Purpose and aim The purpose of this thesis has been to create a deeper understanding about the impact that the digitalization of the music business in the early 2000s and also the latter change, that in this paper is referred to as the sociodigital change, has had on artist brands. We will also analyze the positive and negative effects that this development may have had on the already existing brand environment and lastly also review the true importance of the professional industry’s competence. We have chosen the following research question in relation to the purpose; In what way has the basic conditions for artist brands within the music industry changed since the digitalization of the music industry in the early 2000s? Method For this study we initially took an inductive approach as we formed hypotheses based on experiences and previous knowledge which we then corroborated with theories. Based on an empirical problem that we observed in an early stage of the study, we conducted six interviews with people within the music industry. During the work process, we alternated between theories and our collected empirical data which resulted in the study adopting an abductive nature. Conlusions Our study revealed that the single largest change for the basic conditions of artist brands since the 2000s digitalization is the accessability of exposure. Due to the reason that it now has become easier to expose your brand as an artist, the number of brands, particularly in the lower and middle segments, has increased which has caused the competative environment to get tougher. However, our study demonstrates that the conditions for the largest, well-established artist brands has not been significantly affected. In our conclusion, we also point out the importance and relevance of the professional music industry’s competence and clout. Keywords Brand, artist, artist brand, competition, differentiation, digitalization

Studien syftar till att, genom diskursanalys, undersöka erfarenheter och upplevelser av artistprofilering. I undersökningens kvalitativa intervjuer deltog tre intervjupersoner. Genom närläsning och tematisering av intervjupersonernas utsagor synliggjordes förväntningar på artistskap i en kedja från ung, oetablerad artist- och musikstudent via erfaren musikpedagog till välmeriterad företrädare inom musikindustrin. Resultatet visar intervjupersonernas resonemang, tankar, upplevelser och erfarenheter. För en hållbar artistprofilering, menar intervjupersonerna att artisten bör ha en artistprofil som är autentisk och genuin. Artisten förväntas vara en entreprenör med kunskap om branschen och besitta personliga egenskaper som att vara: visionär, självsäker, motiverad och självständig. De artistiska egenskaperna är i första hand inte musikaliska färdigheter utan personliga egenskaper och är grundade i personen som ger upphov till artistprofilen. Enligt intervjupersonerna har musikindustrins ekonomiska intressen olika utfall på artisters hälsa och även utformningen av det artistiska varumärket. Intervjupersonerna upplever ett glapp mellan undervisning och verklighet och menar att det krävs pedagoger som har insyn, är verksamma i musikbranschen och som kan skapa broar mellan musikutbildning och musikindustri.