Public Relations For Musicians
Much of the material I read in books and online about public relations and music does a bad job of separating the elements of pr from marketing
. They are different specialties although they can often overlap in terms of their short term goals. You need both.
The Big Difference
Marketing is the art of promoting something, such as an event-a release or a major gig (such as opening for a big name band). Marketing professionals work with advertising agencies to create compelling copy and graphics. Marketers ensure that street teams get posters up in prominent places before the gig, try to get you a guest shot on local radio or television before the gig, and make sure the event is listed in every event calendar on the planet. That's a lot of work.
Public relations is, as the name implies, controlling your relationship with the public. It does this through getting articles about the band into magazines and newspapers, newsworthy events listed, and ensuring that whenever an editor writes about the "top ten all female swing bands from Duluth" or "up and coming metal bands that use accordion" then, if your band fits, your PR person's job is to ensure that you are prominently mentioned. PR is less event driven and more about building your presence in the cultural consciousness. Sometimes this is called branding, but I object to that term strenuously in the music world. Musicians are dynamic; brands tend to be static. Coca Cola doesn't change, because when they tried it didn't work. Bands change as the members learn and grow, and respond to challenges from their fans.
So really there are two things going on here. They require different skills, no matter what the glib come on tells you. Successful companies in other markets, like technology, specialize in marketing or PR, or at least have different people with different skills doing the two jobs.
I want to focus on PR.
Successful PR
The things you need for successful PR are:
(1) a good press release;
(2) a consistent hook (at any point in time-remember this is a dynamic so it will change over time); and (3) a lot of time.
There are places that have good material for putting together a press kit. Last time I mentioned electronic press kits. You can also go to Electronic Press Kits Online to put together a power press kit, for example.
But you should read How to Write a Press Release to get a handle on some basics. You can also get help finding places to submit it there.
The harsh reality is that, if you want effective PR you need to either hire someone who works in music pr or have someone within your group take on the massive learning and workload. Sending out press releases will do some good only if they are sent to the right people. How do you find those people? Research. Google can come to your rescue, but it won't do the work. Here are the basic steps to establishing your editorial contacts:
1. Identify the key publications, both print and online, in your genre.
2. Identify the names and contact information of the editors who do (or assign) CD reviews, stories on upcoming music and so on.
3. Contact those editors. Ask them what they look for. Is originality enough, or do they only cover bands who can fill clubs. As a former magazine editor and editor-in-chief, I am going to give you a tip critical to your success.
Do not send them anything that is not in line with the kind of thing they use.
Violating this rule not only wastes their time, but marks you as an amateur. Your future submissions will get looked at last, if at all.
4. Follow up. Ask if what you sent was appropriate. It isn't possible for editors to always tell you for certain if something will be used, but they CAN certainly say whether it was on target.
5. Repeat as necessary.
Now you don't do all this just to send out a press release that says you had a great time playing the club last night. You need more meat. Read the published stories and then do one that is more interesting (to your fans, not the band).
While doing all this, collect anything that gets published about the band, its music, its kind of music, and clubs that feature that kind of music. Read it all, looking for what the editors thought was newsworthy. Look at the image that the bands featured have. Is yours different? There might be a story in that. The atypical metal band that wears suits might be interesting.
This is the beginning of your pr effort. I'll summarize the rest of the steps into: "Learn as you go, and keep the effort constant." To create an impression in the minds of the readers, you first have to create an impression in the minds of editors and writers that you are newsworthy and easy to work with.
If this is all too much to contemplate, consider working with a professional agency. You can find a number that claim to work in the music industry at Record Label Resource . If you can't afford to work with one of them, consider finding a college student majoring in PR who wants to get into the music business. (Contact any college that has a public relations school and talk to the department head.) They will learn as they go, and you will profit from their efforts. You might even get a new fan.
If you have had any experience with public relations, please share it with us. If you have any questions about pr, I will do my best to answer them. And, in the next blog, I will look at a press release designed specifically for musicians-what should be in it and how to focus it to get maximum attention.
by: Kavit Haria
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