Get Sponsorship for Your Next Music Video (Step by Step Guide)

So you have the most brilliant idea for your next music video yet you cannot execute it because you only have a few dollars left in your pocket after recording your first album. But you also know the value of a kick-ass music video- that it could leverage your career faster than you can say OK Go. Now I know how frustrated you might feel right now but you should know that there are lots of solutions for that. If you’ve already established a good number of followers, then my advice is you get a corporate sponsorship.

Here’s a step by step guide on how to go about getting corporate sponsorship for your next MV.

KNOW YOUR BRAND. Huh? What brand? I’m not selling anything! I hear you… but my friend, YOU are your BRAND and you are selling yourself and your music. You just have to accept that fact. That doesn’t make you less of a artist. You have to know your brand 100% so you would know what to sell and to whom.

Know your style. Are you a happy hippie band who loves donating to charities and being spiritual or are you the deep artist who’s into poetry and emotional music? List down words that best describe you as a musician. The corporate guys would need this and you would also need this to identify your preferences and limitations.

Know your Fan base. Get to know their demographics: age group, sex, personality, buying habits…every information you can gather. The companies will check if their target market matches your fan base’s demographics.

Know your numbers. Number of CDs sold, number of site visitors, number of people that usually show up during your gigs, number of facebook fans, etc. This would help you identify whether you should target big or small companies. It’s much easier to contact the smaller ones if you only have a small following. Bigger companies would mean bigger effort and lesser expectations of a positive reply.

LIST DOWN PROSPECTS. After knowing every aspect of your brand in step one, it’s time to make a list of your prospect companies. Here are some tips:

Ø  Choose Companies based on your concept and your Brand: Take a look at the list you’ve done in step one and write down possible companies that could benefit from your brand. Of course, you have to think about your concept as well. What companies will look good and benefit from your concept?

Ø  Tap All Connections. Do you have good friends in college who are now managing their dads’ companies? Then you are one lucky chap. If their company does not have funds for this kind of marketing or if their brand does not complement your brand, then they might refer you to other companies.

Ø   Be Choosy. That’s right! I know you need money badly but please do not just choose ANY company. You might just as well loan from your bank than include a lousy brand in your music video. You are going to be BIG so do not settle for a company that you do not like. You do not have to be too choosy, just don’t settle for something that would make your stomach churn. But if you are creative enough and the deal is good, you can tweak your concept a bit so your video would still come out great.

RESEARCH ABOUT THE COMPANIES. Google the companies you’ve listed down so you would know their programs, contact persons, and mission-vision. Writing some tidbits about the company in your proposal would impress them.

WRITE PROPOSALS. Now you are very ready to make a proposal. If you have 3-5 prospect companies, make sure you make each one separately because no company likes generic proposals.

Ø  Paragraph 1: Combine the stuff you learned in step 3 to those in step 1. Tell them in a very short sentence how their company would benefit from partnering with you with your latest music video.

Ø  Paragraph 2: Short Bio. Make it brief and only include the relevant information (step 1). You need not give a 3-page paper on how your band started.

Ø  Paragraph 3-4:Answer their ‘What’s in it for me?”. You just have to elaborate your point in the first paragraph.

Ø  Paragraph 5: BRIEFLYexplain the concept of your video and how you plan to include their brand.

Ø  Paragraph 6:Wrap up with a friendly tone.

SUBMIT PROPOSALS. Find ways on how you can talk to the persons on top of the ladder but if you do not have the means, then just submit them to the marketing head of these companies. Make sure all printed proposals read well and look neat because it reflects who you are as professional artists.

Your idea is your greatest asset. Even if you do not have bazillion followers if you have a brilliant idea, you might get the nod of big companies. Never beg for sponsorship especially if it’s just a small company. Know your worth as a band and believe in your idea. I hope you will find these steps useful in getting sponsorship for your kick-ass Music video.

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