What are your thoughts on PR?
Out For The Count
Wed, 06/06/2012 - 15:53
Hi all,
I have not been in the game as long as many and was wondering what everyone's thoughts were on both self promotion and using PR companies with this.
At a time when it is hard to get your sounds heard, what is your advice on pushing your music to the platform that many can hear.
Many thanks,
Leeroy aka Sir Vinyl Instinct
Owner and general pesterer @ Itchy Pig Records
I have not been in the game as long as many and was wondering what everyone's thoughts were on both self promotion and using PR companies with this.
At a time when it is hard to get your sounds heard, what is your advice on pushing your music to the platform that many can hear.
Many thanks,
Leeroy aka Sir Vinyl Instinct
Owner and general pesterer @ Itchy Pig Records
No clue myself but it always helps to have a response of some form in the thread; the fact that somebody has replied seems to pull more in for some reason! Baa...
If you're not bothered and are happy to pay someone else a cut then look into PR.
It's the difference between being employed or being self-employed.
In my opinion.
http://twitter.com/#!/PotionLords
If the products good enough, you'll never need any PR.
spam the life out of forums?
http://soundcloud.com/endlessrace
It's all horses for courses Leeroy. I hate to say it because a lot of people get suckered by bad PR, but a good dedicated PR person is worth their weight in my opinion. There are simply not enough hours in the day to do a decent PR job if you're having to do everything else.
My PR guy has more holidays each year then I do and appears, on the surface, to have a well-paid, stress-free job with plenty of downtime. In other words the kind of gig that would suit me just fine. Plus I seem to keep ending up doing his bloody mailouts for him due to his intense holiday schedules. But the mere fact that he can deal with the demands of journalists, bloggers and the co-ordination of many diverse personalities in order to get coverage for Harmless releases means that he's a necessary evil, the bastard....
So, yes, of course you're dealing with a particular breed of blood-sucking leech but, nonetheless, one who has the responsibiliy for getting your releases to the front of a sea of mediocrity in this information age.
So, just work it out. Can your release sell a couple of thousand via your own methods, or can it sell 20,000 with a shit-hot PR campaign?
It's always a gamble and the last few years have shaken out the dross so it's a bit easier now. Work out which releases you need the big guns on and budget accordingly.
Best of luck. That was a brave question to air on an open forum but it's an area of intense interest for many!
Ian D
so, if you do go down that road, choose your pr company wisely. it may be worth paying more for the best. they will all be able to reach tons of people you won't - but they won't all have the same kind of impact on the people they are mailing out to.
http://soundcloud.com/davemothersole
Quality advice and given freely. Top stuff Ian.
http://soundcloud.com/endlessrace
This is always going to be an area I will strive to improve and I thank everyone for taking the time to offer your advice on this.
A much appreciated,
Leeroy
Pushing The Boundaries Of Sound
I would likely consider to go and be creative on my own but people who are looking to be more known faster, would surely be willing to take this route.