Inside Music is a podcast about the lives of professionals in the music business. Each week, host James Shotwell chats with an artist or industry tastemaker to learn how anyone can navigate the world of entertainment.
On this episode of INSIDE MUSIC, host James Shotwell sits down with Leo Bautista, better known to music fans as Rival Summers. Leo invited James to meet him at Detroit’s Assemble Sound, a fast-rising artist community based out of a renovated church that was built in the late 1800s. Sitting in the cold Michigan air, Leo tells James about his origin in music, his evolving relationship with his craft, and where he hopes to go in the future. His latest album, Undeniable, is available now wherever music is sold.
If you enjoy the show and you want to help us make more episodes, please subscribe to Inside Music on iTunes.
Sometimes you know exactly what you want to say and when you want to say it. Other times, life comes along out of nowhere and slaps you in the face with an idea or thought you then immediately feel compared to share with others. It’s a momentary eruption of thought that can be influenced by anything, and that is especially true in the digital age. For me, such a moment struck last night as I was scrolling through my Twitter feed, and I will admit up front I was initially looking at my phone in hopes someone would be sharing something I had written earlier in the day. The answer to my inquiry was a definite no, but before I put my phone down to throw a personal pity party for myself a tweet from Michigan punk favorites The Swellers caught my eye and I knew right away there was a topic we needed to discuss on the blog today.
“We’ve been a band for almost twelve years, played on five continents and never had to sell tickets to play a show,” The Swellers wrote. “You don’t either.”
For as long as I have been a part of the this industry, which at this point is well over a decade, pay-to-play performances have been a topic of debate in the music community. Some will have you believe they are a necessary evil that exists to protect promoters from booking bands who do nothing to promote their own shows, while others – including myself – will tell you they are little more than a bullying tactic used by essentially needless middle men and women to make money off live music without needing to promote or perform themselves.
So, what is ‘pay-to-play’?
There are a number of ways to describe pay-to-play situations, but essentially it is any situation where promotion companies require musicians to pay a “fee” to get on a bill for a show (aside from application fees to appear at musical festivals and conventions). You may be paying with your own money out of pocket, or with funds gathered through advanced ticket sales, but as long as you are paying the venue/promoter/etc. before you step foot on their stage then you have found yourself in a pay-to-play situation. Independent promoters developed this method of booking to take advantage of naive talent, and over the years a countless number of excuses have been developed to cover up this fact, including the need for artists to help cover venue costs. That is not your job, and you should never feel obliged to pay a promoter, including in circumstances where they incur expenses at the end of the night. That is a risk that accepted when they took on the role of promoter, and anyone who is an actual professional will never ask that you help chip in to cover their loss. There is of course an exception to this rule if you are somehow directly involved in the planning of the show, say as a ‘co-promoter,’ but 99% of the time that should not be the case.
Are there good pay-to-play situations?
In short, no. Artists are asked to enter into pay-to-play situations because the promoter either has very little faith in the success of the event or because they know it will be a success and want to cash in as soon as possible with the free promotion presented by local talent. If the show you are paying to play on involves a national headliner, there is a good chance the tickets you are selling will go towards paying that touring act’s booking fee. You know who didn’t have to sell tickets in advance? The touring act who gets the money from your sales.
As I mentioned a few paragraphs above, the risk of loss/expenses in on assumed by the promoter when they decided to book the show. You are not responsible for making sure they break even at the end of the night, and you are definitely not responsible for guaranteeing a profit. You are responsible for showing up on time, performing your set to the best of your abilities, and doing your best to not be a dick to anyone in charge. You’re the talent, not the lead salesman for a promoter who offers you little-to-nothing in exchange.
These companies are asking artists to promote. What’s wrong with that?
When you require someone to do something you are not asking them anything. You are demanding it. Artists should promote shows because that is part of their job as musicians, yes, but nothing in the job description of a musician states that they will market until a specific amount of people agree to purchase a certain product. In pay-to-play situations artists are being forced to hard sell fans, which has been proven to be a terrible marketing approach in music, and furthermore they are made to assume the promoter’s risk, as well as the stress associated with handling the cost of putting on a live performance.
From personal experiences, I have known many small bands to make last minute calls to family and friends hoping people will buy tickets to a show – even if there is no way that person can attend – just so the artist can perform for fifteen minutes an hour and a half before some mid-level national headliner comes out and half heartedly thanks the ‘local talent’ that opened the show. In situations such as this, which happen daily in cities and towns across the country, who benefits except the absent, uninvolved promoter? No one.
It can also be argued that pay-to-play actually hinders marketing efforts, as it forces artists to focus on those they believe they can immediately sell on attending a performance and makes no mention of the need for general, routine marketing. They may send out a few digital posts asking those in need of tickets to contact them, but at the end of the day they are going to focus on hitting whatever threshold they need to meet, be it a number or tickets or an amount of money, and then the initial pressure is off. Once an artist meets the goal set by the promoter they can play the show, and even if the only people who show up are the twenty people who were able to come out of the twenty-five that artist convinced to buy tickets there would be nothing the promoter could say to put the blame on the artist because the artist had, at least on paper, met their obligations as talent.
This is all great information, but if we’re being entirely honest Haulix is a company dedicated to fighting piracy. What do you know about booking?
GREAT QUESTION. We may have built our company online, but as individuals our team has years of experience working with live music, both as promoters and musicians. That said, we understand that when dealing with matters related to tour life it can be more reassuring to hear things from people who are currently involved in your area of the music business. With that in mind we reached out to a number of influential people, including Nate Dorough of Fusion Shows and DC Area show promoter Tyler Osborne, to learn their thoughts on pay-to-play:
“I think it’s bullshit. If you’re required to pay to play an event, that’s not at all cool. Bands should never have to fork over money or do any sort of crazy thing just to get on a gig. However, I am a big believer that for local acts, their draw is best when they help sell tickets to their fanbase.
One of the biggest pushes we make in the concert industry is to get people to buy tickets in advance. That way, it’s sealed that they’ll attend. You can budget based on advance sales, whether you need to spend more marketing dollars or not, how much money you can spend on hospitality for the bands, staffing, etc. If someone does not hold an advance ticket, they may decide the day of the show that the couch looks nice, that they’d rather stay home and watch TV, etc. All of our marketing efforts are pushing to get people to come to the show, however they choose to do so, but it’s easier on everyone if they buy tickets in advance.
So when a local act is added to a show, they have the unique ability to physically deliver tickets to friends and family who would attend. So at Fusion, we give artists the OPTION of selling tickets, and usually pay better the bands who sell more tickets. We also pay bands who don’t sell tickets, if the show itself does well. But no one with our group is ever forced to sell. If they’re just not into it, that’s OK by us.
Unfortunately, some of the folks who want to make a huge fuss about pay-to-play will lump the way we do it into some sort of "scheme”, and we couldn’t be more against pay-to-play situations.“ – Nate Dorough, Fusion Shows (Founder)
”Does it make sense for a promoter to have opening bands sell tickets to play their shows? Sure. That doesn’t mean as a band you have to. We played houses or rented out VFW halls and chose the places where we could build our own fan base. It worked. I still feel guilty when we play a show and the local band had to sell tickets. Sure it helped us get our guarantee, but they did the legwork. The goal is to become an entity to where you get asked to play by a promoter because everyone knows you draw people. Or be good/cool enough to where the headlining band asks you directly. Selling tickets is the insurance policy, but in the grand scheme of things it isn’t guaranteeing those people staying to watch the other bands. Make a good reputation for yourself by promoting the hell out of your shows, building your own scene and following through with a killer show. That’s how you can sell tickets.“ – Jonathan Diener, The Swellers
"It would be easy for me to just give a one liner and say "pay to play” is completely bullshit, and yes that is the case, but there’s more to this. In my time involved in music I’ve seen this play out in many different ways. Most of the time I see promoters give a band X amount of tickets and have them sell as many as possible and then have them pound the pavement hocking tickets to whomever will fork over the money; most often parents and close friends come in to save the day and the show for the promoter to cover the cost of the headliner. Now, this is BS on so many levels. First off the promoter has put all the pressure on the bands to make the show a success and absolved themselves from any risk. Also in doing this, the promoter diminishes the value and morale of the bands that they want to sell their (the promoter’s) tickets. Shows need to be a two-way street with promoters and bands working together and being paid fairly to have a truly successful show. A lot of times bands feel trapped, having to play this game in fear of not being booked again at that venue and that fear is abused by SOME – not all – promoters to keep bands in their pocket. This also bleeds the scene dry and makes concert-goers not give a shit anymore because they’re tired of being hassled by bands to buy tickets. Another somewhat common practice is for a promoter to say you need to sell X amount of tickets or you can’t play. This is the worst of them all. Bands bust their asses to sell tickets, over-post on social media, and still need to come out of pocket to play the show. This makes for a shit show on so many levels…..the bands are pissed out of the gate that they did not meet the promoters goal, that their fan base is not what they thought it was and so on and so on. Then the promoter is pissed because now they fear having to come out of pocket to make ends meet. All that being said it often turns into a crap show with fans/friends/family showing up and watching their kids/friends band and then leaving, leaving it a half empty or less show for the headliner. So I’ve said what is wrong but the real question is how to fix the problem. That’s a way harder question that I think about a lot. So I would love to hear from the fans and bands on what they think would be fair.“ – Danny Fonorow, Jonas Sees in Color
"I know some bands get some good use out of it, but as a concept pay to play shows generally suck. Some scenes are so deeply entrenched in this model that it’s almost necessary, but within the punk scene, if you make good music, people will notice and your band will play shows. I never have and never will run or have my band do play to play shows, there’s just no need at the DIY level.” – Tyler Osborne, DC Area Concert Promoter
Everyone I know, even those happiest with their position in life, ultimately wants more. They want more time with their family or a better career, better pay, etc.
We all want the best of everything and we would like it sooner rather than later. It is only natural to feel this way, and I’ve learned that such feelings rarely ever go away.
But something that has stuck with me, which took years to learn myself, is how good most of us already have it.
If you’re reading this now it is highly likely you are more than just another person dreaming about the music industry. You are either working in music, interning in music, writing about music, performing music, or in school studying music. You may not have ‘cracked the code’ to this business, but you certainly know more than when you started.
It is because of this that I must implore you to give back. With every bit of success you find there should be a part of you that looks for ways to lift other up as well. There is no one way to become a music professional, but that doesn’t that others cannot learn from your experiences.
Every year I return to my college alma matter. Some years they ask, other times I do, but the goal is always the same: To show the next generation of dreamers that finding a career in music is a thing anyone can do. I share war stories and success, but more than anything I tell them what I wish someone told me.
There are no rules stating that you have to give a damn if anyone else succeeds in music, but you should. You should want the industry to be the best it can possibly be, and I am willing to bet you know some people who could push it in that direction. Their – and your – chances of success rise drastically through teamwork. You don’t have to work together on everything, but you should always be looking for ways to help one another get ahead. That way, should one find success before the other, the person with work will be in a position to help the unemployed find work down the line.
Even if none of that comes to pass, helping one another is a big part of what makes us decent human beings. There is enough evil and hardship. Anything you can do to make someone else’s journey a bit easier without putting yourself in harm’s way should be a no-brainer.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the host of the Inside Music Podcast and a 10-year music veteran. You should follow him on Twitter.
We are seeking an administrative assistant to work in our San Francisco office. Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to maintaining Itinerary database for East and West Coast touring offices. Previous experience in this field preferred, but not required.
The A&R Coordinator will provide support to the General Manager for Syco Music and help to ensure the efficient day-to-day operation by successfully accomplishing a wide range of responsibilities.
Upcoming film scoring composer, songwriter and singer is seeking a dynamic, motivated, persistent, passionate and engaging assistant with a natural salesmanship talent.
While knowledge of music is not required, the Candidate must have a real interest and certain understanding of the contemporary music business and trends or be a fast learner.
The Sire Records Label Coordinator supports the President and Director of Sire Records in fulfilling any and all his A&R and administrative duties. Specific responsibilities of this position include office duties, helping to scout new bands, artists, and music, as well as attending shows and acting as a liaison between the A&R rep and the parent entity, Warner Music Group. This position must often maintain and develop relationships directly with artists, scout and research new artists, songwriters, and producers, review demo submissions, cover shows, coordinate detailed bi-weekly A&R research reports and carry out other marketing and label duties as needed. The label coordinator is also responsible for helping to come up with new marketing concepts, working with the creative department on images and advertisements, developing marketing strategies and plans, and present findings to company executives.
As a Content Management Coordinator, you’re impeccably accurate and detail-oriented while still able to manage multiple deadlines and prioritize appropriately. You’re able to proactively pinpoint and report on issues that arise pertaining to your daily tasks, and would love to become familiar with YouTube’s CMS and other streaming platforms. You’re numbers-focused, with a keen eye for data and an appreciation for the spreadsheet. You’re driven and enthusiastic about joining a team where collaboration is key, and want to be part of a company at the forefront of the music and digital space.
The Client Relations Coordinator position will play a crucial role for Ticketmaster’s OnTour team, in the company’s continued evolution in the live entertainment industry. Ticketmaster’s OnTour team is the company’s artist facing department, tasked with building Ticketmaster’s relationships with the artist community, along with informing artists’ teams and acting as a resource to those teams to help them maximize ticket sales, marketing and drive incremental revenue throughout their tour cycle. The Client Relations coordinator will play a critical role in maintaining a solid foundation for the expanding OnTour team, and identifying potential areas of growth with both new and existing clients. The qualified candidate will have demonstrated an understanding of the live music industry.
MY Basic LLC is looking to build a team who has the smarts and creative drive to play an important role in helping an artist/producer with booking, marketing, and setting up events.
Tasks will include but not be limited to:
Music placement
Finding paying gigs
Assisting with press releases
Coordinating photoshoots
Making sure tools are in place to assist with selling of music
We’ll talk further on this part if you’re an ideal fit. You must be savvy, a go getter, and hard working.
UMS is seeking a dynamic and outgoing arts professional to develop and implement its community-based education and engagement activities. Duties include: building community relationships and programs through the arts (focusing on specific cultural communities as identified in the ECE strategic plan); developing arts education programs for adult learners and general audiences (artist Q&As, pre-show talks, interactive lobby experiences, etc.); supporting UMS’s diversity, equity, and inclusion goals across the entire ECE program (including K-12 and University programs); designing and implementing artist residencies with a range of UMS’s visiting artists; and serving as lead producer for approximately 1-2 of UMS’s main stage live performances annually. The ideal candidate will have a passion for community building through the arts; be an expert at sensitively and respectfully developing relationships across diverse communities; possess superb administrative and project management skills; and be an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the arts.
Within the Publishing House of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (1517 Media), Augsburg Fortress (AF) creates substantive and innovative materials to support the ministries of faith communities in communicating the good news of God’s liberating grace, with a particular focus on Lutheran congregations. Augsburg Fortress publishes approximately 60 titles a year in the Augsburg Music portfolio, with a focus on traditional and liturgical choral and keyboard music as well as congregational song. The purpose of the Music Development Manager position is to carry out program development, editorial, and project management roles in order to ensure that the Augsburg Music publication program meets customer needs for usefulness, accessibility, appropriateness, and high quality of both content and presentation.
Fontbonne University is seeking a dynamic and experienced teacher and music director to lead university choral groups (sacred and secular), collaborate on musicals (with students and Mustard Seed Theatre, a professional theatre in residence at Fontbonne), teach music appreciation classes and offer voice/piano individual lessons. As part of the Performing Arts program, the instructor will participate in recruiting and educational outreach events and will develop curriculum to benefit Fontbonne’s teacher education and fine arts students.
Symphony of the Mountains’ Youth Orchestra is an auditioned, regional orchestra affiliated with the Symphony of the Mountains based in Kingsport, TN. The mission of the SOTM is to provide the highest quality of music to audiences of all ages throughout our region. The Symphony of the Mountains is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Youth Orchestra Music Director.
We are a company that’s on the forefront of a new industry and we are expanding. There are long term possibilities for the right fit, its fun and a different adventure all the time. We are constantly working on different projects and need someone quick on their feet with attention to detail and common sense. I am all about highest quality & productivity while having fun.
Responsibilities include:
Assume administrative tasks as needed, including typing, quickbooks
Accurate and efficient with research web or otherwise
Creative help based on capabilities in multiple areas like textiles, soap-making, candle-making, sewing, dying, tie-dying, jewelry making, photography, event production, music production screen printing, letter press, digital illustration.
iZotope is looking for a talented, inspired Sound Designer to help us create innovative and compelling product content that inspires and enables our customers to be creative. Reporting directly to the Chief Product Officer, the Sound Designer will work closely with the product development team to craft the vision and sound design goals for all of our products, including planning, budgeting, management and execution of all sound work.
Under general direction, perform duties to assist Librarian and Associate Librarian in providing each orchestra musician with correct parts for each orchestra service. Responsible for accurately marking parts with bowings for strings, editing parts as requested by conductor, and preventing any foreseeable problems as they relate to music to maximize musician use of resources and rehearsal time. Assist in maintaining administrative requirements of the library including cataloging, shipment of materials, and OPAS database management. Position requires irregular work hours, including some evenings and weekends. This position is currently a staff position.
The following post was written by Rey Roldan, founder of Reybee Inc. and a longtime Haulix client.
“What do you call an ex-music industry person,” a friend asked me recently.
“I dunno, what,” I asked.
“A realtor,” he chuckled, and took a swig of his beer. But then, almost instantly, his expression changed, his laughter stopped, and he slunk away.
The funny thing is, this friend of mine was once a really successful music industry guy, handling flashy names and pop stars. One day, while doing his PR gig at a major label, he decided he just couldn’t hack it anymore. He walked into his boss’s office and gave two weeks’ notice. He was done… spent… over it. He suffered career burnout.
I ran into him at the bar a few more times that night, and each time he asked me about the music business. When I’d answer, I’d temper my responses so it didn’t feel like I was rubbing it in his face, but still, he looked more and more bummed out with each of my answers. I could tell he really missed it. I guess realty just wasn’t as sexy.
The older I get and the more years I log in as a publicist, the more I worry about ending up like him, getting burned out at this job… What on earth would I do if I had to start over? And really, I hated the thought of selling houses.
Needing some sound advice and words of wisdom from editor friends and publicist peers who were still in the industry, I asked a few if they fear getting burnt out and, more importantly, how they overcame it, because, God knows, I have no intention of talking about square footage and how many parking spaces come with each unit.
Whether you call it Writer’s Block, work fatigue, or career burnout, the ability to “keep on keeping on” is something that every each one of us encounters. Whether you’re an editor, staff writer, freelancer, blogger or publicist, getting unstuck when you’re hopelessly trapped in a mental headlock is a very real and sometimes difficult obstacle to maneuver. How each of us deal with it was what I was interested in learning.
For some, like Jason Pettigrew, Editor in Chief of Alternative Press, the nation’s leading publication in alternative music, mental fatigue is easily overcome by completely unplugging and getting back to the basics. “Given the 24/7/365 cycle of the internet, burnout is positively inevitable,” he explained to me. “The demands of various people in a journalist’s life—management, readers, loved ones—are hard to navigate and negotiate.”
When I asked him how he avoids hitting that brick wall, he replied, “The best way I’ve learned to cope with burnout is to take a vacation from devices. Don’t go on a conventional vacation: stay at home and don’t plug your phone or laptop in for a day. Try it. See what you’ll actually miss. Don’t take your phone to bed; take the love of your life.”
Even though I don’t have a “love of my life” (unless my dogs count and cozying up to them in bed just sounds wrong), Jason’s advice about shutting out technology and unplugging for some time sounded like really great advice, though the thought of being away from my iPhone even for an instant seems like it’s create mass chaos and emotional decay for me.
I turned to my buddy Robbie Daw, Editor-in-Chief of Idolator, the uber-trafficked site for pop music and gossip. Like Jason, Robbie logged years upon years of employment in the industry. “In my experience, burnout can happen with almost any field you enter into — and I’ve worked in film, television, print and online journalism,” he told me. “What I always remind myself is that at the heart of everything, I’m a writer, and when I’m feeling a bit creatively spent at any job, I try to create some kind of other outlet for me to get the juices flowing again, even if it’s in my spare time. For instance, during my six years working at a print publication, Instinct, I created Chart Rigger, a pop music blog, at home one Friday night in January 2005. I still bang out the occasional post on there and work on other types of writing in my spare time, and it alleviates a lot of day-to-day job stress and helps keep everything in perspective.”
Personally speaking, when I was a full-time journalist years ago, I kinda did what both of those guys did but in a slightly different manner. Since smartphones hadn’t been discovered yet, unplugging wasn’t a problem, so I’d walk away from my computer and ride my bike around Boston. Or, since I freelanced for a ton of different magazines, if I hit a mental block writing one article, I’d switch gears and redirect my creative energy and work on another article. Either of those usually did the trick.
But now as a full-time publicist, I was curious how my PR peers dealt with it. Unlike writers, publicists suffering from a mental block aren’t just affecting their own careers, but their clients’ careers as well. Our own paychecks aren’t the only things at stake… our artists’ livelihoods are too.
So I thought I’d ask a hot shit whippersnapper publicist like Tito Bellis who works for well-known and respected indie music publicity and marketing firm Big Hassle Media. Considering the level of artists they handle such high-pressure clients as Against Me!, Jimmy Eat World, and The Replacements, among many others, Tito for sure must come dangerously close to breaking point. “Due to the sheer pace and pressure surrounding the job of a publicist, burning out from time to time is bound to happen,” he explained. “For me, this tends to occur more in the summer time due to every single band and their mothers being on the road, festival season being in full swing, and the constant expectations and requests being flung at you from so many directions.” I wanted to make a crack about bands and their moms, but before I could interject, he continued, “Making time for yourself is important, but from within the job, I try to do my best to keep my plate manageable and work to include projects that are a little out of my wheelhouse just to keep things interesting, challenging and personally fulfilling.”
Tito does raise some great points… I mean, at the end of the day, we work in music. We make a living out of writing, talking, and plugging away about music. So looking within our own spheres and finding something in there to keep things interesting and challenging must be pretty easy. And unless you’re a glutton for punishment and only work with music you absolutely despise, finding interesting stuff in our own artists is a great way to liven things up. I mean, think about it: Instead of balancing spreadsheets and discussing mutual funds, we shoot the shit about music all day. Whether we’re talking about the Taylor Swift/Katy Perry feud, oogling Miley Cyrus’ Instagram feed, or pitching the new Electric Six album titled Bitch, Don’t Let Me Die (yes, that’s the REAL name of their new album that comes out in October… Hit me up if you want a copy… Shameless self-promo. Oops?), the fact that we write about, talk about, and listen to music all day is probably one of silliest ways to make a living… so why on earth would we want to jeopardize that career because of something as transient as burnout??
Sometimes though, burnout isn’t due to our doing, but something that happens as a result. When I asked my pal Maggie Poulos, founder of Mixtape Media, the awesome Brooklyn-based music boutique firm who handles The Fontaines, BETS and Bird Dog among others, about her experiences, she relayed a story that sounded pretty soul-crushing… though the silver lining is that she regrouped her energy in… wait for it… Fiji. “I have absolutely suffered from publicist burnout,” she told me. “In 2009, I was laid off from a very high-pressure situation and was able to take some real time off and went to Fiji for a few weeks. That was instrumental in helping me overcome my burnout that time, but I can’t always take off for the South Pacific.” If only… but if you can turn lemons into lemonade while decked out on a tropical beach with a toucan on your shoulder and a pack of hyenas dragging buckets of Coronas to you, why not? (CONFESSION: I don’t know where Fiji is but I know it’s tropical). “Lately though, when I’ve felt burnt out, I’ve sought out publicist friends and asked for advice on certain situations. It’s always helpful to have a fresh perspective and some new ideas heralded in by others in similar situations.” Seeking solace from publicist friends and venting is also good because you can bitch about clients and they’ll understand you without stopping you to ask, “So wait, what exactly is ‘lead time’?”
A lot of times, it’s not just the work load that causes a mental and emotional shutdown. Journalism and publicity alike is rife with pressure to deliver, often with a client at the ready to constantly remind you of the impending deadlines. Managing client and editor expectations while delivering our journalistic pièce de résistance or brandishing our PR magnum opus is a balance we strive for, but achieving it can be extensively draining and soul sucking.
Detaching from the job, as Jason previously mentioned, seems to be the best way to relieve that stress and tackle it with a renewed sense of energy.
Similarly, Maggie feels the same way. “I’ve also made a larger effort to compartmentalize my work things and not let them bleed over into the rest of my life as they have in the past,” she explained. “It’s hard, but I find it’s better for me to stick to designated work hours. While it’s not always possible with this job, I do try to keep work in check. It’s also important to maintain a healthy social life – it’s always beneficial to me to remember that my life is more than my job. That all being said, music is still my passion and I still enjoy doing what I do.”
So with this precarious game of weights and pulleys, how does one stay connected and effervescent in our chosen careers… and is it possible to maintain a lifelong career in these fields? “I remember someone once telling me when I was working in print that most editors switch jobs within five years — and usually it’s to become a publicist,” laughs Robbie. “Whether or not that’s the actual case, I don’t know. But I do see writing as a lifelong career for me. Whatever form that takes as far as actual nine-to-five jobs down the line, we shall see.”
Jason agrees. Once a writer, always a writer. “In the journalism world, I don’t think anyone in this line of work ever leaves writing full stop,” he says. “Robert Christgau [music journalist, essayist, and self-proclaimed “Dean of American Rock Critics”] is still very much offering his personal take on eras, be it his youth via his personal memoirs (His recent memoir, Going Into The City) and on things that are very much all about right now (his “Expert Witness” series for Vice). What’s good for music writers who are aligned to a particular era or movement, is the old adage of “history is what’s happening now.” Those who are entrenched in something are documenting history. Then decades later, when the inevitable revival or interest in a cultural adjunct is revived, consider who should be read – a well-constructed press release or someone who was there? I didn’t fully realize consider this until Alternative Press turned 30 and music fans and industry types reminded me of that scope.”
The publicists agree as well… It’s like a chosen field. You don’t chose to be a publicist… it chooses you.
“I don’t believe this job [as a publicist] has a shelf life,” explains Tito. “There is always a story needing to be told and this is a job entirely based on relationships. So the longer you commit to it, the more valuable you are. Keeping up with the constantly changing climate (e.g. lower press budgets/decreasing editorial real estate, etc.) can be frustrating and exhausting in general, but those who can continue to navigate it successfully will find it to be a career they can enjoy for the long haul.”
“I’ve seen many people do this work for decades and on the flip, but I’ve seen plenty of people get burnt out and move on to entirely different careers,” adds Maggie. “I love music and cannot imagine my involvement with it not being a part of my career, but I am not certain that it will always take the form of working in music publicity. We shall see!”
******
I ran into my friend again last weekend. I asked him how the real estate business was going.
“Dude, I’m thinking of starting an indie label with my friend… Real small, working with local bands here in North Jersey, who don’t know what they’re doing, but at least this gives them an outlet and a sense of accomplishment, and it’s one foot back in the door.” I could see some fresh life pumping behind his eyes. The color was coming back into his face.
“What about the real estate business,” I repeated.
“It’s meh… It’s a job. But the label, I’m working on big things…” His voice trailed off as he detailed excitedly all the plans he had.
I guess it’s true that one does not choose to be in the music industry. It chooses you.
This morning I came across post from a young industry professional hoping to offer guidance to those aspiring to follow their path into the music business. The article outlined four things everyone should do in order to pursue a career on the business side of entertainment with the highest likelihood of success. The first two were fairly obvious, referring to networking and settling on a specific goal, but the third tip made me do a double take. I’m not going to link the post in question, but here is a screenshot:
Whether your goal in music is to be on stage or work with the people on stage, here is something anyone who has found lasting success in the industry will tell you:
Don’t quit your day job unless it is an absolute must.
While it is true that the industry is a demanding place where professionals often spend extended hours at the office, newcomers to the field should not feel pressured to dive that deep from the jump. Furthermore, most cannot afford to abandon their current life in hopes of creating a new one, especially in a field where the vast majority who attempt careers never make it.
There is simply too much risk involved with music to be ignorant about the reality of the situation, and any good professional can recognize that. You can fully commit yourself to making connections and developing an identity in the world of music while at your current job. Maybe you cannot do it as much as you would like, or as much as some of your peers, but you will be able to do it while also keeping a roof over your head and that is a big deal. Bigger than most realize, in fact.
The music business thrives on creativity, both from artists and the professionals who work with them. You need to be able to think on your feet, spot developing talent, recognize emerging cultural trends, and always be looking toward the future. In order to the do that to the best of your ability you first need to cover the more necessary part of life, such as housing, food, clothing, etc.
Some will say that comfort is the cousin to laziness, and that those who are the most successful in music get that way by constantly forcing themselves out of their comfort zone. While there is some truth in this, those driven to succeed in music always find a way to make it, and that drive is an essential part of what makes any music professional great. That drive exists in all of us, regardless of what we do in music, and it pushes us to work hard each and every day.
Still, that drive will only get you so far if you are constantly worried about bills, and until music is bringing in enough money to cover your expenses your drive will be (rightfully) stifled by concerns over your quality of life. If you can work and work on your journey into music, do so until you can no longer maintain a healthy work-life balance. Before you jump altogether, consider asking for less hours. At least in that scenario you still have some money coming in, which is always better than nothing.
Having a career in music is a dream for many. It can be your reality with hard work, good networking, and smart planning. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, as they say, and in time you will find a place to call home in this wild, wild industry.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the host of the Inside Music Podcast and a ten-year music industry veteran. You should follow him on Twitter.
The hashtag turns 10 years old this August. (#HappyBirthday)
Think about that. In just one decade a symbol that used to be thought of as little more than a largely unused button on a phone has become one of the most utilized marketing tools in the world. From humble beginnings on Twitter, where the symbol’s use as a way to track conversations first began, the hashtag has become the global go-to tool for consumer engagement. Where it goes from here is unknown, but for now it seems safe to say the hashtag is here to stay.
Hashtags are perhaps the most useful way you to generate and monitor visibility on social media platforms. By using hashtags you can not only promote new releases and events, but also create a cross-platform space for fans to connect with one another. Hashtags allow you to cultivate a niche community across the world’s biggest social networks at cost that cannot be beat (free), and because of that they are – in today’s world – priceless.
That said, not all hashtags are the same.
In order to make the most of your hashtag you need to incredibly specific. If you are promoting a tour, for example, consider #bandnamelive or #tourname. Plaster this hashtag across all marketing materials and live appearances. Encourage fans to upload photos with the hashtag by choosing one such image to share each day through your official channels. Make them feel like every tweet they share with your hashtag furthers the movement that is your music.
You can also use hashtags to create an open and ongoing dialogue with – and between – fans online. Here’s a great example:
New Kids on the Block have a massive global audience. For years, the most dedicated followers have called themselves Blockheads, and now in the age of social media they are able to connect with one another, as well as the members of NKOTB themselves, using #BHLove.
Donnie Wahlberg, perhaps the most famous member of NKOTB, uses this hashtag daily to reach fans. He also includes it in his bio.
You can click the hashtag #BHLove any time of day and find dozens of messages from fans around the world celebrating their ongoing love of the group’s music.
You might not yet have an audience like that of New Kids on the Block, but you have the access to the same tools they use to stay engaged with their fans. Use that to your advantage and work to create clever, original hashtags that can empower your fans to spread your news far and wide. If you can do that, there is no telling how far their love will take you.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the host of the Inside Music podcast and 10-year music writing veteran. You should follow him on Twitter.
Music writers today are inundated with requests for coverage from artists and their representatives on a daily basis. There are far too many for one person to ever do them all, and most would not be worth the effort anyways. This is not a slant against artists or writers, rather an acknowledgement that conducting a good interview is hard. Real hard.
I statistic I just made up claims only one in five interviews conducted with musicians ever result in new, interesting information being uncovered. The majority of interviews tend to cover promotional points as if they are being read off a checklist. The basic outline for these conversations goes something like this:
– How are you?
– How is tour?
– Where do you like to tour?
– When are you recording again?
– Are you working on material right now?
– Do you have any crazy stories to share?
– How can people stay connected to you online?
Some questions may be added or subtracted based on circumstance. None of these questions are inherently terrible, but they also limit responses to information that could easily be found in a press release or social media update.
In order to make your interview deserving of attention you need to uncover something deeper and more human in your interviews. To help you do this, I would like to remind you of something:
Musicians and celebrities, at any level, are just people.
Now I know that sounds obvious, but all too often journalists treat the subjects of their interview like a business rather than another person. The questions outlined above are not that far removed from the following:
– How’s business?
– Is your latest product performing well?
– What do you like about this product?
– When can we expect another product?
– Are you working on something right now?
– Is there anything consumers don’t know about your business?
– How can we learn more about your products?
Great interviews strip away the idea of celebrity altogether and share the unique perspective on life possessed by an individual or group. That may sound difficult, but in reality it is one of the easiest things to capture. All you have to do is this:
Don’t ask questions. Have a conversation.
Treat the people you interview as if they were someone you started talking to simply because you were curious. Cover the necessary bases of promoting whatever it is they are looking to promote, but also strive to understand the person behind the art. Ask about the influencing or motivating factors in their life and explore why those things have such an impact on them. Ask if they creativity comes easy or if it is a daily challenge. Ask them if they are content. Ask them what they need and want. Ask them the kind of thing you would ask anyone whose happiness and well being you are concerned about because ultimately that is the real reason for the interview in the first place: You care about this person or group, for whatever reason, and you hope more people will as well.
Allow your interview subject the space and opportunity to be themselves and I promise – people will surprise you.
James Shotwell is the marketing coordinator for Haulix. He is also a ten-year music writing veteran and host of the Inside Music Podcast. You should follow him on Twitter.
