What Does A Music Publicist Do?

Behind every artist, band, or performer, there is a team working tirelessly behind the scenes to get them where they are. Whether it’s organizing tour schedules, interviews, product placements, or even just getting them fed and where they need to be on time, there is an individual putting in long hours to make it all happen. Among those individuals is a music publicist. Let’s take a closer look at what they do.

Music Publicists work with contacts that they have accrued over years of working in the industry to get their clients coverage in all sorts of media outlets. This means album reviews, profiles on music blogs, interviews on radio and television, and much more. Typically, they will be in charge of organizing a music PR campaign that will coincide with the release of a new batch of material and will ensure that your music will make the proper impact.

Music PR campaigns usually run for an 8 week period and they are designed to prime the media and the public for the debut of your music. During this time, publicists will send out press packages, press releases, coordinate track and video premiers and organize interviews and show reviews. After making contact with all of these channels, they will keep close tabs on your media coverage and make sure your name stays on the radar coming up to your release date. A good publicist’s work doesn’t stop there. They will attempt to make publications eager to work with you in the future with all subsequent releases. As you can see, this is a big job, so do not leave this until the last minute, or your album might go away as quickly as it appears.

One of the main roles of a music publicist is to shape your story and massage your personality in a way that will make the public want to hear from you. We’re all probably familiar with the idea of the overworked publicist trying to salvage the career of a problematic rock star, but this is no less the case in the best of times. Music publicists will pick up certain things about your history, or personality and meld that into a consumable facet of your brand.

Music Publicist Responsibilities

Music Publicists work closely with the artists that they represent in order to convey them to a larger audience, both public and in the media, in the way that they want. For instance, if an artist wants to embody a “rags to riches” arc, whether real or perceived, they will work with their publicist to push a history of starting from humble, or even impoverished beginnings, and through hard work arriving at the world stage. Furthermore, a publicist should be cognizant of what will be commercially viable when working with their client. They must remain a voice of reason, backed by the authority of their years in the industry.

Music Publicists are up to date with new trends in social media and burgeoning ways to reach a new audience. They will form a PR campaign that will use these methods in order to bring the artist to an audience that will be receptive to their music. Music PR used to be primarily TV and radio, but as socials have exploded, and continue to evolve at astonishing rates, publicists must stay ahead of the curve.

A publicist also crafts a clear and concise bio that will be easy to digest for both media outlets and potential fans. This will not be an exhaustive story of all the things that have happened in the artist’s life that have shaped them into what they are today, but a few key aspects that will be easy to grasp on to and will pique people’s interests. The key is to leave them wanting more, which the actual music will provide. By shaping the artist’s story, they ensure that they will be received more enthusiastically.

However, the bottom line is that a music publicist’s main responsibility is that they get you featured in the media. Without some level of exposure, all these other parts of the job are somewhat meaningless. If a publicist cannot land any press for their client, there will be no bio, or story with which to interact. While PR is a speculative endeavor (in that they don’t guarantee success), a good publicist should at least be able to land a few reviews with some reputable outlets.

More Responsibilities

• Media train client
• Manage PR crises if needed
• Plan press junkets
• Establish and maintain professional relationships
• Develop press kit

What Does a Music Publicist Not Do?

While being responsible for a great deal, publicists DO NOT:
• Book shows
• Manage careers
• Run advertisement campaigns
• Get you famous overnight 

Music PR is not advertising. Music Publicists are not responsible for getting you that billboard with your new album cover on it, nor are they an artist’s manager. Their role is to liase with the press and get you exposure through good coverage based on your own merits.

When Do You Need a Music Publicist?

If you want to rise to the top by putting a bit of professional direction and a bit of an extra push, you might find yourself in the market for a music publicist. A publicist will help design a rollout strategy for your project release that will optimize the amount of potential fans and publications paying attention to your music. They will get in touch with different music outlets by pitching features and reviews, and get people excited for your release.

But you must ask yourself: “do I need a publicist?” You may want one, but there’s a world in between wanting and needing. Let’s take a closer look at some factors that should answer this question for you.

1. Are You Ready For A Publicist?

Having a music publicist means that you will have an individual, or a small group of people devoting a significant part of their day working to get your music out to as many people as possible. As an artist and their client, what you must be sure of is the quality of the product they are promoting.

Now is the time to be super critical. Let’s say you have a new album, project, or single in the can and you’re ready to get it out there. Slow down your process and really analyze what you have on your hands. Listen to it over and over again. Proud as you might be, try to put yourself in the shoes of someone who has never heard of you. What kind of impression is it leaving? Is it where it needs to be in terms of production? Is there anything missing? Are you certain that it’s even finished? Also be mindful that this is indeed the work that is going to get you to that next step in your career.

If your project is not fulfilling this criteria, it may not be the time to hire a music publicist. It may be the time for another boots-on-the-ground DIY roll out. Don’t let this discourage you though! Your best work may just be yet to come. Keep plugging away! The thing is, music PR campaigns are expensive, and you may only be in a financial state to afford one in your professional life, especially with life’s little unknowns popping up here and there. Also, you should take into account that people might only be receptive to your name once or twice. By putting your name behind a mediocre release, and then reappearing a few months later with something else, potential fans may pass you by.

A lot of firms will be honest with you if they don’t think your work is ready for a professional roll out. It’s their names attached to your project as well and repping a less-than-adequate set of material reflects poorly on them. However, there are some firms and individuals who will take your money either way, so figure this out for yourself before shopping around for a PR team.

2. What Are Your Goals?

Better yet, do you have any? Do some thinking for yourself, and figure out realistically where you think this project can take you. Look at other artists on your level that are in your scene and operating in a similar genre to you. Ask them for advice, and look at what publications and blogs they’ve found their way into.

In any case, you need a clear idea in your head of what you want from this campaign. How many people do you want to hear your project? Do you want to focus on Spotify streams, or radio play? College radio, or commercial? Who do you want to interview you?

If you can come to a music PR firm with a solid list in your head of things you want to achieve, you and them will have a much easier time seeing eye to eye on a rollout plan. They will appreciate it and there will be less chance of you walking away from this endeavor disappointed at the results.

3. Is The Project At Peak Potential And Ready To Go?

As the artist, your responsibility is, of course, your project, but it’s also all the things that go around it as well. This means album artwork, press photos, artist bio, prior releases, etc. Without these in tip-top shape, your publicist is going to have a hard time convincing people that you are worthy of their time.

Your job is to provide as good a product as possible. A music PR agent’s job is to talk about it. If they’re not armed with good quality recordings, interesting talking points and photographs, their job is going to be quite difficult and the chance for your success will suffer as a result. This is why you must make sure your stuff is audience-ready before employing a PR firm. Take your time, be mindful and leave no stone un-turned. If something is telling you that you’re cutting corners, you probably are. Amend these shortcomings, and THEN look into getting the help of a music publicist.

4. What Are Your Ideas?

This is a commonly overlooked part of a rollout plan, because a lot of artists just expect a publicist to design and carry out the strategy single-handedly. A publicist’s job is to help you, and they cannot help you without first knowing what you want. Be vocal about ideas that you might have for the promotion of your project and from there you can work with them to tailor-make a strategy that is to your satisfaction. Nobody is going to know what kind of artist you want to be perceived as better than you, so make your voice heard, and give your publicist something to go off of, rather than just throwing them into the deep end and acting surprised when nothing much comes of it.

5. Do You Have The Budget?

Music PR work is speculative, meaning that there isn’t any dollar-to-success exchange rate. All publicists can do is state who they are going to talk to for you, and the rest is up to pure luck. They might talk to 100 people and 100 people might say no for not much of any reason in particular.

This is why you must be sure that you can afford a publicist before hiring one. There is absolutely no guarantee that your investment will pay off. There’s always the chance that the gamble might not pay off and you’re left deeply in debt and unable to further pursue your music career.

If you’re unsure about this endeavor, always consider the option of the DIY approach. You’ve most likely done it in the past and, while you might not have the clout of a professional PR firm backing your music, you can still create an enticing offer on your own terms.

6. What’s Your Timeframe?

This might sound obvious, but your music PR campaign must be coordinated closely with your project release date. This means that you want to give yourself plenty of time for a music publicist to do their thing and prime critical and public interest before the album drops.

A good rule of thumb is something like 6 weeks for an album release. Start getting in touch with music PR firms well before then, as you’ll want to do some shopping around and some firms may be booked up. Be flexible if need be, as it could be the difference between going with a reputable firm that will increase the chances of positive results, and picking what’s next best and experiencing less than fantastic results.

If you’ve already released your project and are now realizing you should have hired a music publicist beforehand, well, you might be out of luck. Sometimes it is possible to hire a music publicist within a week of your release and experience some luck, but if your release date is getting ever-smaller in the rear view window, you may just want to focus on your next release. Publications will be much less enthusiastic about a release that’s already happened than one that’s coming up, so prepare yourself for disappointment. Always be thinking of your next move so you will not find yourself in this regrettable situation.

If you are trying to present a certain story, or to align yourself with some movement or cause, a publicist may be a shrewd investment. They will be able to shape your story and your exposure to the media and the public in such a way that will connote your brand with that which you want to represent. If you are committed to the conservation of nature, human-rights, LGBTQ+ causes, etc, a publicist can help you with that.

Conclusion

Music Publicists take on a lot of duties at their client’s behalf, but they all boil down to creating and preserving their appearance to the press and public. They can take a life story, and distill it into a chapter. With that chapter, they entice different media outlets to take interest in it as well. All this exposure is based on the merits and personality of the artist, but it is shone through the lens of the publicist. This relationship requires a deep mutual understanding, so hiring the right publicist should never be underestimated.

Keep in mind that by not hiring a publicist now does not mean that it won’t be an option for you farther down the road. Maybe you’re just not quite ready, or in a great financial situation. Wait it out, and keep the idea in your back pocket, and if you keep making better and better music, you will find hiring a publicist a worthy investment in the future.

What Does A Music Publicist Do And When Do You Need One?