I keep changing my artist name online and starting over, I feel lost pls advise me on what to do.

[HREQ]

I've been struggling with an artist name for years now.

I started in 2012 to learn music, I naturally just used my gamertag I've been using forever.

I released a mini album and some songs in 2013 but IMO they were pretty bad, some embarrassing. On top of that if you had searched my gamertag you could see me trolling on forums here and there, I also thought "this name isn't marketable..." so I decided to change it and start over.

2 years later I release some things under a new name, but I just wasn't feeling the name, and questioned the songs I made again, so I started over again.

2 years later again in 2017 I pick a name again, release song stuff, actually stick to the name for a a year or so, started getting a following on soundcloud, but then drop I it again... I don't even know the reason TBH.

I did alot of "what do I really want out of music" and stuff during these times and I haven't stopped learning, playing, or doing music though, but I regret ever dropping my original online nametag I picked in 2002. I feel "lost" and "floating" like "dang, that was my history online, now I feel like a nobody newbie everytime I startover".

I decided the next name I pick I have to stick to it and stop doing this to myself, OR I need to go back to my original name and release songs again.

It's really hard cause I feel like having a name gives you a "sense of self" and a "sense of purpose" for you to work towards your goals and release songs and build up your portfolio for it online. Atleast for me. This stupid decision I made long ago, I feel has been holding me back for years, and for some reason it's almost impossible for me to ground myself again and choose a name and stick to it. It's infuriating me because I want to soooooo bad just start trying hard and releasing songs online. I have all these ideas and plans for videos and songs I want to do...

Curious if any of you have changed your online name multiple times and dropped past profiles and why? Do you regret it? Are you happy you did it? Any advise?

[BertKoor]

1. What's wrong with using your real name?
2. If you have regrets, it's never too late to correct. You can take back that old name you were really fond of.
3. A bit of history with bad stuff shouldn't drop your karma. It actually shows you have come a long way.

I don't publish any music. But here I've been posting under another name for a while, one less connected to my real name, more like an online avatar, you call it gamer tag. Then I switched to the first 8 letters of my real name. Never regretted it. Because that's just who I am. Not much to hide here.

[imrae]

It sounds like the problem is putting out stuff you don't feel confident in. Keep at it, keep improving. Use project names to indicate which stuff "belongs together".

[Propellerhands]

Curious if any of you have changed your online name multiple times and dropped past profiles and why? Do you regret it? Are you happy you did it? Any advise?

I get it what you mean. Finding a name, especially original one, can be tricky and hard. Perhaps that's why many artists today and before used their real names. Personally I think at best it is lame and at worst a lazy cop out, but that's just my opinion. I have plenty of those.

For me, creating an artist name was not a simple task but not very hard, since I already knew what genre I wanted to produce, though in the beginning I also used my online forum handle for a while. It took me 2 weeks (after using previous name for 2 years) to finally find a name that no google search found in its results. So take for example Com Truise, an easier way to make something original yet familiar and still be unique.

My advice would be knowing what type of music you create and if you are willing to do it forever. For instance if you create acid techno now and your name is Acidwolf (one of many Benn Jordan's monickers) and after 5 years decide to make Jazz or Metal or pop, it would be confusing for your listeners So either pick neutral word or combination of words or be consistent and do not change styles later on.

Also decide for yourself if you want to have unique artist name with zero search results on Google or not, but still something that hits close to your soul. I would advice on making it unique. Easier for people to search for you (if you want more listeners). You can try random band name generators but still they aren't that random.

Stupid example. If you pick a name "Inflated Boat" and someone else has a name "Deflated Boat", it would be confusing, especially if another artist makes music in same genre. Also, again, just my opinion, it is good practice to avoid names such as Technoking69 or Space42 or anything similar resembling a nickname in online forums. Does not look professional.

In short, look at your hobbies and interests and try to find a specific word/term or combination of words that means something to you and still was not used elsewhere (google is your friend). This way you won't get a feeling that your name sucks or does not fit your style or character.

[revvy]

OP ssems to be talking about 2 different things to me in the actual post, artist name and online names such as forum nick

For the latter, who really cares?

For the former as the thread title specifies, choose a good one and if you wear it out, get a new one.

Don't overthink it. Back in the day (now too?) many dance artists had tonnes of different artist names at the same time for different styles, labels etc.

[Unaspected]

If you're making a fresh start then why not choose a new name to suit who you are now.