What is Publicity? Music Edition
What is Music Public Relations?
The role of public relations in the music industry has a multitude of purposes, and as a practitioner there are many avenues you can take when entering the industry. “Music public relations is a form of promotion for the artist’s music, tours, or the artist brand in general, that generates media and ultimately the public’s attention,” (Soundcharts.com, 2019). In other words, public relations in the music industry focuses on brand management and publicity in many capacities.
There are three distinctive divisions of public relations in the music industry. As a practitioner, you can pursue a career at a PR firm, on an in-house team, or as a solo publicist. Within this paper I will discuss the purpose and services of each division, provide relevant examples, and suggest the best public relations practices within the music industry.
Music Public Relations Firms:
Similar to full service public relations firms, music focused firms serve multiple clients, predominantly consisting of recording artists and labels. A music public relations firm “works to get exposure for an artist’s music through interviews, album reviews, media coverage, press releases, radio airtime and everything in between,” (Soundcharts.com, 2019).
What distinguishes a public relations firm from an in-house agency is the fact that firms work with multiple clients, and the length of contracts differ. Typical positions within a firm are account assistants and account executives. These agency employees are assigned to multiple clients and projects, opposed to working on one specific client or company. In addition, PR firms provide their services either continuously or on a per-project basis.
PR firms offer continuous contracts with an artist or a label that focus on shaping their public image and building their brand overtime. For continuous services, a retainer fee is paid to the agency, typically around $500-$2500 per month. PR firms also offer their services on a per-project basis, assisting with short-term artist campaigns or media pitching. Typically, a flat-fee is paid around $750-$1500, depending on the agency, (Voogt, 2019). In the end, the longevity of the project relies on the needs of the clients, the success of the project or services and the relationships built between the client and the firm.
Music PR Firm Examples:
Big name music public relations firms are mostly located in major cities like Los Angeles and New York. The 10 Best Network LLC created an algorithmic application to rate and review the best music PR firms by analyzing client research, online research, reviews, past accolades, website traffic and SEO rankings. Organic Music Marketing located in Atlanta, GA, was ranked the best music public relations firm in 2019, (10bestpr.com, 2019).
Organic Music Marketing is a marketing and promotions agency that specializes in effective playlist promotion, social media influencer marketing, organic streaming promotion, and music video production. Organic Music works with many of the world’s biggest artists and record labels like, Warner Brothers Records, Atlantic Records, Universal Music Group, Future, DJ Khaled, Migos and more.
Organic Music provides targeted exposure and marketing services to artists that will result in a return on investment for the company. Some of the firm’s latest campaigns consist of playlist and music video promotion. For example, Organic Music did a SoundCloud promotion campaign for the musician, Butch Dawson that resulted in more than 100,000 streams in less than a month’s time period. They also conducted a video promotion campaign for musician, Eastside Jody that resulting in more than 50,000 views on YouTube, (Molloy, 2018).
Another example is the AMW Group, an agency located in Los Angeles, CA. AMW ranked second on the list of the best music public relations firms in 2019, (10bestpr.com, 2019). The agency serves a diverse roster of event properties, luxury, consumer brands and high-profile individuals, through services like digital marketing, publicity, branding and identify, and social media management.
In a detailed case study, AMW reviewed a campaign they did with Kat Rodriguez, a saxophonist, singer, songwriter and composer. Kat is best known as Beyoncé's saxophone player, but she wanted to rebrand herself a solo musician. Kat inquired AMW to assist with a new album release in 2012. AMW formulated a social media and digital marketing campaign primarily targeting R&B fans in North America. The assigned team worked to increase social media followers, wrote press releases, redesigned online platforms, and prepared for the album release on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and other streaming services. As a result of the campaign, Kat successfully reintroduced herself to a large audience as a solo singer and songwriter, (AMW Group Case Study 2020).
2. In-House Music Public Relations:
Most major music companies and labels have in-house facilities to cover marketing and promotion of its artists. The purpose of a record label is to fund and promote sound recordings through distribution, publicity and marketing, (Voogt, 2019).
What differentiates an in-house PR from an agency, is the focused approach on the artists. An in-house PR team advocates for the signed artists, tells their story, maintains their brand and public image, and contributes to the relationship building with media and other collaborators, (Forbes.com, 2018). In addition, in-house departments have an abundance of resources and networks available to the artists, that an outside agent or personal publicist may not have access to.
Many artists end up signing to one of the three major labels, or a subsidiary of the label, otherwise known as “The Big Three.” The Big Three major record labels are Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group, (musicindustryhowto.com, 2020). All three of these companies are international and have multiple labels spanning across the United States and other countries. For example, Sony Music Entertainment has over 40 labels and offices located around the world.
In-House Label Example:
Major record labels and music companies are constantly releasing press releases and pushing content on social media channels to announce album releases, concert dates, new artists, brand partnerships and more. Sony Music Entertainment utilizes its news page to post press releases about their talent and artists.
On March 20, 2020, Sony Music announced the debut of a new limited series podcast produced by actor, Kumail Nanjiani and screenwriter Emily V Gordon. The podcast titled, “Staying in with Emily and Kumail” is about making the best of living life under quarantine based on their experiences as a married couple. All the proceeds from the podcast will be donated to charities including the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, Feeding America and the Restaurant Workers Community Foundation.
The podcast was produced in partnership with Hyperobject Industries and Three Uncanny Four Productions. Three Uncanny Four Productions was founded by Adam Davidson and Laura Mayer in partnership with Sony Music Entertainment. The podcast falls within the Sony Music brand, and Sony’s in-house public relations team will assist with the production, promotion and distribution of the podcast, (Sonymusic.com, News, 2020).
3. Solo/Personal Publicists:
Personal publicists report directly to the client, or in this case, a musician. Like PR firms and in-house teams, personal publicists help artists maintain their desired public image. In addition, personal publicists will contribute to the marketing and promotion of the artist's work, (Study.com, 2019). What differentiates a personal publicist from a PR firm or in-house team, is that a personal publicist is oftentimes involved in the client’s personal and professional life. Oftentimes, the line is blurred between a client’s publicist, manager and agent. Personal publicists are expected to be available at all-times for their clients, (SULA, Entertainment PR, 2020).
Personal Publicist Example:
Finding examples of the best practices of a personal publicist is more difficult than a firm or in-house team. Publicists efforts towards a musician’s brand are often unspoken and “behind the scenes.” Since the main responsibility for a publicist is to maintain a positive public image, there are circumstances where publicists must manage client’s actions aside from music.
For example, in November of 2019, country musician, Sam Hunt was arrested for a DUI, and like many companies, artists are expected to apologize to the public for their irresponsible actions. Sam Hunt turned to social media to respond to his arrest, and he most likely utilized his personal publicist to curate the public statement, (Musicrow.com,2019).
Publicists are responsible for making the messages as authentic and sincere as possible. There are hundreds of other examples of how publicists have assisted celebrities and musicians restore their public image, but it’s difficult to identify who is specifically responsible for the messaging.
Best Practices:
After reviewing multiple public relations firms, in-house teams and personal publicists that service artists and labels, I have narrowed down a list of common practices and skills necessary to succeed within any public relations role in the music industry. “Good publicists are well-networked people who have built relationships within the music industry and good publicists know how to deliver clean press releases,” (Voogt, 2019). Writing, networking, social media management, creativity, and research are all critical within public relations positions in the music industry.
Writing: Being able to write in clearly and concisely is critical in as a public relations practitioner. In the music industry, firms, in-house teams and publicists send out press releases when an artist releases an album or collaborates with a brand. In addition, practitioners must be able to create a narrative through an artist’s story and image.
Networking: Music PR practitioners must build and maintain a strong network within the industry. Building mutually beneficial relationships with journalists, publications and other publicists will assist with obtaining earned media coverage, in addition to artist partnerships, brand collaborations and interviews.
Social Media Management: Social media monitoring and content curation is a major responsibility as a PR practitioner in the music industry. Firms, in-house PR departments and publicists are responsible for monitoring artist mentions and coverage. Another component of social media management is utilizing paid advertisements, promoted content and data analytics. The purpose of paid and promoted content is to make sure the posts are directed to the desired audience.
Creativity: PR practitioners must possess a level of creativity in the music industry. Publicists are responsible for the formulation of creative campaigns for the artists. In addition, creativity is needed in the artist branding process through content development, web design, branding and more.
Research: The ability to conduct both secondary and primary research is crucial to the role of a PR practitioner in the music industry. It’s important to be knowledgeable about the trends and current events within the industry. Research is an on-going process when working with a client because audience perception is always changing, in addition to the reach and results of their music.
Music Public Relations Management:
In some instances, all three divisions of music public relations will intersect. For example, the artist, Future is signed to the label ‘Epic Records’ which is a subsidiary of Sony Music. Future has acquired the PR firm, Organic Music Marketing to promote a video. In addition, Future has a personal press agent, Chris Chambers, who’s affiliated with the PR agency ‘The Chamber Group.’ Hypothetically, if Future were to release another album, all three parties could be involved with the development and promotion process. Each career path is similar in its job responsibilities but differs in the workplace environment and management styles.
PR firms are often larger, which tends to create more job specialization, more rules and regulations and a more decentralized approach. Firms will often form teams for each client or each specific department, in the music industry that may be a country or rap department. Small firms or teams tend to focus on their core mission, and in this case their mission would be the organization, (Lawrence and Lorsch, 1967).
Public relations in the music industry has a flat organization management approach. Specifically, there are less executives and more managers or supervisors. For example, at a major label like Sony, there is a Head of Publicity and then several publicists within the in-house PR department. I think having a flat organization is most efficient and effective in the music industry because there is a creative focus.
Final Thoughts:
Analyzing the best public relations practices within the music industry has allowed me to rethink the importance of brand management and publicity within any industry. The best practices within the music industry are transferable to most industries and companies. Ultimately, the main goal for all public relations practitioners is to communicate or influence an audience.