15 replies to this topic

[NoisyApe]

...your own name?

What about under a stage name? which is less facetious? Does it matter who you're composing for ( if you're composing for a consumer listener audience, releasing albums, as opposed to composing for video games, etc.. )

[Tom Sloper]

Why would you want to use a made-up name exactly?

[NoisyApe]

Tom Sloper, on 28 January 2012 - 06:18 PM, said:

Why would you want to use a made-up name exactly?

I might can garner a slight following by releasing music to the public, which would be good on a resume for commissioners.. and most people who release music like that do it under a fake name. I guess that's the reason.

I guess it's a personal decision. I don't like the thought of releasing music to the public under my real name but I don't like the thought of releasing music to commissioners under a fake name, haha..

[jbadams]

NoisyApe, on 28 January 2012 - 05:02 PM, said:

...your own name?

Do you know what facetious actually means? Why would releasing music under your own name be considered "flippant"? Thousands of artists do this all the time.

//EDIT: My apologies, reading over this again it comes off as harsh, which was not my intention -- I assume you've heard of Britney Spears though? Michael Jackson? It's very normal to use a real name.

[Tom Sloper]

NoisyApe, on 28 January 2012 - 07:38 PM, said:

I don't like the thought of releasing music to the public under my real name

I don't understand that. A lot of people would want any positive recognition to be connected with their real names. Besides, how can you claim on your resume "I'm the guy who wrote that" -- since anybody can claim that?

Quote

but I don't like the thought of releasing music ... under a fake name,

That I can understand. You want recognition for your own creations.

jbadams, on 28 January 2012 - 09:40 PM, said:

Do you know what facetious actually means?

Good point. For a moment I thought "fictitious" but that wouldn't fit in as a substitution.

Speaking of word usage, I wonder what "commissioners" means in this context -- I'm guessing "clients"?

[ManuelMarino]

I started releasing my music as Vanethian, and then after years I decided to use my name and surname. They both have good points and bad points.

Using a nickname you can create some mystery around the composer, create curiosity and a brand. Using your name is more standard, so less interesting but rewarding on the long run, you put your name you can't go wrong with your compositions, you have to be the best all the time, because there's your name involved, etc etc

[Nyaanyaa]

NoisyApe, on 28 January 2012 - 07:38 PM, said:

I guess it's a personal decision. I don't like the thought of releasing music to the public under my real name but I don't like the thought of releasing music to commissioners under a fake name, haha..

There's a nice workaround for that actually. You could simply release music to the public under an alias e.g. "Nyaanyaa", while using both your alias and your real name for commissioned work, e.g. "Christian 'Nyaanyaa' Hellerberg" (not that I'm doing that ;) ). That way you'll be associated with both, while your real name will only appear on the credit pages of games or apps you've created music for.

That aside, I agree it's up to personal preference.

Cheers,
Chris

[Tom Sloper]

ManuelMarino, on 29 January 2012 - 01:23 AM, said:

They both have good points and bad points.
Using a nickname you can create some mystery around the composer, create curiosity and a brand. Using your name is more standard, so less interesting but rewarding on the long run, you put your name you can't go wrong with your compositions, you have to be the best all the time, because there's your name involved, etc etc

So using a fictitious name lets you experiment until you find your style, and if you screw up you can use a different fictitious name and deny any connection with the first one. Okay, I get it now. I really didn't see the benefit before. Kind of like why bank robbers wear masks. Deniability. Disguise.

And if you use your real name you can't screw up. Denial is no longer an option. So don't use your real name if you're unsure of your talent, I guess.

But I don't think the "mystery" aspect adds that much to the brand. I can be curious about an awesome composer whom I'd never heard of before just as much if he's using a real name. A brand can be built just fine with a real name, as long as there's talent there (John Williams). A nickname can be cool for a superstar (The Artist Formerly Known As Prince) but just looks silly on someone with no talent.

[ManuelMarino]

yeah, you are probably right, but do you know how many pseudonyms Prince used in his career?

Anyway, you made me think about Richard Bachman, Stephen King pseudonym.

He said: “When I put on my Bachman hat, I feel everyone starts at ‘Go’ and there’s no guarantee of a happy ending. It’s tremendously liberating; Bachman doesn’t have a conscience, he’s not afraid to say things that I may be afraid to”.

[NoisyApe]

Thanks for the answers everyone, this was a vague question but ya'll cleared it up for me. It is a personal decision.

[jbadams]

Don't forget another option that's a little bit of both: if you're doing commissioned pieces for other people you can release them under a studio name -- to use a readily accessible example, the moderator of this very forum operates as Madsen Studios, although it might be worth noting that he isn't shy about also using his real name. If you're worried that just your own name might not sound professional you could consider a business name as well.

[StauntonLick]

I'm thinking about this myself actually - I operate using my real name, but across the internet I'm "StauntonLick". I think it's probably better to be one or the other so that your "brand" is consistent. Problem I have now is people who might have come to know me as "StauntonLick" might not recognize me if I switch over to my real name, so I'm effectively chucking away any goodwill that my pseudonym has brought me over the years.

[nsmadsen]

jbadams, on 29 January 2012 - 11:20 PM, said:

Don't forget another option that's a little bit of both: if you're doing commissioned pieces for other people you can release them under a studio name -- to use a readily accessible example, the moderator of this very forum operates as Madsen Studios, although it might be worth noting that he isn't shy about also using his real name. If you're worried that just your own name might not sound professional you could consider a business name as well.

Exactly. My studio name ties in my last name which makes an obvious connection. I do know others that use a completely unique studio name which differs from their real name. The only issue there is if people don't make the connection. But with some solid networking and time that connection can easily be made known and avoid that problem.

I see no reason to not operate under a different name - just make sure you pick something you'll use and be happy with for a long time. It would be a poor move to pick name X for a few years then change to name Y. You're branding yourself and your work. If you don't feel comfortable yet then my advice would be to release it only under your real name (which most likely isn't changing any time soon) . Then when you feel more confident in your direction, role, niche and branding model change to a branded name.

[bschmidt1962]

Tom Salta is a great real-life story version of this question...
He wanted to get into composing for games.
Rather than try to sell himself as a composer, he created a techno/pop "Artist" named Atlas Plugged (atlas = salta backwards..). He was able to get a track off his "Atlas plugged" album licensed into Project Gotham Racing (they shipped a ton of licensed music tracks on that game).
From there, he could legitimately say that his music had been in video games (and a high profile one at that)... Now he of course is a highly in demand composer writing music for games. Orchestral music. He gave a great keynote at GameSoundCon last year going over the how he got into composing for video games and also mentioned it in the interview below.

I decided I better come in strong, so I started attending the game conferences, and I did a lot of observation. I got the impression that composers were perceived to be a dime a dozen, but artists were considered cool. I decided, “Why don’t I become an artist?” So I developed Atlas Plug, an alter ego that I used to break into the video game industry. I put out an album of electronica orchestral music, and it was intended to be licensed in video games, TV and film trailers.....The plan worked. Before I was even finished with the album, Microsoft approached me and wanted to license four songs for video games in 2003. More licensing followed, and gave me some credits to my name to launch as a game composer.

http://www.sonicscoo...ia-red-steel-2/

Brian

[Cyleak]

For me it's quite a different story, as my real name is nowhere to be read easily, pronounced properly, not to mention remembered by anyone outside my country.

Add to that sharing it with very important and known person associated with internet services like Google and Yahoo (although only in my country) and you get the idea about going under a 'nickname'.

But I actually wish I had more 'globally accepted' real name to just go with it... Oh well, we usually don't pick those by ourselves.

[GeneralQuery]

If you're an artist, using aliases makes more sense than using your real name if you intent to get signed to a decent sized label.