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What gear brands are looking for in potential endorsement artists

Writer's picture: Philip WellerPhilip Weller

Updated: Nov 10, 2024


Every guitarist dreams of getting an endorsement, but how do they work, and what can you do to catch a brand’s attention? 

 

Being an endorsed artist can feel like a badge of honour. In a densely populated music industry, it can boost your confidence to say that you stood out from the crowd and that a brand you love has recognised your talents and invested in you.


Many players may feel that an endorsement deal is reserved only for the greatest – the world-destroying virtuosos and the social media mavericks. That isn’t the case.  


Modern Metal Academy attended Radar Festival 2024 and spoke to many cutting-edge gear brands to find out what they are looking for in a potential endorsee artist to reassure readers that the Holy Grail of a deal isn’t an impossibility – but it won’t come easy, either.  

 

What are brands looking out for?


Here, there are two main talking points. For Isaac Stolzer-Gary, Community Manager at Strandberg, and Mark Shoebottom, who handles social media and marketing at Aristides, passion for the product is paramount.


“The number one thing for our artists is that they genuinely prefer our guitars. That’s just something we wouldn't want to force,” says Stolzer-Gary. 


“We love our own product, and we love it when people love our guitars,” Shoebottom echoes. “We want to support them because they're supporting us.”


But, of course it has to go further than that. At its core, endorsement deals are marketing tools for gear brands.


“What we look for varies depending on the artist,” says James Evans, Senior Product Manager at Blackstar Amps. “The main thing is, of course, being an influential guitarist. At the end of the day, we sponsor artists as a promotional tool to sell products. It's a two-way street.”


Neural DSP, however, aren’t positioning themselves on that same street.


“We look for artists that are active and actually doing something out in the industry,” explains Director of Artist Relations, Max Grant. “The amazing thing about the music industry is that, no matter how varied your tastes are, you haven’t heard of everyone. There are huge artists you’ll have never encountered. So, when people approach us, we evaluate how big they are in their market.


“We’re looking for a partnership, not just ‘we scratch your back, you scratch ours’ marketing. Most of our team comes from a touring background, or have been artists themselves, so we try and view it as a partnership and grow together.”



Credit: Ruben Navarro

What will I be judged on?


This is where matters continue to differ from brand to brand. One consensus that cut through the conversations, though, is that you don’t have to be playing 365 gigs a year and have millions of Instagram followers. But what those stats represent at their core matters.


“Active is a good word; we want to see players actively pursuing a career in music,” Stolzer-Gary underlines. “We get asked about social media numbers, but that’s not really how we view things.”


For Strandberg, it isn’t necessarily about excelling at both as they ultimately want to become an extension of your brand, not dictate how you run the show. They “look at where an individual’s strengths and energy are going and see how we can support them with that.” 


“No matter how big or unknown an artist is, we don’t have any set criteria,” Shoebottom adds. “If someone is really passionate about our guitars to the point they want to be part of our roster, there’s always a conversation that we can have.”


Equally, Blackstar “don’t number it” when it comes to gigs and socials. The most important thing is showcasing that you’re an artist on an upward trajectory.


“I know a lot of musicians hate social media because they just want to play music, but unfortunately, it’s a necessary evil now,” says Evans. “It’s about seeing bands keeping active and showing growth over time.”


Neural DSP, meanwhile, are eager to dig deeper than surface-level statistics.


“We tend to look at engagement over follower count because that doesn’t give a true picture,” Grant explains. “Streaming numbers and monthly listeners is one thing, but we do our best with all the data points available to us to verify someone is who they say they are, and there is a return of investment for us as a company.”


It’s an interesting angle. In an age where likes can be bought (but never should be), brands love to see genuine interactions between an artist and their fan base. If their fans are invested in them, they’ll be equally as invested as the gear and brands they are associated with.


Credit: Ruben Navarro

What are the most accessible endorsements?


Being an endorsement artist doesn’t simply equate to free gear and signature models. On the flip side, there are accessible routes into a brand’s artist roster.


Strandberg operates via a tiered system. At the base level, that’s an artist profile on its website and a universal recognition that there is a partnership there – the all-important badge of honour. There’s also a discount to boot, as “getting a Strandberg in their hands is definitely the goal.” 


Shoebottom stresses that Aristides is still a small company. It has around 25 staff members and builds circa 700 guitars a year, with no sole person responsible for artist management. Of course, from a brand perspective, Aristides just wants to be seen.


“Exposure is brilliant for our brand,” Shoebottom enthuses. “Mike Stringer is probably our biggest artist. He’s a fantastic player, Spiritbox is blowing up. But if someone only has 5,000 followers, we’re still going to share the content.”


As such, tagging Aristides in social posts, and showing you are an active and creative musician, will go a long way into growing a mutually beneficial and professional relationship. This can be said for all those brands – get on their radar.


“If we think an artist has got legs, then we'd consider bringing them into our Support Program, which is essentially discounts on products,” Evans says of Blackstar’s entry-level endorsement strategy. “There’s also a direct line of support and [the possibility of] borrowing gear for music, videos and festival slots.”


“At the base level, it’s a discount on products,” Neural DSP’s Grant details. “One thing we are very active with is finding up-and-coming artists that don’t have high metrics, and we’ll give away 50-100 free plugin licenses every month.


“We love when people are using any products, and we don’t expect anything in return either. That’s just a ‘this is awesome’ – there you go. We want to encourage people to play more and use different tools.


Credit: Ruben Navarro

What else can help my case?


All four brands are open to endorsement applications, but players must reduce their expectations to a certain degree; it’s a competitive market. As such, anything that you have under your belt to bolster your powers of seduction will help.


Blackstar, for instance, wants to see well-oiled machines, with backing from record labels and booking agents, and sees multi-country distributors as a big plus.


Neural DSP is looking for short and sharp pitches that will instantly pique their interest: “Please include social media and streaming links, along with anything you think is relevant,” Taylor-Grant asserts. “You might be the biggest guitarist in the world, but if your email doesn't give me that information, my team doesn't have the time to dig that out.”


How to apply?


Strandberg: Head here for full details.


Aristides: Email sales@aristidesinstruments.com with why you'd love to connect.


Blackstar: Head here and fill out their application form.


Neural DSP: Email the header ‘Collaborate’ with your artist name to artists@neuraldsp.com.


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