Guitar Gear Forum

If you're like me, 85% of your instagram feed is guitars, guitarists, guitar manufacturers, and guitar stores. The other 15% is cute animals and hard slams.

I've never been a headstock snob, and one of my favorite things about GGF is meeting and supporting the small builders that I've gotten great pieces from like Balaguer, Pittman, Endres, etc. I try to do the same out in social media land.

There's a guitar builder in Russia that I've been following for a bit, they make cool mashups of Fender styles, definitely weirder than my traditional tastes usually go for, but very cool nonetheless. So I've been having a DM convo with these guys and they want me to be like an ambassador / influencer for their brand. I'm hoping some of you guys have been in a relationship like this.

In this day and age, I'm so suspicious about being scammed, but these guys have yet to trip my bullshit meter, and so far seem legit. For you guys that have done a pseudo-sponsorship thing... Any pitfalls to watch out for? How often do you you post and how many of your posts are related to the brand? Did you get gear for free or at a discounted rate, and what's considered a "good" discount from retail pricing? Did you keep the gear or send it back?

I've been on both sides of this.
I had an endorsement with Jet City for a while, when I was playing shows with national acts like Extreme etc. Obviously a different situation since I know the owner personally. I did have some perks with them but there is an informal NDA between myself and Doug so I can't get into details.

I've also worked the A&R side of it at Line 6 with artist at several different levels. Obviously the terms given to say The Edge or Trent Reznor were wildly different than the terms given to an upcoming artist.

But in general terms, there is usually some benefit to the artist. That can range from allowing to buy gear at an "artist price" (usually same the dealers pay for), or giving out gear for free or even free gear + royalties on signature gear etc...

On the other side, there are usually some expectations from the artist. It could be a set number of social media posts, live use of the gear, NAMM attendances etc..

One thing you need to know about this industry is it all depends. It depends how much influence you have and it depends how bad the companies want to work with you. The big guys get everything for basically just playing the guitar live and posing for a few pictures. Smaller names usually get artist pricing with certain conditions and expectations.

I'd start this conversation by saying you are possibly interested and would like to know what are they offering/expecting from you. Let them start with the negotiations so you put the ball on their court to make an attractive offer. Then go from there.

Good luck on this Itchy! Free or deeply discounted is always welcome

GuitarBilly wrote:I've been on both sides of this.
I had an endorsement with Jet City for a while, when I was playing shows with national acts like Extreme etc. Obviously a different situation since I know the owner personally. I did have some perks with them but there is an informal NDA between myself and Doug so I can't get into details.

I've also worked the A&R side of it at Line 6 with artist at several different levels. Obviously the terms given to say The Edge or Trent Reznor were wildly different than the terms given to an upcoming artist.

But in general terms, there is usually some benefit to the artist. That can range from allowing to buy gear at an "artist price" (usually same the dealers pay for), or giving out gear for free or even free gear + royalties on signature gear etc...

On the other side, there are usually some expectations from the artist. It could be a set number of social media posts, live use of the gear, NAMM attendances etc..

One thing you need to know about this industry is it all depends. It depends how much influence you have and it depends how bad the companies want to work with you. The big guys get everything for basically just playing the guitar live and posing for a few pictures. Smaller names usually get artist pricing with certain conditions and expectations.

I'd start this conversation by saying you are possibly interested and would like to know what are they offering/expecting from you. Let them start with the negotiations so you put the ball on their court to make an attractive offer. Then go from there.

Thanks Bill. I was hoping you would reply. Sound advice as always.

JiveTurkey wrote:Good luck on this Itchy! Free or deeply discounted is always welcome

Right?!

Good luck Dude. I think for starters you need some of their gear. Global shipping is a little more difficult and expensive these days. Shipping into Russian is not all that simple either. USPS seems to treat them as the enemy.

Any updates on that? I would like to know how it went.
Becoming an ambassador certainly has its quirks. One pitfall to watch for is getting tied into exclusive contracts that limit your choices.
You have to be clear about the terms - how often to post, what kind of content, etc. From my experience, I've seen everything from 1-3 posts weekly. Posts will usually be mostly brand-related.
Usually, the brand will provide free gear and sometimes specific models for highlighting. Discounts can vary, but anything 30% or more is frequently considered good. Most brands let you keep the gear, but verify first!
Lastly, use tools to validate the brand's social media presence. I use this Facebook adspy tool. The tool lets me analyze marketing strategies, which helps in understanding how genuine a brand is with its outreach. If they're a legitimate company, they should have a decent digital presence.