Shakeila Baker outlines her personal brand canvas for developing her career as a singer, songwriter, dancer, and future record label CEO. She describes growing up in Long Beach surrounded by music and pursuing her passion after facing rejection from labels. Her arena is the music industry, specifically R&B, hip hop, pop, and gospel. Her identity, skills, credentials, audience, and goals are also defined to map out her brand strategy and positioning within the industry.

1. Developing My Personal Brand Canvas
By: Shakeila Baker

2. Arena
• I will first start off specifically
working within the Music Industry
as a Singer/Songwriter/Dancer/
Actress/Entertainer for Hip Hop/
R&B/Pop/Rap/Gospel Music
Lovers In the New Orleans, TN,
TX, ATL, ILL, CA, MICHIGAN,
NY, PA area Then branch off into
a CEO/PRESIDENT of my own
record label.

3. Identity
• 25-year-old singer/songwriter/Dancer/Entertainer Shakeila Baker,
born in Long Beach, CA which scenery molded me into a bright & free
spirited person. Youngest of 6 children surrounded by despair and
poverty as an adolescent; my only go to was GOD and listening to
music I would hear on the radio, eventually growing love for music, I
started writing lyrics and songs. Auditioning and acting in plays at my
old elementary school sparked my love of music even more into
pursuing music in my pre-teen years, singing and free-styling with my
older brother and friends deciding to record music Independently lead
to performing shows locally in my teen years. Networking with other
artists helped her gain more experience and exposure recording in a
music studio furthering her knowledge, along with a love for music
and a desire to showcase her art to the world. After many different
letdowns and times of failure trying to set a mark for my generation, I
grew a passion of dislike towards rejection and primarily Record
labels. I started to believe in the talent of being an artist instead of
popularity. Being an artist I know is hard to find that break that will
get you right on their feet but sometimes patients and hope after
failure can be difficult to continue wanting to pursue a dream. Some
with that experience and rise to greatness I would like to use my
struggles, success, and talents to show my audience that even after
failure there is still hope. In the mid future, I would love to eventually
be the first Women to run my own Record Label and find success in it
right in front of the whole world. after Finishing up my unreleased
Album "Grand" inspired by my astonishing message to the world
"Even after failure there is always a new day" I will impact
generations 1 SONG AT A TIME!

4. Skills
• 20 plus yrs of experience in singing, rapping, and
songwriting.
• Creative and self-disciplined with good time
management.
• Know how to maintain an active web/in-person
presence
• Know how to communicate well when navigating the
business challenges in my career that include
negotiating contracts, speaking with the press,
working towards a vision for shared projects.
• Excellent organization and management skills.
• Know how to sustain a healthy emotional state of
being with self and audience in work/life.

5. Profession
• CEO & PRESIDENT of my own Record
Label (not sure what I will call it yet) that will
manage brands and trademarks, coordinate
the production, manufacture, distribute,
market, promote, and enforce copyrights for
sound recordings and music videos; also
conduct talent scouting and development of
new artists and maintain contracts with
recording artists and their managers. My
approach to work is being flexible when it
comes to my craft. Approaching my work with
a flexible mindset would leave me more highly
valued than others. This will include the
willingness and ability to readily respond to
changing circumstances and expectations.

6. Credentials
• (In the future I would have already obtained my Music
Bachelors Degree) which explains why I would be
credible and well trusted. After obtaining my degree,
this would lead me to my own experience on how to run
a company and future artist. I would have the
knowledge of creative presentation, phycology of play,
business in entertainment/media industries, English,
business management, marketing, data analysis and
reporting, popular culture in media, economics,
portfolio(business & marketing), business law, statistics,
business accounting, new media tools, portfolio
(entertainment business), Music business models,
professional writing, artist management, music evolution
for artist and repertoire, leadership and organizational
behavior, music copyright and publishing, portfolio
(music business), music business marketing g, music
retail and distribution, business finance, music
supervision, physical science, & concert management &
touring.

7. Promise
• I promise my team to help them get to the
point to where they are independently
maintaining a stable income from their own
music. To educate them with the knowledge
necessary that keeps their image in a good
representation while in the music industry. I
would be able to help with royalties not being
paid, low funds, canceled shows, low turnouts,
radio royalties, and much more. I promise to
produce them to new heights of their unique
power and help them gain confidence, boldness
and believe in their brand, image, and craft. I
will teach them how to communicate their
specific message through there work and show
them how it feels to be respected.

8. Positioning
• People should hire/sign to me because I will be setting a
mark for my generation. As to any competitors I feel are
doing the same thing that is already being done in the
music industry. The only competitors I see that may have
an advantage is Saffron Records. The only way there could
be any advantage over me is because they are trying to
start an all-girl group, other than that the odds would still
be in my favor because of the genre of hip hop/ r & b/
rap/ pop. Me being in the U.S has a big advantage than
the U.K. where they are located. Not saying anything is
wrong with the U.K, it is just that most artists from there
are trying to get to the U.S or get their music exposed out
here. I should get hired rather than my competitors
because I am also an artist myself who have experienced
what artist go through to get heard/noticed. Most
Companies doesn’t have the compassion nor experience as
an artist, they only know the business part so stressing the
fact that I have the artist experience would help me know
which stages and paths to take the artist on in their career.

9. Audience
• The young artist (13-25) needs to know more
about what I do and who I am. Rap music
influences them, flashy clothing and shoes
(image) influence them. All of this type of
activity would at middle, high schools, even at
colleges. Summer parties and night clubs is
where I can find most of this crowd in. Their
interest and opinions hold a great multitude of
power because they are our future in the music
in dusty. They make the money flow, the idols
popular. Their voices have the ability to make or
break an artist career. The love the listening
party activities, the game night activities,
drinking parties, movies, nights at their friends
listening to their favorite songs. These are places
that they have fun and release stress outside of
work.

10. Networking & Marketing
• The first way to gain attention to my future
artist will be to first promote and market myself
since I am Am artist myself. I will publish content
like a videos of me rapping, singing, and
showing off my successful lifestyle to draw them
into wanted to see how, and why am I so
successful and wanting to join in. I will create
that strong relationship by emotionally
connecting with them through the internet,
researching what they like, or don’t like, seeing
what their hobbies and interest are so that I can
make music and capture moments in
environments like theirs to relate. I will chat with
them, comment back, follow back to show them
that I am real and that I am connected. I will
attend performances and music gatherings.
Awards and showcase parties.

11. Competition
• Courtney Cloer Platz of Atlanta, Georgia who
is the CEO of Record Label Platinum Door
Entertainment graduated from University of
South Carolina-Columbia She is the CEO,
with partner, Wooh da Kid, COO, of an
entertainment corporation/record label
encompassing many divisions including Music
Production, Recording, Artist Development,
Talent Management, video, film, distribution,
and publishing. With With me in the future
graduating with my Music Business Bachelors,
I would just be getting started with my
financial funding for the company, while she
has already been in the in dusty with many
successful people behind her since 2006.

12. Professional Development
• I can improve my professional self by first
Obtaining my Music Business Bachelors Degree. Take
Business/Management/ Organization and
Leadership classes. Complete an internship, consider
voluntary certification. Then I will write out my
business plan. Next I will pitch myself to either
Investor to a partnership or apply for business loans
to fund everything. I will start to recruit for A&R’s/Art
Department/Artist Development/ Legal Department
etc. I will build positive relationships to help create a
positive word of mouth from those connections. I will
attend the webinars that pertains to being a CEO.
Lastly, I will obtain a masters In Music Business or
Entertainment. I will give the time frame to be about
5-10 years from now to obtain all of these mentioned
and is a stable and successful company.

13. Goals
• I would like to achieve and gain
more active followers by %50 on
facebook, twitter, Instagram, and
LinkedIn. I want to gain my follower's
trust to share, repost, retweet also
buy & visit my website, trust my
brand, my music, and whatever
products I sell so that I can attract
my loyal and interested audience to
start recruiting them under my wing
as my artist. By January 2021 I will
have accomplished this successfully.

14. CREDITS
Hanke, S. (2018, May 30). Five Top Skills For CEOs To Maintain Influence. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/
forbescoachescouncil/2018/05/30/five-top-skills-for-ceos-to-maintain-influence/#4f5dffadb48e
Courses : Music Business. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.fullsail.edu/degrees/music-business-bachelor/courses?fs=online
McDonald, H. (2019, February 6). Many Musicians Face These Common Issues in the Industry. Retrieved from https://
www.thebalancecareers.com/common-music-industry-problems-2460792
Biu, Y. T. (2015, September 01). Saffron Records: Bristol's First Female Record Label. Retrieved from https://www.rifemagazine.co.uk/
2015/09/saffron-records-bristols-first-female-record-label/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-cloer-platz-75032580/
Klein, A. (2003, May 25). How Record Labels Work. Retrieved from https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/record-label1.htm