Artist bios matter because we live in a world of first impressions.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Table Of Contents
Before I hear the music, read the book, or watch the film, I often know something about the person who created it. Sometimes it’s only a few words beneath a name. Sometimes it’s an entire biography. Either way, those words arrive before the work does.
That matters.
We make decisions quickly. We decide whether to click, keep reading, listen a little longer, or simply move on. An artist bio has only a few seconds to earn our attention.
There is nothing wrong with that. Every creative has to introduce themselves somehow.
What interests me is something else.
At what point does an artist bio stop describing the work and start asking us to believe something the work has not yet earned?
Hyperbole Is Nothing New
Social media gets blamed for a lot of things. This isn’t one of them.
I’ve been seeing this long before anyone had a LinkedIn profile: press kits, demo tapes, concert posters, websites, and artist biographies. Somewhere along the way, the hyperbole became more important than the body of work.
None of that is surprising. Humans have been building themselves up for centuries.
The idea isn’t new. Persian kings called themselves “King of Kings.” One of the titles the Ottoman Sultans conferred on themselves was “The Shadow of God on Earth.” They were titles no election conferred and no committee awarded. They were declarations of authority, repeated often enough to become part of the ruler’s identity.
What’s in a Title?
Spend enough time networking, and you begin to see patterns. Some biographies simply tell you what a person does. Others seem determined to tell you what to think about them before you’ve encountered a single piece of their work.
There is nothing wrong with confidence. There is nothing wrong with introducing yourself passionately and professionally.
What interests me is something else.
At what point does a professional description become a self-awarded distinction?
When does an artist bio stop introducing the work and start asking us to accept a reputation that has not yet been earned?
Unlike licensed professions such as medicine, engineering, or law, creative professions have few universally recognized credentials. Whether competent to do so, or not, anyone can publish a novel, record an album, direct a film, or produce a podcast.
That freedom is one of the great strengths of the arts. It also gives first impressions greater importance because they often shape our opinion before anything else does.
What Networking Continues to Teach Me
Networking has changed the way I evaluate people.
After enough conversations with industry professionals and their representatives, titles begin to lose their importance. The work doesn’t.
Recently, a conversation with a top-tier creative professional helped explain why. He observed that, at the upper levels of the arts, reputation often travels by word of mouth. People know who has done the work. A bio adds background. It doesn’t create credibility.
That explained something I had been seeing for years. Reputation and self-promotion are not the same thing.
The longer I network, the more I find myself looking past introductions. Rather, I search for evidence.
The Weight of Credibility
Every artist bio makes a promise. Some promises are modest. Others are ambitious. Either way, they invite us to expect something before we encounter their art.
There is nothing wrong with making a strong first impression. The question is whether the evidence carries it.
A biography, headline, or title may persuade someone to click. None of them can sustain credibility for very long.
Sooner or later, the work takes over. The songs are heard. The books are read. The films are watched. The collaborations become known. At that point, the artist bio is no longer making a claim. It is being measured against the body of work behind it.
So What?
Social media rewards the immediate.
Creative work rewards the enduring.
One can be written in an afternoon.
The other may take a lifetime.
An artist bio can introduce your work. It cannot do the work for you.
Can We Help You?
What evidence supports the promises of your artist bio?
Every artist leaves a first impression. The question is whether the work confirms it.
Take another look at your bio. Read it as though you were discovering yourself for the first time. Does it describe the work, or ask the reader to believe more than the work can support?
If this article gave you something to think about, share it with another artist. I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts in the comments below. If conversations about music, process, and truth are important to you, subscribe and join us for the next one.
Want More Mack-n-Cheeze?
Videos - Bryan At Mackncheeze on YouTube
Podcasts – Bryan At Mackncheeze Apple Podcasts, Fountain, Spotify