If it sounds too good to be true (for my students)

Students often asked me about the legitimacy of text messages they received from various “promoters”. I have yet to see one which looks legit.

The music promotion landscape has undergone an enormous change since I first started working in media more than 35 years ago. Back then, there were powerful major labels collaborating with powerful major media outlets including television. There were legal and illegal gatekeeping mechanisms including payola, and even an attempt by the recording industry to categorize recorded music as work-for-hire so that the artists could not reclaim their music as their own. ¹

Yet, it was always a relationship business. Who do you know? Who does the person you know, know?

This remains true today.

Best publicity? Live performance and the connections you make with the audience.

There are all kinds of music promotors, publicists, teams and firms—from those who work with major labels to individuals who work with artists in less commercial fields. Here, I will try to give a few pointers about publicity for the area of music I am currently engaged with.

If a publicist whom you’ve never met, who has never been to your gig, cold-messages or cold-emails you and offers a generic, one-size-fits-all plan to send out thousands of emails to “important contacts” for a small fee, stop. Are there really thousands of outlets today in the genre of the music you are engaged in? Who and/or what are the “important contacts” that these publicists allude to? What is this publicist actually offering? A note that, once you work with someone like this, not only will they take your money, but your name will potentially appear as a “client” on their website. Be careful with whom you associate. I have frequently received spam from these types of publicists, which is a huge faux pas on our scene and makes the client-artist look bad.

That said, if you are on tour and need local contacts, working with a publicist who has knowledge of the scene might make total sense. Make appropriate choices on a case-by-case basis. Be flexible.

If you don’t recognize any names from a publicist’s client list, stop. Will this person be pitching your music to appropriate writers? A great publicist in one genre may not be a great fit for another.

If a publicist has a client list that you love and a great track record in the genre of music you perform—think about reaching out if you feel ready. These publicists will be selective and may not take you on. They will be expensive. They will never cold-email you. They are professionals in their fields, will proceed carefully to get to know you and your work, and will strive to keep their great reputation by offering you the best possible plan. Chances are they can get you next-level publicity and push you to the next stage of your career. Are you ready for that investment? Do you think you can benefit from that opportunity and continue the momentum? Will they be willing to work with you for three months? Six months? A year? These publicists will have a very targeted approach and will most likely let you know exactly how they plan to promote your work.

You get what you pay for.

But until you reach that point, there are things we can do as artists other than socials. Have a one-stop digital information hub with your bio, shows, work samples. This is becoming more important now that AI is scraping information across the web and regurgitating them. Try using any chatbot and search for information about yourself. You’ll see why it’s important to have correct information out there. Also, collect email addresses (with permission). Have your own press list of writers that you like and read. That’s a list no one can take away from you. But the most important? Real connection with real people.

For Brooklyn Free Spirit Festival, we curated a list of select media professionals, probably less than 10 persons, who we felt may be interested in what we do. Huge thank you to the wonderful media professionals who listed us on their various outlets! Members of Siren Xypher were also active on social media and sent out email newsletters. We cooperated with other similar organizations who helped spread the word (thank you CMS and Continuum Culture & Arts). Word-of-mouth had a huge effect. We saw many repeat attendees who came to last year’s festival. The tools may change but it’s still all about real people and real connections. Music strengthens social bonding and builds community. That will never change.