Creating a Stage Name
Having a stage name is important as it will likely be the first thing about you that your fans will encounter (often times even before your music). While a name shouldn’t be the only determining factor for whether or not someone listens to your music it is important to know that it can be. With that in mind here are a few things that you will find useful when coming up with a stage name.
Firstly, avoid picking a name that is too similar to other artists. It would be a problem if people confuse you with someone else or vice versa. Your name is what people will associate you with so, you’ll want to have a name that won’t cause conceptions or ideas about you that you are not happy or comfortable with. If you want to have a unique name, be sure that it is not too difficult to spell or pronounce, having a name like that may make it more difficult for your fans to find you.
Next, how will you spell your name? Sometimes it may be useful to spell your name phonetically if it is difficult to pronounce. Doing so will also help your stage name stand out more. Will you use a unique variation of your real name? Many artists keep their first name and alter their last name. Adding numbers, scrambling the name, or even adding symbols are all creative ways to add variance to your stage name.
Lastly, research and test your desired stage name. Try to find out if there is the possibility of yore name getting confused with another’s. You can search in the stage name you are considering via a search engine and see what comes up. Keep in mind that search engines localize your results based on your IP address. This means that you may not get a globalized result when trying to see if the stage name you typed in is being used.