Publicity is undeniably something that artists in the music industry need in order to achieve success. It’s one of the essential parts to become noticeable, but it’s also one of the most fundamental elements of your promotional campaign.
Before even starting to think about hiring a Public Relations agency, you need to have many options in place before you start. First and foremost it is vital to have real and organic fans who know you and appreciate your art enough to attend to your shows or whatever that you are presenting which your PR team will be working on afterwards. Second is a social media strategy and a virtual timeline that addresses a full view of your entire upcoming musical plans.
Unfortunately, it happens more than we would like to see when quite often, artists are exploited by companies because they don’t know what music publicists do, or what to expect from one.
In this article, MusicPromoToday would like to present the five most common misconceptions about music publicists that may happen to artists along the way.
Misconception # 1
There may be few music publicity firms out there who force their publicists to get on the phone and get artists to sign up.
But here is the truth: 100% of the publicists are way too busy to be doing cold calling and scoutings on social media.
If a music publicist calls you and tells you that you are ready and they will take over and with you, you better think twice. The cold call or a random reach out is something to be suspicious of!
Make sure you reach out to a few other PR agencies and research more about what these agencies offer. This standard practice is called an RFP (Request For Proposal).
An authentic publicist is a professional who would be delighted to propose a customized strategy that offers you a proper RFP. Just talk to other PR firms to inquire about their approach towards your publicity. You’ll see the difference.
Misconception # 2
Music publicists can’t work miracles, their job is introducing you to the media and helping you create a proper strategy, which is quite the same as a miracle!
You have to realize that hiring a publicist is just the first step to success. It would help if you supply them with information about your band or a particular song creation, or about your music, in general, so they can work throughout their time managing your campaign.
What is important here is that you must have a consistent social media strategy. Every single outlet that your PR firm is pitching to will look through your social media accounts.
You can’t afford to show them accounts without consistent posting, low-quality content, or not having a well-defined brand and narrative. Your PR results will end up badly.
Misconception # 3
If your music publicist works for a vast, prominent band that doesn’t mean that you will have the same results as they do right away. However disappointing it may be for you, larger bands with big label deals and followings are always placed over smaller or new bands. In that you will need to work with your publicist in order to climb the ladder, and hit the achievement you have set for yourself. In case you are that forthcoming artist, there is no jumping to the front of the line, no matter who else your publicist works with.
This does not mean that the publicist won’t try to get you major placements and gigs. Just know that even the tightest personal relationships don’t always equal results, and those relationships are not a guarantee for you.
Misconception # 4
You may have seen a few television shows such as Late Night or Ellen, where they showcase independent bands from time to time. Just know one thing – not all publicists have the connections to get you on these TV shows.
Not to get disappointed it will be better for you to discuss this with the publicists beforehand. Additionally these kinds of TV shows usually charge high fees for even moving the equipment on sets. The charges for these kinds of gigs can be $10,000 and more. These reasons are why big shows like mentioned above lack diversity of music, since they are after ratings, rather than giving the opportunity to talented people to perform and gain success. However, since the dawn of the digital world, luckily you can still fulfil your ambition and goals through streaming platforms, and make good income from them. One of the examples are Spotify Playlists. It is more suggested to focus your campaign and strategy on promoting yourself in the playlist rather than pay thousands of dollars for one time show. Remember consistency is the key to climb the ladder to the top.
Misconception # 5
This final misconception occurs regularly.. And it is usually coming from you, the artist. You may think that your music is excellent and you are going straight to fame and success. We don’t doubt the greatness of your art, but in the ocean of sharks, it isn’t easy to get on top just with just the creation itself.
There is one thing you have to admit: the vast majority of artists who gained success overnight have been going through hard times and significant efforts back in the days. And just like you, they have paid their dues in smaller blogs and publications despite the greatness of their music.
Your publicist will get you the best possible press. However, it’s going to take time before you get primary press coverage.
Make sure to read our other articles where we expose methods, strategies, insiders, and tips on how to run your music pr / music marketing campaign. If you need guidance, then contact us through our form, and we’ll get back to you in no time!