Introduction

Publicity is arguably the most important part of any marketing plan. It lays the foundation on which every other part of the plan is built. Labels often handle publicity for the artist’s recording career, as well as for news and press releases about the label itself through a publicity department. Sometimes an artist will hire a personal publicist to handle other areas of their life and career. By creating awareness of the artist, publicity makes all other aspects of the marketing plan more effective and promotion and sales efforts easier. By definition, publicity is earned media, promotion whose placement is not directly paid for (advertising) or owned (websites), and therefore, the most accessible part of any marketing effort regardless of whether you are an independent artist or a major label act at the pinnacle of your career. Since both the publicity department and the publicist do the same job we will refer to them both as simply the publicist.

Publicity Defined

In traditional marketing, publicity is part of the public relations function that includes media relations, creating press kits and press releases, and lobbying. The AMA Committee on Definitions once defined publicity as “non-personal stimulation of demand for a product, service or idea… not paid for directly by the sponsor” (Dommermuth, 1984). Nowadays, the term has fallen out of favor with marketing academics and publicity is referred to as part of the broader category of public relations. Around 2009, practitioners began to distinguish promotion by its ownership (Figure 10.1). Owned media are the promotion channels the artist or label controls, like their website or Twitter accounts. Paid media is advertising or other promotions where the label pays to have their message strategically placed. Earned media, formerly known as publicity, is when a magazine or television show shares the story as content (as opposed to advertising). At its extreme, earned media includes word of mouth, word of mouse or viral marketing. The news is shared directly between individuals via email, text or social media. This view is artist or business centric—the artist owns, buys, or earns the media.

Figure 10.1 Types of Promotion

In 2013, Forrester Research introduced another way of looking at publicity and social media that focuses on the consumer’s perspective. They called this new model Marketing RaDaR (Nail and Elliott, 2014). The model will be discussed in more detail below.

Publicity is distinguished from other forms of promotion by its low cost, but that low cost comes with a sacrifice of control. Because you are not paying for space in a magazine or time on a television network there is no guarantee your message will get out and, even if it does, there is no assurance that your message will be communicated the way you intended.

The purpose of label publicity is to place nonpaid promotional messages into the media on behalf of the artist’s recorded music project. That can range from a short paragraph in Rolling Stone to a mention in a music blog, to an appearance on ‘‘Saturday Night Live.’’ Mentions and appearances in the new and traditional media contribute to the success of the marketing of the artist and their music. Earned media on behalf of a recording artist has a certain credibility that paid advertising does not. While an advertisement can be bought, a feature article or review gets published only because a journalist thought the artist or their music was interesting enough to write the article and a publisher thought it was interesting enough to make the space available to present the story or run the review.

An online article, or one in a newspaper or magazine, suggests to the reader that there is something more to the label’s artist than just selling commercial music. Published articles and TV magazine-style stories (for example, ‘‘E! News’’) give credibility to the artist in a way that paid advertising cannot.

There are key differences between publicity from the label and the advertising placed by the label. Label publicists generally create and promote messages to the media that are informative in nature and do not have a hard ‘‘sell’’ to them. Consumers are resistant to paid media (advertising) messages, but more receptive to the subtle persuasion of the publicity effort that takes the form of an interesting story or review. Theoretically, the more impressions consumers receive about a recording, the more likely they are to seek additional information about the recording, and to purchase it. Advertising planners and sophisticated publicists use the term “reach and frequency” as they compile a strategy and its related budget. This means they plan an affordable campaign that can ‘‘reach’’ sufficient numbers of their target market with the ‘‘frequency’’ necessary for them to remember the message and act by purchasing. Publicity becomes the foundation, or at least a nice complement, to the advertising strategy without the direct costs of paid advertising.

History

The earliest music promoters were in the publicity business at the beginning of the 20th century, primarily helping to sell sheet music that was heard on recording playback devices or at public performances. Those who worked in the publicity profession in the early 1900s relied primarily on newspapers and magazines to promote the sale of music. In 1922, the federal government authorized the licensing of several hundred commercial radio stations, and those in the recorded music business found their companies struggling as a result. People stopped buying as much music because radio was now providing it for “free,” and newspapers and magazines were no longer the only way the public got its news. Radio became the entertainer and the informer. But publicists found themselves with a new medium and a new way to promote, and quickly adapted to it, much in the way they did in 1948 with the advent of television as a news and entertainment form.

History has a way of repeating itself, only this time the new technology was not a terrestrial broadcast medium, but the Internet. The work of the label publicist today involves servicing not only traditional media outlets but online music and entertainment blogs and websites as well. Some of these online outlets are Internet extensions of magazines, newspapers, and video channels, which did not exist 10 years ago (and may not exist 10 years from now) while others are brand new with no traditional media presence. The label publicist also works with print media for feature articles, and they work with television program talent bookers to arrange live performances.

Label vs. Indie Publicist

Large record labels usually have one or more people on their staff responsible for publicizing their activities and those of their artists, but with the contraction of the industry much of the work has been outsourced to independent publicists on an “as needed” basis. This allows the label or the artist to hire the best person for the job rather than use an in-house publicist. If the in house publicist lacks the contacts or expertise needed for a particular job, a label will have to hire an independent publicist anyway. Depending on the artist’s status, an indie publicist can easily cost several thousand dollars a month and expect a six-month contract. Good publicity is clearly not free in that case.

Tools of the Publicist

The traditional tools of the label publicity department or publicist have been the press kit, the press release, an artist bio, a couple of 8 × 10 glossy photos and a Rolodex full of contacts. The Rolodex has been replaced by the computer and the smartphone with a database of contacts.

A publicist is only as good as their contact list. Many come from media backgrounds and are sought after because their relationships with key people can get a story placed in a particular magazine or get an artist an appearance on a particular show. If you had the contacts (and the time) you could do the publicist’s job yourself! So, before you hire a publicist ask about their contacts and recent successes.

The publicist creates and distributes communications on a regular basis, so the maintenance of a quality, up-to-date contact list is critical to the success of that communication effort. Publicists may maintain their own contact lists or rely entirely on subscription database providers, but usually it is a combination of the two. The value of maintaining a quality database is that the information enables the publicist to accurately target the appropriate media outlet, writer or producer.

An example of a subscription, or ‘‘pay’’ service, for media database management is Bacon’s MediaSource. Bacon’s updates its online database daily with full contact information on media outlets and subjects on which they report. Services like Bacon’s can literally keep a publicity department on target. Most labels and their independent publicist partners maintain keyword, searchable lists within their databases to assure they are reaching the appropriate target audience with each new message. These lists are used to distribute press releases, press kits, promotional copies of the CD for reviews, and complimentary press passes to live performances.

Bacon’s parent company, Cision, offers an array of services including in-depth information on media writers regarding their personal preferences and peeves as journalists. Journalists frequently change jobs, so having a service like Cision can make database maintenance easier for the publicist. Publicist also use paid wire services such as PR Wire and Business Wire for news release distribution for major stories.

The most effective way to reach media outlets is through email, because “it’s inexpensive, efficient, and a great way to get information out very quickly’’ (Stark, 2004). A few media outlets still prefer regular mail or through expedited delivery services, but the immediacy of the information is lost. An effective publicist learns the preferred form of communication for each media contact. Bacon’s MediaSource and Cision provide some of that information but it is always best to check with the journalist.

Internet distribution of press information from a label requires the latest software that will be friendly to spam filters at companies that are serviced with news releases. The most reliable way to assure news releases and other mass-distributed information are received by a media contact is to ask them to add you to their email contacts. Some companies use services like Emma (www.myemma.com) or MailChimp (www.mailchimp.com) to track whether a news release was received and whether the receiver opened the email containing the news release. It becomes an effective way to be sure news releases are accurately targeted to interested journalists and to be sure they were able to get through spam filters.

The Press Kit and EPK

The term “press kit” comes from the package of materials that traditionally were prepared, usually in a folder of some sort, to give to the press or the media as a way of introduction of a new artist. As stated above, the press kit would contain a brief biography of the artist, a picture or two and a press release to go along with a copy of the artist’s latest CD. If possible, the publicist would include album or concert reviews.

Physical press kits are used less frequently these days. A good publicist will know whether the recipient prefers a physical or electronic version of the press kit, call an EPK (electronic press kit). The EPK offers several obvious advantages, not the least of which is the ease of distribution. Once created, an EPK can be sent to hundreds of outlets with the click of a few buttons.

Another major advantage of the EPK is the additional content that it can contain. Because printing costs are eliminated, the variety of high resolution photos that can be made available so that a local newspaper doesn’t have to use the same old publicity photo that every other publication has used, is limitless. Videos of the artist performing live or in the studio can be included making it possible for the music supervisor of a late night television talk show (or a local promoter) to actually see that artist perform before making a decision whether or not to have them on the show.

The Internet is slowly but surely replacing the DVD and CD as the preferred method of delivering the EPK content. Many labels and artist managers post their artists’ EPKs on a password protected website accessible to the media and music supervisors for film and television. The reason for limiting access is to be sure that the high-resolution pictures and copies of music videos are not misused. Services that provide EPK templates and hosting include Sonicbids.com, presskitz.com, and powerpresskits.com. Bandcamp and Reverbnation are also good sites for EPK-like information without the password protection.

Photos and Videos

Publicity photos and videos are not without cost. A full-blown photo shoot with a big name photographer (think Annie Liebowitz or Randee St. Nicholas) can cost thousands of dollars, like $10,000–$12.000! If you are going to spend that kind of money you want to not only get some good head shots for the press kit, but photos that can be used in the CD booklet and on the artist’s and label’s websites.

Why is a photo shoot so expensive? The largest expense is usually the photographer herself, but like so many things you often get what you pay for. And using a big name photographer creates its own publicity angle. Imagine the publicity your artist would get if you hired Anne Geddes to do their photo shoot! In addition to the photographer you will need to hire a makeup artist, a hair stylist, and maybe a wardrobe stylist or costume designer. If your artist is a band, then your expenses can easily double as each member may require their own hair, makeup, and costumer.

Speaking of clothes, will the artist bring their own or will they be rented or purchased? If they are a big enough act you may be able to score some free outfits as the exposure is mutually beneficial for the designer and the artist. If you want to shoot photos on somebody’s private property you may have to pay for that privilege. The more locations, the more expenses, including transportation. Sometimes, location is used to help portray the artist’s identity, but studio shots are easier to control (Knab, 2001). Most photographers will do the shoot using digital equipment that will save both time and money; however, some photographers still prefer to use film because of its unique qualities, kind of like how some producers prefer analog over digital recording.

Behind the scenes, there is catering and probably a film crew shooting video of the photo shoot for behind the scenes footage that can be used in the EPK or for additional publicity. Since this army of crew and artists may be on location for a day or two and having to travel to a restaurant is disruptive and time consuming, food will need to be provided at the location of the photo shoot.

All these decisions—food, clothing, locations, hair styles—should be determined before the day of the shoot by the marketing team, not left up to the artist and the photographer. Remember, these photos will determine or reinforce the artist’s image or brand maybe for their entire career and, therefore, need to be consistent with that brand.

The music video is an important part of the EPK, and the marketing department’s effort to promote the album as consecutive singles are released. Production of the video is usually overseen by the label’s creative department and may be promoted by same people who work the single to radio or by an outside agency like Nashville’s Aristomedia. The artist’s music video is also a valuable tool used by publicists in securing live and taped appearances in television programs. (Other uses of record label videos are discussed in chapter 14.)

Press Release

A press release is a brief, written communication sent to the news media for the purpose of sharing something that is newsworthy. It frames an event or a story into several paragraphs with the hope that media outlets will find it interesting enough to use as a basis for a story they will create. The key concept in the definition of the press release is that the item be newsworthy. Hard core fans may want to know every detail of the artist’s day but the media and the average fan will not. The publicist and the marketing team must find the balance between too much information too often and too little too infrequently. Some events obviously call for an announcement to the press—the signing of a new record deal, the launch of a tour, the nomination or winning of an award or contest, a marriage, the birth of baby. Best to save the more mundane, day-to-day stuff for the artist’s blog or their Twitter followers.

These days, it is not enough to send the press release just to the traditional news media because most of the tastemakers in entertainment are outside the mainstream media, like Perez Hilton, for example. Bloggers are a key target for press releases and a key source of information for traditional media. They are also likely to be more receptive to your story than traditional media, especially if you artist is not a star already. A good publicist will target the right media outlets for each story based on the appropriateness and likelihood that they, and more importantly, their readers or viewers, will find the story interesting.

Press releases may be harder to write than you think. There are certain formats to be followed and the need to be concise and still tell the full story.

The press release should be written with the important information at the beginning. Today’s busy journalists don’t have time to dig through a press release to determine what it is about. They want to quickly scan the document to determine whether this is something that will appeal to their target audience. A well-written headline will contribute greatly to this end. It is important to include links to relevant photos and videos when the press release is going to Internet based media so that they can quickly and easily post your story.

The Anatomy of a Press Release

The press release needs to have a slug line (headline) that is short, attention-grabbing, and precise. The purpose or topic should be presented in the slug line. It is suggested that a sub-heading be placed under the slug line that supports the point of the press release. The release should be dated and include contact information, phone number, email, and links to the artist’s social media. The body of text should be double-spaced.

The lead paragraph should answer the five W’s and the H (who, what, where, when, why, and how). Begin with the most important information; no unnecessary information should be included in the lead paragraph (Knab, 2003a). In the body, information should be written in the inverse pyramid form: in descending order of importance. Tell the story in such a way that the article or post is all but written for the journalist or blogger. Minimizing their work improves the chances that your press release will get used.

For the electronic news release sent via email, it should include embedded links where appropriate. Some links that should be considered to be included in the text of the news release should take the reader to the artist’s website, the label’s website, or to any other site that contributes to the journalist’s understanding of the importance of the story. The added benefits of embedding links in electronic news releases is that they often become featured in blogs and music websites which can improve page rankings by search engines on subjects relating to the artist, as well as helping fans find their ways to sites maintained for the artist’s benefit.

The Biography

Writing a bio, like writing a press release, takes practice and a special talent. While anyone can put down the facts in some ordered and organized way, a good biographer makes the story compelling and easy to read. A bio for a press kit needs to be short, usually two pages, maybe three for an established artist. Before writing the bio, research is done on the artist’s background, accomplishments, goals and interests to find interesting and unique features that will set the artist apart from others. (Knab, 2003b) Keep in mind the target readership of the bio. The bio should be succinct and interesting to read (Hyatt, 2004), and create an introduction that clearly defines the artist and the genre or style of music. The hardest decision for the biographer may be deciding what to leave out. The point is, you should hire a professional to write the artist’s bio if you can afford it and if you can’t afford it plan to write and rewrite the bio several times before you get the story just the way it needs to be.

An interesting new trend in biographies aimed at more visually oriented consumers is the bio and infographic. Created mostly by third party sites, infographics are a creative, colorful way to convey otherwise humdrum facts. Biographical infographics have been created for celebrities as diverse as director David Fincher (www.hark.com), Conan O’Brien (sdrscreative.com) and Michael Jackson (www.biography.com).

Press Clippings

Nothing succeeds like success! Every press kit, whether physical or electronic, should contain examples of positive press the artist or their music has received, called press clippings. Newspaper articles should be reduced to 8½ × 11 inch paper and the print kept large enough to be readable. One need not include every article, but enough recent articles to let the recipient of the press kit know that others are excited about the artist and their music. Finally, it is important to include links to the press clippings on the artist’s website.

Publicity and Branding

As noted previously, a major downside of earned media is neither the label nor the artist can control it, or at least not all of it. It takes only one bad decision by the artist, one momentary lapse in judgment, to undo years of work by the publicist and the marketing team building a strong brand. When an artist is signed to a label or embarks on a career with an independent marketing team, the major parties, artist, manager and label marketing, need to get together and talk about who the artist is, what they want their public reputation to be, and how they will work together to achieve that goal. This is a time for a frank and honest discussion. Pushing the artist to be something they are not will be extremely difficult to sustain in the long run. At their core, the artist has to be who they are. Marketing and management can put some polish and shine on them with media training, wardrobe and make up, but in the end the person on the inside will find his or her way to the surface. Don’t try to make an Amy Winehouse into a Taylor Swift or vice versa. It just won’t work.

Once the team has a grasp on the image for the artist, everyone must set about the business and building and constantly reinforcing that brand. Of course, the most important contributor to this effort are the artists themselves. Every outfit they wear, every song they sing, every video they make, and every word that comes out of their mouth should reinforce the brand. Some labels hire hair stylists and clothing and costume consultants, some will pay for dental work, and some are rumored to pay for cosmetic surgery in order to polish the artist’s image to prepare them for their expanded public career (Levy, 2004). A media consultant may be hired to train the artist to handle themselves in public interviews and other non-musical performance occasions. Working with the artist, the consultant prepares the artist for interviews by taking the unfamiliar and making it familiar to them, teaching them what to expect, and giving them the basic tools to conduct themselves well in a media interview. “In the long-gone, golden, olden days… before TMZ, texting, Twitter, cell phone video, and You-Tube, image consultants were better able to protect both their clients and the egos of journalists, who privately agreed to clear-cut parameters in exchange for celebrity access” (Carol Ames, 2011–2012) Today’s “journalists” may lack the professional training and ethics of the traditional media. More importantly, with cameras built into almost every cell phone, every public act, and some private ones, are likely to end up as a thread on Reddit or a video on YouTube or somewhere else on the Internet.

When an artist is ready to remake their image, the transition, whether intended to be temporary or permanent, must be handled with extreme care and forethought. The history of music is littered with stories of attempts to rebrand artists. Some failed (e.g., Garth Brooks’ alter ego Chris Gaines) and some succeeded (Katy Hudson the Christian artist became Katy Perry, the pop star; Darius Rucker morphed from pop to country and Rod Stewart shifted from Rock to singing standards with a big band).

The Publicity Plan

The publicity plan is designed to coordinate all aspects of getting nonpaid press coverage, and is timed to maximize artist exposure and record sales. The plan is usually put into play weeks before the release of an album. In the case of music magazines, the plan begins months in advance due to the long lead-time necessary to meet their deadlines for publication.

Once the genre of music and the target audience for the artist have been determined, publicity planning begins by coordinating with the label’s marketing plan and linking the plan’s timetable with the marketing calendar. Remember, publicity is just one part of the overall marketing plan for the artist, all of which is coordinated by the marketing department or a marketing director. The media marketplace is then researched, and media vehicles targeted that have audiences, readers or viewers that align with the artist’s target audience. One of the major advantages of an Internet world is that it brings together people from all over the world. There is an outlet for almost every interest on the Internet and the publicist must seek out those outlets that align with the artist’s target market. Next, materials are developed and the pitching to journalists and talent bookers begins. Lead-time is the amount of time in advance of the publication that a journalist or editor needs to prepare materials for inclusion in their publication. A schedule is created to ensure that materials are created far enough in advance that they can be provided in a timely manner to make publication deadlines. Long-lead publications, mostly print magazines, are particularly problematic for the publicist as they need to have materials prepared months in advance of the release date, and sometimes those materials are not yet available. If an artist suddenly breaks in the marketplace, it is too late to secure a last-minute cover photo on most monthly publications. Fortunately, today’s print media almost always have an online version that can respond quickly to breaking news.

Before the materials are sent out, pitch letters are then sent to targeted media requesting publication or other media exposure. The pitch letter is a carefully thought-out and crafted document specifically designed to grab the interest of a busy, often distracted journalist, TV producer, blogger, or online website editor. It is never emailed to a bulk list, but is specifically tailored to each media outlet being contacted (D’Vari, 2003). The pitch letter should begin with a few words presenting the publicist’s request, and then quickly communicate why the media vehicle being contacted should be interested in the artist or press material. In other words, the publicist will point out why the media’s audience will be interested in this particular artist. Prep sheets are also developed and sent to radio programmers and their consultants so that DJs can discuss the artist as they prepare to play the music on the air. Retail and radio are given the first “heads up” about 16 weeks prior to street date for the album. This may be little more than telling a buyer or program director that the artist has an album scheduled to come out on a particular date, but it serves to create initial awareness and, hopefully, a buzz about the forthcoming release. Serious planning with radio and retail begins about 10 weeks prior to street. New release materials, including one-sheets which summarize the information about the new release, are mailed to retailers and media six to eight weeks prior to street in order to make deadlines. Interviews may be done during this time as well so that articles will be ready for magazines that will hit newsstands the same time as the album hits store shelves.

Review copies are mailed or made available electronically to magazines two months in advance. Major newspapers, having shorter lead times, get theirs about three weeks in advance of street date. The artist will begin self promotion (calling stations, broadcast media interviews, etc.) the week before street date. As the publicity plan unfolds, its success can be evaluated through clipping services and search engines to see how many “hits” the effort has resulted in.

Budgets for Money and Time

A budget for the publicity campaign is developed based on the objectives of the project, the expectations of the label for the part publicity will play in stimulating interest in the artist’s music, and the degree to which the label is managing the artist’s career. If this is the first album for the artist, the development of new support materials may be necessary, such as current photos and a bio. If the new artist is working under a multiple rights contract, tour press support will be necessary. If it is an established artist, budgets could be considerably higher, in part because of the expectations of the artist to receive priority attention from the director of publicity.

Publicity costs include the expense of developing and reproducing materials such as press kits, photos, bios, video, and so forth, communication costs (postage and telephone bills, maintenance of contact lists), and staffing costs. The minimum cost for an indie label would run about $8,000, with $3,000 of that for developing press kits and $2,800 for postage. Adding an outside consultant to the project would add another $1,500 or more per month. For major label projects, an outside publicist can be hired for six months to provide full support to a single, and album, and tour publicity for $25,000, which includes out-of-pocket costs such as postage, press kits, website maintenance, and anything else the label requires to support the publicity effort.

An equally important part of the plan is to budget adequate time to support the album based on when it will be released during the annual business cycle of the label. If the in-house staffing is adequate, given the timing of the project, the plan can be executed without additional help. If, however, the publicity department is overloaded, the director may consider hiring an independent company to handle publicity for the project. This seemingly removes the burden from the director, but it adds oversight duties since the director must be sure the outside company is working the plan according to expectations. The ultimate success (and failure) is still the responsibility of the director of publicity.

Publicity Strategy and Outlets

According to Forrester’s Marketing RaDaR, consumers go through four stages in the way they interact with a company, brand or artist. First, they discover a product or service. If they have additional interest they will explore for more detail and information. The next stage of the process is buying or consumption of the music, song, album or a live performance. The final stage in the Forrester model is engagement. For entertainment these stages may not be clear cut and distinct and the later stages may be repeated (for any product) over and over. In the engagement stage consumers interact with the company (artist) and other consumers to share the experience. Each stage requires different types of media channels to build “Reach and Depth and Relationships” (RaDaR) and thinking about your marketing strategy from this perspective places the emphasis on the right channel at the right time rather than ownership of the channel.

Figure 10.2

Depth channels tell the artist’s story. It will be made up mostly of owned media, but could include earned media in the form or magazine articles and public appearances.

Relationship channels are about staying in touch with the artist’s existing fans and would include email, Twitter, and other social media that the artist controls.

Reach channels are the earned media, plus advertising and point of purchase merchandising, used to encourage existing or would-be fans to learn more about the artist (Nail and Elliott, 2014).

Some of the existing publicity tools are discussed below.

The Internet— One of the negatives about the Internet is how it has fragmented the music market and made it so much harder to have a multi-platinum seller. One of the positives about the Internet is how it has brought the fragmented markets together in one place. No matter how obscure your interests you can probably find someone else, a blog, an e-magazine, a website that shares your interest. You will want to scour the Internet for the sites appropriate for your artist and target them for press releases, interviews and reviews.

Blogs— Bloggers play a critical role in entertainment publicity because they often have greater credibility with young consumers who are actively searching for new music. A recent study found that traditional media is using blogs as sources of information for their own stories more and more often (Messner and Distaso, 2008) Hypebot.com recommends identifying bloggers and writers specifically, rather than sites or blogs, because they have their own musical preferences and they will do the actual writing of the story. (Five Tips for Identifying & connecting with bloggers, 2012). Pitchfork, Consequences of Sound, Tiny Mix Tapes, and Stereo Gum are some of the most influential music blogs.

E-zines— Electronic or online magazines offer a good way to introduce a label’s artist to the target market. MarketingTerms.com defines e-zines as an electronic magazine, whether posted via a website or sent as an email newsletter. Some are electronic versions of existing print magazines complete with magazine style formatting, whereas others exist exclusively online or digitally. The web-posted versions usually contain a stylized mixture of content including photos, articles, ads, links, and headlines, formatted much like a print equivalent. Smaller versions may be emailed to subscribers as a pdf file. Most e-zines are advertiser-supported, but a few charge a subscription fee.

Many established music e-zines are genre specific or have particular subject areas dedicated to genres. They may feature music news, concert and album reviews, interviews, blogs, photos, tour information, and release dates. As a result, their readers are predisposed to be receptive to new and unfamiliar artists and their music, provided that the artist is within the genre that the e-zine represents. A study of the readers of the Americana music magazine, No Depression found that 90% of their readers learned about new music from an article published either in a print or in an online version of a magazine. It is probably no coincidence that No Depression, which started out as a print magazine in 1995, added an online version in 1997 on its way to becoming exclusively online in 2008.

Television Appearances

Charities and Public Service

People expect successful artists to give back to society. After all, the world, the fans, has given them so much. But don’t wait until your artist wins her first Grammy to do some charity work. Being proactive and building good public relations can go a long ways towards minimizing negative publicity when and if it occurs.

Having an artist associated with a respected charity is always good publicity. If the cause is personal, even better. We once worked on a marketing plan for a band whose members had lost their mother to breast cancer. They played every cancer charity gig they were offered. It was personal, not just something they were doing for publicity. As the artist’s star rises, the association with a specific charity becomes even more of a winwin, giving both the artist and charity greater exposure. Some artists have become synonymous with their charities: Elton John and the Elton John AIDS Foundation; Jars of Clay and Blood Water Mission; and Bono and Band Aid, for example.

Another way for artists to get involved in charities is through organizations like Global Citizen. This organization fights poverty by getting people to volunteer in order to receive free concert tickets. “The goal is to reward volunteer work with live music. Fans can take part in various social actions, ranging from signing partitions to calling their representatives to earn points they can use to win free concert tickets” (Waddell, 2013). Artists donating tickets to the cause range from the relatively unknowns to One Direction, Tim McGraw, and Bruno Mars.

Bad Publicity

Is all publicity good publicity? What comes to mind when you hear these names: Ty Herndon, Janet Jackson, Bono, Ozzie Osbourne, Kanye West, Amy Grant, Paul Simon, Ian Watkins? All have received “negative” publicity at some point in their musical careers and most, but not all, have survived in the business. So the question is “Why?” Why do some artist bounce back or even thrive despite arrests or drug addiction and others have their careers ruined? The answer is brand image—or more precisely, consistent brand image. When Kid Rock was arrested (Billboard.com, 2005) for punching a strip club DJ, did he lose any fans? Probably not. It hardly made the news. Why? Because the behavior was not inconsistent with his image, his brand. But imagine what would happen if Christian artist, Steven Curtis Chapman had been arrested for punching out a strip club DJ? He didn’t, but if he had that would have made the news and probably ended his career because it is not consistent with his image, his brand. For a real life example, one need only look at Steven Page’s career trajectory. Page was a founding member of the Barenaked Ladies, a Canadian pop-rock band known for its witty and mostly lighthearted songs. But his clean-cut image has destroyed when he was arrested in July 2008 for drug possession. Perhaps, had the band not just released an album targeted at children the offense would have been overlooked, but his behavior didn’t fit with the band’s new target audience; it didn’t fit the band’s brand. Page officially left the band early the next year. His career has yet to recover.

Conclusion

Publicity, or earned media, is one of the most powerful tools that a record label marketer has at their disposal. Unfortunately, much of it is also out of their control. For publicity to be successful, the label needs the cooperation and assistance of the traditional and Internet media. The most successful publicity will go viral and spread directly from fan to fan. This will be discussed further in chapter 11.

Appendix

Glossary

Bio—Short for biography. A brief description of an artist’s life and/or music history that appears in a press kit or other publicity material.

Creative department—This is a department or division at a record label that handles design, graphics, and imaging for a recorded music project. Also called creative services.

Clippings—Stories cut from newspapers or magazine.

Discography—A bibliography of music recordings.

Electronic press kit—An electronic version of a standard artist press kit that includes digital images, documents, audio and video files and PDF versions of all documents and news clippings. Some may contain video clips that can be used on-air and magazine-quality images for reprint purposes.

Independent publicist—This is someone or a company that performs the work of a label publicist on a contract or retainer basis.

Lead time—Elapsed time between acquisition of a manuscript by an editor and its publication.

Press kit—Collection of printed materials detailing various aspects of an organization, presented to members of the media to provide comprehensive information or background about the artist.

Press release—A formal printed announcement by a company about its activities that is written in the form of a news article and given to the media to generate or encourage publicity.

Q Factor—A term used to indicate the overall public appeal of an artist in the media. A high Q factor means an artist is able to draw large television audiences.

Slug—A short phrase or word that identifies an article as it goes through the production process; usually placed at the top corner of submitted copy.

Talent bookers—These are people who work for producers of television shows whose job it is to seek appropriate artists to perform on the program.

References

Ames, C. “Popular Culture’s Image of the PR Image Consultant: The Celebrity in Crisis,” Image of Journalist in Popular Culture Journal (2011–2012), pp. 90–106.

Bruno, A. “It’s High Time You Edited—Or Perhaps Created—Your Entry.” Billboard, Vol. 120, No. 13 (March 29, 2008a).

Bruno, A. “Music fans prefer Wikipedia to MySpace,” Reuters (March 22, 2008b). Accessed July 31, 2014. http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/03/22/us-wikipediaidUSN2148195720080322.

Dommeruth, W. Promotion: Analysis, Creativity, and Strategy, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Inc. 1984.

Donahue, A. “The Indies Issue: How To Get On A Late Night Show,” Billboard, Vol. 120, No. 20, (June 28, 2008), p. 27.

D’Vari, M. “How to Create a Pitch Letter.” 2003. http://www.publishingcentral.com/articles/20030301–17–6b33.html.

“Five Tips for Identifying & Connecting with Bloggers” 2012. http://hypebot.com/hypebot/2012/11/5-tips-for-identifying-connecting-with-music-bloggers.html.

Frascogna, X., and Hetherington, L. This Business of Artist Management, New York: Billboard Books. 2004.

“Grammy Awards 2013: Sales soar for Mumford & Sons, Fun., and Goyte in Wake of Awards Show Glory,” May 1, 2014. www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/mumford-fun-gotye-enjoy-post-grammy-spike-article-1.1268860.

“Grammys Spike Sales”. May 1, 2014. http://www.grammy.com/blogs/grammys-spike-sales.

Hyatt, A. “How to be Your Own Publicist.” 2004. http://arielpublicity.com.

“Kid Rock Arrested on Assault Charge.” 2005. Accessed May 1, 2014. www.billboard.com/articles/news/64079/kid-rock-arrested-on-assault-charge.

Knab, C. 2001. Promo Kit Photos. http://www.musicbizacademy.com/knab/articles/.

Knab, C. “How to Write a Music-Related Press Release.” November 2003a. http://www.musicbizacademy,com/knab/articles/pressrelease.htm.

Knab, C. 2003b. http://www.musicbizacademy.com/knab/articles.

Levy, S. CMA’s music business 101. 2004. Unpublished.

Messner, M., and Watson Distaso, M. “The Source Cycle.” Journalism Studies, Vol. 9, No. 3, 2008.

Molanphy, C. “A Brief History of the Grammy Sales Bump.” The Record: Music News from NPR. NPR, February 15, 2013. Accessed June 27, 2015.

Nail, J., and Elliott, N. Mix Art and Science for Marketing Success. November 21, 2014. https://www.forrester.com/Mix+Art+And+Science+For+Marketing+Success/fulltext/-/E-RES86562

Paoletta, M. “As Seen On TV,” Billboard, Vol. 119, No. 16, (April 21, 2007), p. 27.

Stark, P. Personal interview. April 21, 2007.

Stewart, S. M. “Artist-generated Publicity: Part I.” Fringe Magazine Vol. 1, No. 5, (March/April 2010a). Web. fringemagazine.com.

Stewart, S. M. Artist-generated Publicity: Part II.” Fringe Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 5, (May/June 2010b). fringemagazine.com.

Stewart, S.M. “How to Write a Press Release.” 2008. Course handout, ts.

Tompkins, T. “The Impact of Late Night Television Musical Performances on the Sale of Recorded Music,” MEIEA Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1, (2010).

Waddell, R. “Global Cause.” Billboard, May 11, 2013.