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The LAMES Analysis: A Framework for Artist Development

Most musicians struggle with creative decisions because they haven't yet defined their artistic identity. I'm not talking about some spiritual journey to "find yourself." That stuff bores me to death. What I'm talking about is practical: you know people should pay attention to you, but you haven't quite developed into the artist you want to be yet.

The difference between artists who build lasting careers and those who fade away comes down to having a clear vision. Artists who understand themselves can make decisions that align with who they are and who they want to become. This clarity makes their content more powerful because everything works together, which gets audiences excited enough to share it.

Big management and record labels call this artist development. Your favorite artists are your favorites because they know what they're trying to accomplish. They understand their boundaries and work within them, even when experimenting or failing along the way.

How Understanding Yourself as an Artist Makes Powerful Art & Content

Think about the Sex Pistols. Their album title, "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols," translates to "Never Mind the Lies, Here's the Truth." They positioned themselves as the most honest voice about life in England during a miserable era. That clarity made every decision hit harder.

Or Billie Eilish when she first emerged. The baggy clothes paired with her fresh pop sound positioned her as just adventurous enough to be mainstream while being seen as an iconoclast doing important work. That's what solidified her identity.

Why SWOT Analysis Doesn't Work for Artists

Early on, I recommended using SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) from the corporate consulting world. But after years in major label meeting rooms, I realized something: business startup techniques don't translate well to music. Music is both business and art, and those two elements have to work together. Most business advice doesn't square with art, which is why so many artists are miserable when people try to shoehorn those methods into the creative process.

So I developed my own method and tested it with artists over several months. It works way better for finding what you should be making every day.

Enjoying this? Forward it to a music friend you’d like to be closer to and start a discussion!

The LAMES Analysis

Yes, it's called LAMES. The name actually prevents you from doing lame shit, I promise.

Here's what each letter stands for, working backwards because it makes more sense that way:

S - Strengths: Everything you do well. When performing vocals, choosing outfits, or planning music videos, you want to play up your strengths.

E - Exploits: This is hacker terminology for holes in a system that they can exploit. For you, exploits are unfair advantages or opportunities. A connection to someone at a label, a friend who's a great director, an uncle with a sick recording studio or warehouse for filming, or a guitarist with a popular YouTube channel. Anything that gives you an advantage most people don't have.

M - Misperceptions: What people get wrong about you. Maybe your biggest song is a ballad, but you really make fist-pumping anthems. These matters because you control narratives through the content you make. Identifying misperceptions helps you brainstorm ways to correct them.

A - Aspirations: Where you're heading as an artist and what you'll become with more opportunities and budget. What you aspire to be should align with the content and art you're making. This part can evolve as you grow.

L - Lore: Your backstory and the details fans understand about you and your art. Giving fans discussion points and details to obsess over is crucial for building a fanbase in this attention economy.

How to Fill Out Your LAMES Analysis

This takes time. Ask your bandmates, team, friends, and family what they think. Keep growing the list as you understand it better.

Strengths

List everything you do well. Charismatic frontwoman, great songs, attractive band members, whatever you've got going for you. Get down to the minutiae. Every single thing you have going for you belongs on this list.

Real-world examples: The 1975's Matty Healy is probably the smartest rockstar at discussing sociopolitical topics in interviews, so they parade him around for press and his speeches go viral. XXXTentacion, despite being an awful person, had such a unique look that almost nothing they released while he was alive (or since his death) appeared without a picture of him.

Exploits

Connections, advantages, anything that gives you a leg up. A famous friend signed to a huge label, someone you know at a label, a friend who's a great director, an uncle with an empty warehouse for filming videos, or a guitarist with a popular YouTube channel.

It can even be ridiculous things. If you had a thumb coming out of your belly button, freaks on the internet would have a fetish for it, and Vice Magazine would definitely write a viral article when you revealed it. That's an exploit too. Something you could use to jump ahead, get attention, and build your fanbase.

Misperceptions

Once you have fans or people in your local scene who know about you, every artist can discuss what people don't get about them. List what people don't know, so when you make content, you can work toward correcting that misperception.

A common approach: if people don't think you can sing, put out a song next that shows your singing ability.

Aspirations

How do you want people to talk about you? What do you want people to say?

Writing "the MFing GOAT" is too vague. Get specific. "The greatest singer and dancer of your time" works. "The sickest riffs and technical thrash metal game" works. "The softest rapper in the game" works. Think of what you'd want someone to tell their friends about you.

Once you get past three to five items, you start to lose focus.

Examples: Caroline Polachek gets called the Kate Bush of a new generation (she kind of hates it, but there's a reason people say it).

Oliver Tree is the weirdest-looking guy with the weirdest videos, but total pop bangers. Polyphia is the only group bridging prog metal and trap.

Lore

This is part of your story and builds as you go. Maybe your van flipped and everyone survived. Maybe a music video featured an alien doing drugs with you. Maybe an album cover had you all naked except for fedoras on your junk. These become Easter eggs you reference later in your content and story.

Anything that's part of your story can be drawn from. All of it is lore you can call back to throughout your career. It gets people talking about your story as you remind them and build a more vivid narrative.

How to Use Your LAMES Analysis

When huge artists make creative decisions, they often have a whole brand book or mood board on the wall for their team. Pictures of other artists, films, and creations that moved them. They use this to ensure everything aligns with their artistic vision. Your LAMES analysis serves the same function.

Let's say you're making a music video. The question you should always ask: what would make other people share it and send it to a friend?

Play Up Your Strengths: If you're a great dancer, that better be in the video. If you have a body that gets everyone horned up, that should probably be in there, too. Consider your strengths anytime you make content.

Cure Misperceptions: Music videos are perfect for this. Haim got an industry plant talk and idiots saying women don't play their instruments. They went into Valentine, a '70s studio untouched since that era (no computer manipulation), and made a sick video showing how nasty they were on multiple instruments.

Even putting a shine on perceived weaknesses works. Music proves no one is ugly. If the misperception is that you're ugly, hire a fashion stylist to hit the thrift store and experiment with your look for cheap. Find how to cure that misperception and make a video showing you actually have swag. Go from uggo to unexpectedly hot, which is what we call every really ugly musician. Or just get some tattoos and you're instantly hotter.

Use Your Exploits: That uncle with the empty warehouse? Make a video there or record weird guitar tracks there. Connection with a famous friend? They should cameo in your music video. Your guitarist is sick of guitar pedals? They should make videos on your YouTube channel about the pedals used in the song, and get a shot of them in the video so nerds watch it repeatedly to see which one they're using.

If your sister's in a sick dance crew that makes the Jabbawockeez look like Sparkle Motion, dress them in sick costumes and have them go off, even if you're in a death metal band. Exploit what can be exploited.

Align With Aspirations: As you make content or new songs, are they getting you closer to what you aspire to be? Artists miss the boat constantly because they get pressured by other people. Look back at your aspirations and make sure you're on course.

If you're trying to get known as a serious poet, burying your vocals in the mix and not doing lyric videos is a serious L. If you aspire to be known as an amazing dancer, tell all your friends you're happy to dance on stage or in videos so people can see your style.

Build Your Lore: Consider how to call back to your lore when creating something. Music discovery and fan building rely heavily on conversation pieces that fans can share with friends. Your lore gives people talking points.

Easter eggs work. If there's always a purple giraffe in your videos or pictures, fans can tell friends about that purple giraffe. Calling back to lyrics from another song gives fans a reason to point that out while listening, showing your artistic depth. Each bit of lore gives fans more reasons to repeatedly consume your content, looking for connections and then tell others about it, strengthening your relationship and spreading the word.

Each time you create something, look at this list. Brainstorm what aligns with it and what lore you can bring into it.