see you in the light that you see yourself, you will be greatly disappointed.

People will make up their minds about you pretty quickly and if you’re not guiding them to the answers you want them to arrive at, don’t be surprised if they see you as something completely different than what you envision.

Related Reading: Perception Is One Hell Of a Drug (The Mindset That Will Cripple Your Music Career)

Example USP: Donald Glover

Donald Glover is captivating and he achieves this in such a unique way. From how he dresses, to his laid back and carefree demeanor, he grabs your attention with his indifference. 

While everyone is trying so hard to stand out, he goes the opposite route. Dressing as if he’s just another average guy, is relatable on so many levels. This is why we say being you is ok and sometimes it’s the only gimmick you might need.

Childish Gambino Unique Selling Proposition Music With Flavor

Example USP: marshmello

On the other end of the spectrum you can leverage a gimmick that becomes your staple like Marshmello. Something that is memorable and hard to replicate. 

This creates mystery and intrigue amongst your audience and makes you stand out to people who coming across your music for the first time.

Marshmello Unique Selling Proposition Music With Flavor

Final Thoughts On Why Musicians Must Have a Vision And Mission Statement

Although these are vital steps, try not to overcomplicate things too much when thinking over your vision, mission and unique selling proposition. 

Take some time to think over your ideas, your goals, and any factors that could increase your chances of success. 

Everyone has unique experiences and qualities that will shape their artistic vision. That’s what makes your music unique, but know that this isn’t set in stone and may evolve as you go. 

So there’s no sense spending weeks or even months dwelling over a couple of sentences. 

Don’t overlook these steps but don’t overthink it either!

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