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Be Your Own Publicist
A Step-By-Step Guide to Garnering
Maximum Attention in The Internet Age
Preparing Your Press Materials (Part I of II)
By
Ariel Hyatt
Music publicity has changed drastically in the past few years.
Gone are the days when just having a CD was considered a shoe
in. Gone too are the days when staying on the road for 6-10
months a year guaranteed a good living. Here are the days of
Pro tools, cheap CD manufacturing (or DIY at home with a color
printer) and the Internet, with immediate access to free music
and total information overload at the tips of your fingers! The
Internet is both a blessing (just about everyone with a pulse
has access to it) and a curse (just about everyone with a pulse
has access to it). There are more bands on the road than ever
before—over 700 brand new releases every week—and fewer media
outlets writing about them. But it’s still possible for an
indie artist to attract attention.
Publicity, like building a fan base, takes time, dedication, and
a lot of effort. When you are executing a PR campaign the
effort sometimes seems Herculean compared to the results (if you
gauge solely on how many articles are written). But with a bit
of planning and focus, you can spin your own publicity wheel.
All it takes is foresight, organization and patience. The
publicity process for any band, no matter how big or small, is
very much the same, though the size of the publications in which
you place articles may vary dramatically based on what style of
music is hot at the moment combined with record sales and label
status.
For
this article, I interviewed two music journalists: Kristi
Singer, who reports for American Songwriter, Singer &
Musician Magazine, Sun News and The Wilmington Star News
among others and Waleed Rashidi, who writes for Alternative
Press, Modern Drummer, Alarm, MeanStreet, Law of Inertia,
and E online among others. Their comments and advice are
included throughout. I also included several web links to help
you along. It was fun to interview writers who usually interview
my artists. It was insightful to get their opinions on what they
like to see (and what they don't) from bands. Enjoy this
article. Print it out. Copy it. Give it to your friends. Good
luck spinning your own PR web!
The
Printed Press Kit
A printed press kit is a critical component when sending out
your CD to anyone in the industry who needs to understand your
details and background. The press kit that goes out to
journalists should vary slightly from the one you send out to
get gigs (this one should include all 4 elements listed below
PLUS past touring history in detail as well as your stage
plot).
Myth: I don’t need a press kit. People can see all of my
information on my website.
Truth: Your press kit is still a vital and important component
to your overall marketing strategy.
Writers are very busy people who are constantly under deadline
so don’t ever make a writer work to get information about your
band. Press kits help them access information quickly and
efficiently. A big fat press kit in a folder won’t impress.
Writers will only become exasperated by a press kit that is not
succinct and to the point. Create a press kit, which consists of
these elements:
1.
Bio
2.
Photo postcard
3.
Articles – 4- 6 pages of quotes, articles and CD reviews
4. CD
The
Bio
Create a one-page bio that is succinct and interesting to read.
I strongly advise hiring a bio writer if you can afford one.
This should cost between $100 and $250. If you are not ready to
pony up the cash, enlist an outside source to help you out. I
find people who are great story tellers make great bio writers.
Tip: Many music journalists write bios as well as articles so if
you read a great profile on a band in a local paper, a blog, in
an online ‘zine, or in a music magazine don’t hesitate to track
that writer down and ask if they write band bios. I recently
read a great article in Alternative Press and called the writer
who gave my band a DIY rate of $175. It was professionally
written and the band can now use it for the next year of
touring. I suggest updating your bio every few months to keep it
fresh and current.
Waleed: A bio does not have to be extensive. I want a general
idea of the bands history and some key shows (but please not a
whole show history). I love the “recommended if you like” line.
I know some artists hate to compare themselves to others but I
definitely like that. It makes the sorting process easier
First
and foremost include your musical description towards the top of
the page. Create an introduction that sums up your sound, style
and attitude in a few brief sentences. This way if a writer is
pressed for time, he can simply take a sentence or two from your
bio and place it directly in the publication. If you try to make
a writer dig deeply for the gist, that writer will most likely
put your press kit aside and look to one of the other 30 press
kits that arrived that week.
Avoid
vague clichés such as: “melodic,” “brilliant harmonies,”
“masterful guitar playing,” “tight rhythm section,” etc. These
are terms that can be used to describe any artist and music.
Tip: Try to create a bio with the assumption that a vast
majority of music writers may never get around to listening to
your CD. Also, writers are usually under tight deadlines to
produce copy so many CD's fall by the wayside, but that doesn’t
mean that you can’t get a great calendar pick or photo
inclusion.
The
Photo
It is
very tough to create a great band photo. In the thousands that I
have encountered only a few have had creativity and depth. I
know it can seem cheesy to arrange a photo shoot but if you take
this part seriously you will deeply benefit from it in the long
run.
Create a photo that is clear, light, and attention grabbing.
Five musicians sitting on a couch or backed against a brick wall
is not interesting. If you have a friend who knows how to use
PhotoShop, I highly recommend you enroll him or her to help you
do some funky editing.
Myth: We need to have 8 X 10 photos
Truth: Postcards are more versatile and newspapers will
download the photos they will run from your site!
8x10
Photos used to be the industry standard but they are no longer
the norm. My company recommends that bands print 3x5 or 4x6
double-sided 4/4 color postcards. They look great and
professional and extra postcards not used in press kits can be
sent to people on your mailing list, or you can give them away
at gigs. Postcards should have an image of the band on one side
and an image of your album cover with the URL of your website on
the other side. You can also include your release date of an
upcoming album, your contact numbers and a quote about the
band’s sound from the media or from your bio. There are many
great inexpensive printers online. We order our postcards from:
http://www.jakprints.com
http://www.1800postcards.com
Waleed: The best types of photos are ones that are cropable in a
vertical or horizontal format. Sometimes when I have to fill a
hole in the magazine I may need a photo that will fit it into
any frame. I also like photos that have room around the photo.
This way I can put text around the photo. I want a photo that
depicts a band in the way they are. A junkie band should be in
a junkyard. A clean band should be in a cleaner atmosphere
environment. Wardrobe and location are all very important as is
creativity. I get an overkill of fisheye lenses and overkill on
oversaturated colors. Try not to copy too much of what is going
on.
Tip: Don’t make journalists hunt around for the photos. They
will go to someone else’s site to grab them. Downloadable, color
photos should be readily available on your website and at least
300 dpi, easily found and downloadable with less than 3 clicks.
Put the band members names L-R under the band photo to give
journalists a point of reference. (Many publications publish
photos with all band members names L-R so save the writers the
trouble of having to ask for the name)s.
Articles, Quotes & CD Reviews
Getting that first article written about you can feel daunting.
Two great places to start are your local hometown papers
(barring you don't live in Manhattan or Los Angeles), and any
music website that you like.
Tip: You can archive additional articles on your website and if
a writer wants to read more than that he can visit your site for
further information. If you don't have anything written about
you not to worry, this will soon change.
Tip: Use Google as a resource to find reporters or work
backwards and search for indie bands that you would compare
yourself to. Call or e-mail the reviewers that wrote about
them, politely introduce yourself and ask if you can send them
your CD for consideration. This is a much better technique than
the old school method of getting a “media list” and blindly
mailing precious materials out in bulk.
Always Follow Up
Kristi: 75% of all bands don’t follow up with me aggressively
enough. I often am on deadline and I will ask a band to call me
back in a week and most never do. I keep new CDS in 3 piles in
my office:
1.
Ones I am about to write about because they were assigned.
2. I
really want to pitch to editors because I think they will like
them.
3. I
don’t know what these CDs are and no one followed up with me so
I never get to them.
There
could be some wonderful and appropriate CDs sitting in my office
that I could write about but if no one pitched me on them they
usually get overlooked.
Waleed: I think it is important to follow up on all mailings. 75
%– 80% of indie bands that send me stuff
never follow up and those CDs always fall through the cracks.
The
CD
The
CD artwork, like the press kit, must be well thought out. You
should customize your press kits so that they look in sync with
your CD. This way when a writer opens up a package the press kit
and the CD look like they go together. Do not bother sending out
advance burns of your CD unless the writer requests them. Full
artwork is always preferred.
Kristi: I enjoy getting full artwork CDs. Advances and burned
CDs are not as intriguing. Presentation is very important.
Waleed: My micro pet peeve is I do not like CDs that do not have
jewel cases (or at least spines). If a CD is in a baggie or a
thin sleeve it makes the CD impossible to find.
Tip: Put your phone number and contact info in the CD so if it
gets separated from the press kit, the writer knows how to
contact you. Also, "Recommended Tracks" stickers are great for
the press (suggesting no more than two or three selections).
Tip: Don't waste precious CDs! Unless you are sure a writer
actually writes CD reviews (few newspaper writers are given the
space to run them these days). Don't waste your hard-earned
dollars sending out CDs.
Waleed: I like well organized packages as well that are stapled
together so I can take a minute to get through it and flip
through cohesive info. Please put as much contact info
everywhere—on the CD, on the bio and on the photo. We get a lot
of glossies with no band name on them and we sometimes stack
photos separately for our photo editors. If there is no name or
number or URL on the photos they will never get used.
Now that you're prepared, check out next month for: "Getting The
Word Out."
Ariel
Hyatt is the President of Ariel Publicity, Artist Relations, and
Cyber Promotions, in NYC. She also is the co-founder of
Vermillion Media Group. For the past 9 1/2 years she has worked
closely publicizing a diverse family of touring bands, venues
and festivals including The Williamsburg Jazz Festival, The Fox
Theatre CO, BB King Blues Club NYC, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The
Cloud Room, The Clarks, George Clinton & P Funk, Sally Taylor,
Leftover Salmon, Particle, Pete Miser and over 1,000 more.
Contact & Info:
http://www.arielpublicity.com.
www.vermillionmediagroup.com
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