Ripped from the Headlines (or from this morning's experience)

Just in case someone randomly stumbles upon this and doesn’t already know, I need to start this by saying I do PR for a record label, management company, and booking agent. And by “I do PR” I mean that I’m running PR here. I have no assistant and no boss (other than the owner of the company), it’s just me. I’m in charge of setting up interviews (and making sure the band follows through), sending out promotional mailings for new releases, fixing and updating the websites, and sending promotional materials (including CDs, posters, pictures, etc) out to show promoters.

Now, this was basically what I was doing when I interned at Hopeless this summer (though I was more stuffing, and less planning who things were getting sent to. Oh, and I did less show promo as they had their own booking agents who did their own PR). It’s a very different experience now, however. And the reason is not because I’m in charge of it now, instead of just following orders. Or because I’m the one making first contact with radio stations and press, or talking to the band about what opportunities they have for press. The reason is the bands.

At Hopeless, they were mainly promoting All Time Low, The Human Abstract, There For Tomorrow, and Anarbor. Here, I’m promoting Kid Creole and the Coconuts, the Marshall Tucker Band, Blue Cheer, and a few others. The difference? Here, I work with legends. These bands put out their first albums before my parents even met. At Hopeless, I was working with new bands, who just got signed, or were putting out or touring on their first full-length release on the label. The newer bands were working their asses off to get any notice, even if it was just a local zine that 10 people read (or a 22 year old’s blog that 8 people read). The older bands don’t so much care. They’ve been around long enough to see the ebb and flow of the music industry, to see the good and the bad and everything in between. The newer bands are hoping to get enough notice so they can stick around for one more tour. The older bands don’t give a shit who’s at the shows, as long as they get to keep doing what they love, what they have loved for the past 30+ years.

So what does that mean for me? It means my life is a little bit more difficult now in some ways, but much easier in others. For one, I have to track down band members five minutes before the interview is supposed to start, then get an angry phone call five minutes *after* it was supposed to start from the interviewer, asking why his phone isn’t ringing. I also have to spend a little time convincing bands that they need the press, that this is good for them, and that they need to suck it up, as press is part of their job description.

On the other hand, it means that I have to spend much less time convincing radio stations and newspapers to take my call. These are bands that mean something, they’ve already proven their value, and proven they have staying power. It means that shows and albums sell themselves, the fanbase is wide enough and diverse enough that the kind of person that would go to a Marshall Tucker Band show or buy a Chris Hicks album is going to do it, whether I try to sell it or not. No one has to be introduced to some new band.

However, I still prefer the younger bands. Though they may take more work, they’re willing to do it. They’re gonna bust their asses, because they know if they can’t get the press now, they’re gonna have a difficult time trying to get an album – let alone a review – later. And that attitude is motivating. Much more than talking to a tour manager trying to track down a lead singer.