# How to build an audience that is totally OBSESSED with you (You Need a Villain)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTdacs0T-wA

[00:00] Today, we're going to talk about the top
[00:01] 1% of music artists. The top 1% don't
[00:03] just build audiences, they build cults
[00:06] and they build tribes. To build these
[00:07] cults, there's a hidden psychology used
[00:09] by all your favorite music artists. This
[00:11] secret approach is how the best in the
[00:13] world do it. This is how they built
[00:14] their empires of financial and creative
[00:16] freedom and how they can sell out venues
[00:18] all over the globe. If you want to play
[00:19] in the pros of the music world, you're
[00:21] going to need to become a master
[00:22] community builder and a tribe leader.
[00:24] And while this concept may seem simple,
[00:26] the way that most modern artists are
[00:28] building their communities today is
[00:29] wrong. Now, this hidden tactic and
[00:31] method that I'm going to talk about
[00:32] today has not only created the biggest
[00:34] music brands in the world, but also the
[00:36] most devout groups in history.
[00:37] Religions, cults, political movements,
[00:40] all revolve around this one concept that
[00:42] changes how people see your brand. You
[00:44] see, the way that human beings form
[00:45] tribes and communities around anything
[00:47] has been the same for centuries. It's
[00:49] part of our baked-in DNA to belong to
[00:51] groups as it's part of our primal human
[00:53] need to survive. But why do we choose
[00:55] the tribes that we choose? Is there an
[00:57] exact psychological science to this?
[00:59] There absolutely is and you can use it
[01:02] to grow a fan base of millions, should
[01:04] you choose. So today, I'm going to
[01:05] explain exactly how this method works,
[01:07] how to set it up for your own brand, and
[01:08] how to execute it to grow your audience.
[01:10] And as you know, if you can grow your
[01:12] audience and have them truly bond to
[01:14] you, you also can sit at the table with
[01:16] the other top 1%. So in order to get
[01:18] into how to use the method, we need to
[01:20] first understand what's happening under
[01:22] the hood of human psychology. Section
[01:24] one, why human beings form tribes. Human
[01:27] beings bond fastest through shared
[01:29] belief or conflict. And when it comes to
[01:31] shared beliefs, I actually have another
[01:32] video on the Neighborhood Arts Play
[01:34] channel that goes deep into how to
[01:35] create a brand belief system, so
[01:37] definitely check that one out after
[01:39] this. Because what you stand for is
[01:41] extremely important in brand building
[01:42] and storytelling, but what you stand
[01:44] against is even more powerful. The
[01:46] moment people clearly understand the
[01:48] enemy, conflict, or problem that your
[01:50] brand is fighting against, it then
[01:51] creates an emotional alignment and
[01:53] bonding with that person. If they also
[01:55] stand against what you stand against,
[01:58] there then is a deeper connection to the
[01:59] brand. It gives people something to
[02:01] rally around together, and this
[02:03] something is bigger than the music or
[02:05] the product of any brand. And in many
[02:07] cases, this tension is what transforms
[02:10] an audience into a real tribe. Because
[02:12] when people feel like they're fighting
[02:14] against the same thing, they naturally
[02:16] become closer to each other. It creates
[02:18] an us versus them dynamic, and the
[02:19] stronger the conflict feels, the
[02:21] stronger the tribe becomes. This is why
[02:23] in movies like Independence Day, the
[02:25] second the aliens attack Earth, all the
[02:27] fighting between the countries suddenly
[02:29] disappears. Nobody cares about politics,
[02:32] borders, or differences anymore because
[02:34] humanity now has one common enemy, and
[02:37] that needs to be defeated first.
[02:38] Conflict unifies people faster than
[02:41] almost anything else on Earth because
[02:42] when you tie things subconsciously to
[02:44] survival, you unlock another gear in the
[02:47] human mind. And once you see this
[02:48] pattern over and over, you realize it
[02:51] exists everywhere. Sports of all kinds
[02:54] thrive on rivalry. Cities will often
[02:56] have decades-long and generations-long
[02:59] rivalries between each other. And
[03:01] someone from a particular city may feel
[03:03] a way about someone from another rival
[03:05] city even without ever meeting this
[03:07] person just based on the rivalry alone.
[03:10] And then in the political world, groups
[03:11] are often built around opposing sides
[03:14] that often have stronger emotional pull
[03:16] around what the political party is
[03:17] against even rather than what it's for.
[03:20] And then religions of the world often
[03:21] define their belief systems around what
[03:23] they deeply believe in but what they
[03:25] also are deeply against. Music or
[03:27] fashion subcultures like punk rock bond
[03:30] by the rejection of mainstream culture.
[03:32] Or if you look at a brand like
[03:33] Harley-Davidson, they aren't just
[03:35] selling motorcycles, they're selling
[03:37] rebellion and freedom against normal
[03:39] society. Even tech companies deeply
[03:41] understand the psychology. In the early
[03:43] days, Apple computer built one of the
[03:45] strongest tribes in the world by having
[03:47] a common enemy. Standing against the
[03:49] evil big brother computer companies like
[03:51] IBM or HP, and then later through the
[03:54] campaign Apple versus PC. That campaign
[03:57] was fully based around identity. Apple
[03:59] was the young, cool, artistic,
[04:01] progressive-thinking identity, and then
[04:03] PC was the older, lame, nerdy, corporate
[04:06] identity. You see, the people inside
[04:08] these groups feel emotionally connected
[04:10] because they believe they stand against
[04:12] something together. There's a common
[04:14] enemy, and a common enemy forms a tribe.
[04:17] And as a quick note here, when I say
[04:18] enemy, it doesn't mean it needs to be an
[04:20] individual person. Actually, some of the
[04:22] strongest brands usually fight against
[04:25] an idea, a system, or a feeling. For
[04:27] example, your enemy could be something
[04:29] like superficiality, fake social media
[04:31] lifestyles, bullies, corporate culture,
[04:34] the status quo, real music and
[04:37] musicianship versus AI music, the
[04:39] concept of fighting against time, or
[04:41] even the idea of fighting yourself and
[04:44] your own mind. The best artist
[04:45] storytellers make people feel like
[04:48] they're standing together against
[04:49] something that feels emotionally real in
[04:52] their everyday lives. That shared,
[04:54] relatable frustration is what creates
[04:56] the connection. So, for example, what if
[04:58] I were to tell you that the reason that
[05:00] I'm sitting here on a Saturday making
[05:01] this content for you is because I stand
[05:04] against the big corporations, the big
[05:06] tech companies, the gatekeepers that
[05:08] make it extremely difficult for artists,
[05:10] my people, to reach their audience. So,
[05:13] I'm doing everything that I can and
[05:14] providing the information I provide so
[05:16] we can stand together and go at this
[05:18] system that seems to be built to make us
[05:20] fail. Now, this is 100% truly why I'm
[05:23] here, but don't you feel a different
[05:25] emotional bond to myself or Neighborhood
[05:27] Arts Play now knowing what I stand
[05:29] against instead of just being another
[05:30] guy on YouTube giving music marketing
[05:32] and branding advice? The reason and the
[05:34] emotion itself is different, and that's
[05:36] the point. Now, you know more about me
[05:38] and my purpose and what this is all
[05:40] about, and if you're aligned, hopefully,
[05:42] now we bond. And this is where most
[05:44] artists miss the opportunity when it
[05:46] comes to growing an audience. They try
[05:47] to build fan bases around the music
[05:49] only, but music is just one piece of the
[05:52] brand. The real glue is in the shared
[05:54] beliefs, the shared frustrations, a
[05:56] shared point of view, and most
[05:57] important, shared enemies. The artists
[05:59] with the strongest communities today
[06:01] understand that bands don't just want
[06:03] songs, they want to feel like they're
[06:05] part of something bigger than
[06:06] themselves. They subconsciously want a
[06:08] tribe, and again, this is all tied to
[06:10] our primal human need to survive. And
[06:12] another big issue here is that many
[06:14] artists are afraid to truly stand for
[06:16] something or truly stand against
[06:18] something because they feel they may
[06:20] alienate potential audience members. But
[06:22] this is why, in my opinion, many artist
[06:24] brands today are soft. There's no real
[06:26] story or point of view there. If you're
[06:28] trying to be everything to everyone, you
[06:30] end up becoming nothing to no one. And
[06:32] in this, having a real pointed point of
[06:34] view is much more memorable. So now we
[06:36] understand all this at a high level, but
[06:38] let me actually give you some real-world
[06:39] examples, and you can see how this works
[06:41] in action. Section two, how great music
[06:43] brands clearly define their foes. So for
[06:46] this section, what I'm going to do is
[06:47] I'm going to give you six examples of
[06:49] real-world artists and how they built
[06:50] huge followings around having clear
[06:52] brand foes in their stories. Of course,
[06:55] their fans love their music, but much of
[06:57] the audience is also bonded to their
[06:59] ideals, what they stand for, and then
[07:01] what they stand against. So let's look
[07:02] at these six artists and their brand
[07:04] foes, and we're going to start with Rage
[07:05] Against the Machine, a band known for
[07:07] having strong beliefs and being
[07:09] extremely outspoken against their brand
[07:11] foes. Their music wasn't just about
[07:13] having an aggressive sound. It was about
[07:14] fighting against corporate greed,
[07:16] political corruption, government
[07:18] oppression, economic inequality, media
[07:21] manipulation, blind obedience to
[07:23] authority, and social injustice. Their
[07:25] fans didn't just connect to the music,
[07:27] they connected to the feeling of
[07:28] rebellion and resistance against the
[07:30] systems that they believed were broken.
[07:32] They even have a song called Killing in
[07:34] the Name Of that has a repeated phrase,
[07:36] "F you, I won't do what they tell me,"
[07:38] that's repeated over and over. Now for
[07:40] Rage's brand foes and their ideals, does
[07:42] this feel on brand? Do you get a sense
[07:44] of who they're against? Is there an
[07:45] emotional charge there? For millions
[07:47] around the world, there was. Next, let's
[07:49] look at an artist like John Summit. Now
[07:51] while John's tone is much more fun, he
[07:53] also has very clear brand foes. His
[07:55] content constantly pushes against the
[07:57] over-serious world of dance culture.
[07:59] He's been very outspoken about the
[08:01] importance of being yourself, and he's
[08:03] against the fake cool guy energy that is
[08:05] a lot of the dance world. Through his
[08:06] content, he's created another brand foe
[08:08] of opportunity lost. He's explained how
[08:10] driven he's been to pursue his vision
[08:12] and how much he's against the idea of
[08:14] wasted potential. Much of his content
[08:16] and story deals with the feeling of
[08:18] getting trapped in a boring corporate
[08:20] nine-to-five life. For John, his
[08:22] audience doesn't just see him as a DJ,
[08:24] they see him as someone representing a
[08:25] regular, relatable, everyday guy chasing
[08:28] his dreams, taking on challenges as they
[08:30] come, and actually living life before it
[08:32] passes you by. Next, let's look at an
[08:34] artist like Shapo Roune. So a lot of the
[08:36] Shapo Roune brand is built around the
[08:38] idea of rejecting the pressure to hide
[08:40] who you really are. Her are things like
[08:42] shame around self-expression,
[08:44] conservative social expectations, the
[08:46] music industry pressure that you need to
[08:48] play it safe, not being too loud, and
[08:51] staying within the status quo. She's
[08:52] against the people who judge you for
[08:54] being weird, emotional, or expressive.
[08:56] Her audience bonds with her because she
[08:58] gives people permission to fully be
[09:00] themselves. Or then, what about a brand
[09:02] like Blackpink? A lot of their brand's
[09:04] power comes from pushing back against
[09:06] the limitations often placed on women.
[09:09] Their story constantly fights against
[09:10] the ideas of being underestimated, being
[09:13] told to stay quiet, traditional gender
[09:15] expectations, industry control over
[09:17] identity, and then the criticism that
[09:19] comes towards women with ambition. Their
[09:22] fans don't just admire their confidence,
[09:24] they admire the strength, independence,
[09:26] and dominance in spaces that
[09:28] historically tried to limit women. That
[09:30] admiration and shared point of view
[09:32] deeply bonds the audience with the
[09:34] group. And next, let's go a completely
[09:35] different direction. We'll go with one
[09:37] of my parents' favorites. Let's look at
[09:38] Jimmy Buffett. Jimmy's brand foes were
[09:40] never political systems or aggressive
[09:43] rebellion. Instead, he built an entire
[09:45] world around escapism. Escaping
[09:47] corporate culture, escaping the man,
[09:49] your boss, escaping material obsession,
[09:52] and escaping the idea that the only
[09:54] reason that you're alive is to work. His
[09:56] music and his brand story represented
[09:58] freedom, adventure, beaches, and slowing
[10:00] down enough to enjoy life. His fans
[10:03] weren't just listening to the songs,
[10:04] they were buying into an entire
[10:06] philosophy of what to live for. Before
[10:08] his passing, Jimmy built an audience of
[10:10] millions all around the world that
[10:12] aligned with his values and stood
[10:13] against his foes. He created the phrase
[10:15] that's culturally known around the
[10:16] world, it's 5:00 somewhere, I'm done
[10:19] with work, and I'm ready for a drink and
[10:21] some fun and relaxation. And again, the
[10:23] Jimmy fans loved his music, but they
[10:25] also loved the brand and its value
[10:27] system. This is where so much of the
[10:29] bond was built with his audience. And
[10:31] then lastly in our examples, let's look
[10:33] at a brand like Anima. Anima's entire
[10:35] artistic world is built around the
[10:36] tension between humanity and technology.
[10:39] He's taking that concept and doing it at
[10:41] the largest scale possible. His brand
[10:43] constantly explores the ideas of digital
[10:45] disconnection, emotional numbness, and
[10:47] our relationship to artificial
[10:49] identities. Through his artistic works,
[10:51] he explores themes and creates conflict
[10:53] around the idea of living online instead
[10:55] of in the real world, and the fear of
[10:56] technology slowly replacing human
[10:58] emotion and soul. The reason people
[11:00] connect so deeply with the project is
[11:02] because those fears already exist in
[11:05] modern culture. The ideas and concepts
[11:07] that his brand reflects are actually
[11:09] happening today. The brand story and its
[11:11] position against the foes simply gives
[11:13] those feelings an artistic format. So,
[11:15] not only is there the spectacle and the
[11:16] size of how he's presenting things,
[11:18] there's then the deeper themes that
[11:20] consciously or subconsciously hit the
[11:22] audience. The combination of the various
[11:24] elements and how he put them together
[11:25] grew the Anima community around the
[11:27] world at an expedited rate. So, with
[11:29] those examples and then having the
[11:31] understanding of why this concept works
[11:32] on a primal human level, let's get into
[11:34] exactly how to apply this to your own
[11:36] brand. Because now that you understand
[11:38] it and see it, the concept may seem
[11:39] simple, but if it's not executed
[11:41] correctly, it can actually hurt the
[11:43] brand that you're trying to build. So,
[11:44] let me explain how to properly do this
[11:46] for yourself. Section three, how to
[11:48] define your own brand foes. Okay, so now
[11:50] it's time to define your brand foes.
[11:52] Now, shouldn't this be easy? Isn't it
[11:53] just about making a list? It is that
[11:55] simple, but there is a specific way that
[11:57] we organize our brand foes with the
[11:59] clients we work with with the Cold
[12:00] Creatives, that not only makes it easy
[12:02] for the client to understand, but also
[12:04] for the audience to understand as well.
[12:05] The way we create our brand foes list
[12:07] with Cold is that it's organized in a
[12:09] hierarchy. From the worst foe, the big
[12:11] boss at the top, to the smaller, still a
[12:13] problem, but easier to defeat bad guys.
[12:15] So, quickly as an example of a brand foe
[12:17] hierarchy, let's look at a franchise
[12:19] like Star Wars. In the Star Wars
[12:21] universe, there are multiple bad guys
[12:23] that stand in the way of the hero's
[12:24] mission, but there's a ranking system.
[12:26] The Empire as a whole is the big boss
[12:28] that the Rebel Alliance is fighting. But
[12:30] then lower on the totem pole is the
[12:32] emperor, extremely powerful and
[12:34] difficult to beat. And then a little
[12:35] lower on that totem pole is Darth Vader.
[12:37] Then lower is a general, and lower than
[12:39] that is a stormtrooper. All these foes
[12:41] challenge the heroes in the Star Wars
[12:43] story, but some are harder to defeat
[12:45] than others. So, you're going to
[12:46] organize your brand foe list in the same
[12:48] way. So, for example, let's say you're a
[12:50] hero brand. Your brand is all about the
[12:52] hard things and going towards challenge
[12:54] to make the world a better place. Your
[12:56] foe ranking system may look something
[12:58] like this. At number six, you have the
[12:59] haters, the trolls. These are the people
[13:01] who leave the hateful negative comments
[13:03] on your stuff. Not a big boss to defeat,
[13:05] but on the wrong day can definitely hit
[13:07] you emotionally. This is fully
[13:09] stormtrooper vibes. And usually with
[13:11] these trolls or haters, if you've built
[13:12] your tribe the right way, your fans will
[13:14] take care of them themselves. Then next
[13:16] up the list is not an individual or
[13:18] person, it's an idea. And this idea is
[13:20] the idea of not being seen and being
[13:22] overlooked. This is a very relatable
[13:24] enemy and a great brand foe. Many people
[13:27] feel like the world isn't seeing them
[13:29] for who they really are. Bringing more
[13:30] awareness to yourself and the things
[13:32] that you're creating and making could be
[13:34] its own enemy. Then further up our hero
[13:36] brand totem pole is the idea of staying
[13:38] on the path. This is a concept or foe
[13:40] that revolves around the distractions of
[13:42] the world. Often one of the biggest
[13:43] enemies for heroes is getting distracted
[13:45] from the main mission at hand. You can
[13:47] quickly and easily stray from your goals
[13:49] and your purpose. Fighting to stay
[13:51] focused on the path as a concept is its
[13:54] own foe. Then next up the totem pole is
[13:56] the physical demands of the pursuit of
[13:58] building one's project. This is a simple
[14:00] concept for people to understand.
[14:02] Building anything is hard. You often
[14:04] push yourself to the limits and burn the
[14:05] candle at both ends. And then next up
[14:07] the totem pole is the idea of time. Time
[14:10] makes for a great brand foe, especially
[14:12] for hero brands. Everyone knows the
[14:14] challenge of not having enough time to
[14:16] accomplish something big. It's why most
[14:17] sporting events have a clock and even
[14:19] multiple clocks. For example, American
[14:21] football actually has 10 clocks in the
[14:23] layout of the game or story that the
[14:25] sport is presenting to the audience.
[14:27] There's the game clock, the play clock,
[14:28] the time out clock, the two minute
[14:30] warning clock. All these clocks create
[14:32] tension to the story by making time one
[14:35] of the foes. Time as a foe for a hero
[14:37] brand can make for great content that
[14:39] connects the audience to the story. And
[14:41] then lastly, the top of the totem pole,
[14:43] the big boss, the shadow self, the ego,
[14:45] your inner thoughts. This may be one of
[14:47] the most relatable villains there is.
[14:49] Most people battle the voices in their
[14:51] head every day. Overcoming fear, going
[14:54] towards challenge, and not taking the
[14:56] easy way out. So those are examples of
[14:58] what could be the foes in a hero brand
[15:00] story. And if I were art directing that
[15:01] project, I would never deviate from that
[15:04] list. I would stay with these brand foes
[15:05] in various forms and find different ways
[15:07] to communicate the challenges and
[15:09] battles with these foes to the audience.
[15:12] But as another example, let's say that
[15:13] you're a rebel brand and you stand
[15:15] against societal norms, the status quo,
[15:18] and what they tell you you're supposed
[15:20] to be. Your foe ranking system might
[15:21] look something like this. At the bottom,
[15:23] number six, rule followers. The people
[15:25] who follow the rules that are handed to
[15:27] them by society. They may not actively
[15:29] be trying to take down the rebel, but
[15:31] they make it harder for the rebel to
[15:33] find freedom. Then going up the totem
[15:34] pole, number five is fake people who
[15:37] edit themselves based on societal rules.
[15:39] These make for a good foe because many
[15:41] other rebel types also dislike this
[15:43] group. You can find strong alignment in
[15:45] a point of view by making this one of
[15:47] your enemies. And as a quick note, you
[15:48] don't want to just create an enemy
[15:50] because it's good for the brand. You
[15:51] should authentically be aligned and
[15:52] truly stand against that brand foe. Next
[15:54] brand foe is a concept or idea, and it's
[15:57] the idea of dopamine culture. People who
[15:59] are addicted to a life of content,
[16:01] mindless entertainment, and the
[16:02] autopilot existence. A rebel might think
[16:04] that these people are not free and
[16:06] they're stuck inside of an invisible
[16:08] prison created for them. Next up the
[16:10] totem pole at number three is the
[16:11] regulators. The people who tell you who
[16:13] you're supposed to be and what you're
[16:15] supposed to be. These types of people,
[16:16] because their own fears, discourage
[16:18] other people from chasing their own
[16:19] freedoms. They encourage them to be more
[16:21] obedient and fall in line with the
[16:23] status quo. So the next up the totem
[16:25] pole at number two is self-censorship.
[16:27] Now this is more of an internal battle
[16:29] in concept. This is the voice that tells
[16:31] you to censor yourself and not speak out
[16:33] for what you believe or what you stand
[16:34] for. This is another example of a you
[16:37] versus you type foe, but done through a
[16:39] rebel lens. And then at the top of the
[16:40] list, our big boss to defeat is the
[16:42] established systems. This could be
[16:44] corporate entities, the gatekeepers, the
[16:46] people in power who purposefully try to
[16:48] control and manipulate the freedom of
[16:50] everyday people for their own gain. So
[16:52] that's an example of what a foe list
[16:54] might look like for a rebel brand
[16:55] archetype. An archetype that's based in
[16:57] chasing freedom and setting their own
[16:59] rules instead of following the rules of
[17:00] others. And as a quick note here, your
[17:02] foe list can be longer than six, but I
[17:04] wouldn't go above 10. Above 10 it starts
[17:06] becoming too many villains and too many
[17:08] storylines for the audience to follow.
[17:10] And where creating this list can go
[17:11] really wrong is if the battles don't
[17:13] feel as though they're coming from a
[17:14] singular place. And if you don't have
[17:16] your brand archetype defined for your
[17:18] brand yet, I do have another video on
[17:19] the Neighbor to Artist Supply channel
[17:20] that goes deeper into how to define your
[17:22] archetype, and you can see that here.
[17:24] So, once you have your brand foes laid
[17:25] out, it then becomes, how do you
[17:27] storytell about the enemies and your
[17:29] position in the content that you're
[17:31] going to create? And it seems obvious,
[17:33] but it's worth saying, this should 100%
[17:35] inform your artist brand and content
[17:37] strategy. Your foes and enemies should
[17:39] show up all over your brand. The
[17:41] audience should clearly know what you're
[17:42] for, but more importantly, what you're
[17:44] against. If your brand has no tension or
[17:47] no conflict, you may be missing a huge
[17:49] opportunity with audiences to bond.
[17:52] Almost every tribe in history was formed
[17:54] because people believed in something,
[17:56] and then they stood against something
[17:58] else. So, now all that's left is to go
[17:59] build your own tribe, your own cults,
[18:01] and should you want to build or
[18:02] collaborate with myself and The Cult
[18:04] Creatives, you know where to find us,
[18:05] all things The Cult Creatives, the
[18:07] cultcreatives.com. But, I hope all this
[18:09] helps, and until next time, go get
[18:10] yourself some enemies, and I'll see you
[18:12] soon.
[18:13] Peace.