Tag: 2014

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Job Board News

Music Industry Job Board (12/28/14)

A lot has been written about the supposed dire state of the music industry, but truth be told there are a number of successful and growing companies, including record labels, that are thriving in 2014. In this column we bring together every job opening we can find from the companies responsible for building the future of the  business and present them to you, our reader, in hopes of aiding you on your journey to join the global music industry professional family.

Each Sunday we scour the internet for the latest and greatest job postings throughout the music industry. You can help us better serve our community by sending any job openings you find or have to james@haulix.com. Be sure to include the name of the company hiring, a detailed description of the position being offered, a desired start date, contact information, and any additional supplemental information you feel may be needed.

Job openings:

Head Of Programming (MTV)

Job summary: The Head of Programming adapts departmental plans and priorities and manages his/her team to create and continuously improve the monthly TV schedules in order to get the highest possible number of viewers on the channel and monthly viewing goals are met. S/he takes a broad strategic view of the programming plans as well as specific market developments, and helps his/her team to make analyses of quantitative data in order to optimize the day-to-day and long-term TV schedules and overall channel performances.

Director Of Sponsorship Sales – Phoenix (Live Nation)

Job summary: This successful sponsorship sales professional will be responsible for creating and selling branded, high-impact music marketing programs across our music properties.

Global Social Media Manager (Bose)

Job summary: The Global Social Media Manager will lead the development of the corporation’s social media strategy, and will oversee the execution of plans and tactics around the globe.

Director Of Marketing (Harmonix)

Job summary: Harmonix, the studio that created the blockbuster franchises Rock Band and Dance Central, is looking for a Director of Marketing. This individual will play a key leadership role on Harmonix’s publishing team, overseeing our marketing, web, community, social, and playtest efforts. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in marketing strategy, and team leadership, as well as experience launching and sustaining console, digital, and/or mobile games. For many years, Harmonix has worked diligently to build a strong, genuine relationship with our fans. The Director of Marketing will need to continue to foster those long term relationships while using industry-leading marketing strategies to reach new fans and create excitement for our games.

Sr. Director Of Strategic Marketing (Warner Bros)

Job summary: The Sr. Director of Strategic Marketing will be responsible for cultivating strategic partnerships for Warner Music Nashville’s artist roster and label assets by a) creating impactful campaigns and promotions to extend the brand, raise the profile of artists and label brands; b) generating new revenue lines to fund creative marketing campaigns; and c) offset marketing costs.

Digital Marketing Associate (Ticketfly)

Job summary: Reporting to the Partner Marketing Manager, the Digital Marketing Associate will help Ticketfly clients maximize their marketing potential and promote their events across marketing channels. This role will serve as a strategic marketing consultant to Ticketfly’s top venue, promoter, and festival partners to help drive important goals like building brand awareness, acquiring new customers, and selling more tickets. The Digital Marketing Associate will dive deep into client marketing activities to develop marketing plans and campaigns, guide implementation, and measure results.

Sales Analyst (AEG)

Job summary: The sales analyst will be responsible for reporting and analyzing sales data for the STAPLES Center and L.A. LIVE Sales & Marketing Department. Person will maintain an accurate sales reporting system for various events at STAPLES Center, Nokia Theatre and L.A. LIVE as well as provide management with a monthly commission report for 25+ sales representatives. The sales analyst will also be knowledgeable in CRM, assisting in analyzing customer accounts and identifying efficiency tactics amongst the department.

Director of Sales, Live Nation Media & Sponsorship (LiveNation)

Job summary: This successful sponsorship sales professional will be responsible for creating and selling branded, high-impact music marketing programs across our music properties.

Copywriter (Shazam)

Job summary: At Shazam our users are at the heart of everything we do. We need to make sure that all of our users (old and new) know everything they need to know about our great product as it continues to evolve. We are looking for a brilliant Copywriter to join our Marketing team and work across our business to make sure that happens.

Director Sales Integrated Marketing & Special Events (CBS Radio)

Job summary: Conceive, write and create new non-traditional revenue business opportunities including events, sponsorships and other sales promotion opportunities. Participate in annual budget planning and individual event budget planning. Ensure that the department hits their revenue goal Attend and participate in sales meetings. Assist in the training of account executives on how to sell events and on Knowledge-Based or solutions-based selling. Provide ongoing sales training to the staff.
Assist in the brainstorming of categories to call on for events. Assist General Sales Managers in managing the New Business Development account lists. Create a list of targeted accounts for the following business development opportunities: manufacturer-driven, dealer group and retail-driven programs; corporate sponsorship and event marketing; and from the following industries; automotive and automotive aftermarket, consumer packaged goods, distilled spirits, financial services, health care, home builders and home improvement, health care, pharmaceuticals and wireless.

Social Media Coordinator (Brigade Marketing)

Job summary: The Social Media Coordinator will assist the Senior Social Media Manager with social media campaign management, including both branding and campaign-specific. The ideal candidate must be very well-versed in the digital world – including familiarity with popular websites, blogs, social media environments, mobile/apps; as well as a strong knowledge of and interest in newly-emerging platforms and industry trends.

Media And Digital Sales Executive (Townsquare Media)

Job summary: Townsquare Media (LOCATION) is expanding and is seeking an additional sales account executive. We offer solutions to our clients through live and local radio, cutting edge digital products and live events. Are you honest? Are you motivated to be successful? Do you like to help people? That’s what we do at Townsquare Media… we help businesses be more successful. You could create Marketing Strategies and Successful Radio Campaigns, plus Digital and Social Media Solutions… including our own Website Development Department.

D2F Ticketing Client Development Associate (Sound Rink Inc.)

Job summary: Client Development is the initial point of contact for touring partners and works directly under the CEO to cultivate and maintain exceptional relationships with new and existing tour partners. Ideal candidates for this position have an extensive knowledge of the touring industry with more than 5 years of professional experience and an established network of music industry contacts. This position is full time with the possibility of travel and after-hours availability needed.

Social Media Specialist (D’Addario & Company)

Job summary: The Percussion Social Media Specialist position is a full time opening in our Product Management Department. The Percussion Business Unit at DAddario consists of some of the strongest, most active and well-respected consumer brands in the global percussion industry: Evans drumheads, Promark drumsticks, and Puresound percussion accessories ” each with a unique and engaged community. The Social Media Specialist will manage our social networks and online community design and implement artist and product launch campaigns utilizing assets created by our in-house photography, video, and design team.

Director Of Social Media (Viacom)

Job summary: The Velocity Integrated Marketing (IM) Music and Entertainment team is looking for a long term freelance Director of Social Media reporting to the VP of IM Social to support the linear and digital IM team. This position will cover the ideation, innovation, and implementation of client specific programs that involve social media. The ideal candidate will have proven success in developing and measuring social media promotions based on specific client objectives, as well as assisting in the valuation behind them.

Lead Corporate Public Relations Specialist (Bose)

Job summary: The Lead Corporate PR Specialist will serve as a primary public relations contact for general business needs and issues.

Lab Monitor, Center for Technology in Music Instruction – (Berklee College of Music)

Job summary: Under the broad supervision of the Manager of Faculty Technology Services, the CTMI Lab Monitor is responsible for the daily operations of the CTMI (Center for Technology in Music Instruction) Lab Facility including: first-level support for all faculty support requests from email, phone, walk-in and TR database submissions, managing all Faculty Technology Services trouble tickets in the TR ticket database, execution of lab maintenance programs for lab equipment and workstations, scheduling of lab resources, monitoring CTMI student employees to ensure they are supporting CTMI operational goals.

In addition to monitoring the CTMI, this individual acts as second level support for Faculty Technology Services personnel to accomplish the broader goals of Faculty Technology Service and Academic Technology. A specialized knowledge is required in a wide range of software and hardware solutions, audio equipment and electronic musical instruments in order to provide assistance for faculty.

Production Manager – Aspen Opera Theater Center (Aspen Music Festival)

Job summary: The Production Manager of the Aspen Opera Theater Center (AOTC) supervises the general operations and production staff of the AOTC, and serves as the liaison between the AOTC and the operations department of the Aspen Music Festival and School. Responsibilities include creating and maintaining the production schedule (in consultation with the operations department, program administrator, and directors) in the ArtsVision database, acting as production quality director of rehearsals, approving the use of the Wheeler Opera House for non-production and non-AOTC related requests, managing load-in, load-out, and contents of the AOTC storage units. The Production Manager also schedules, sets the agenda for, and runs weekly production meetings, recording and distributing notes to AOTC and other key AMFS staff.

Producer, Talk Programming (Sirius XM)

Job summary: Produce and develop an entertaining daily show hosted by Jenny Hutt that incorporates celebrity interviews, listener interactive segments, information, entertainment commentary, and remote broadcasts.

Product Manager – Headphones (Monster Cable Products)

Job summary: Each Product Area Manager is responsible for developing and articulating the strategic direction for a full product line, and is compensated based upon the P&L of their category. They will provide direction and guidance to a cross-functional team of engineers, industrial designers, strategic buyers, creative artists, copywriters, analysts, and sales people responsible for the design, build, marketing, and selling of their particular product category. In addition, they will partner with other product managers, Market Area Managers and sales people to support and maintain Monster’s product development process.

Coordinator, Rhino/Catalog Group, Artist Royalties & Administration Department, Recorded Music Rights Administration (Warner Music Group)

Job summary: This candidate hired to fill this position will assist the Head of the Rhino/Catalog Group and other employees in that group with various administrative tasks and special projects.

Social Media Coordinator (The Recording Academy)

Job summary: The Recording Academy is looking for a Social Media Coordinator to join the Marketing Communications team. Whether it is Social TV or year round engagement strategies, The Recording Academy continues to be at the forefront of innovation with social media. This person needs to be savvy across all social media platforms and lend their dynamic voice to the GRAMMYs accounts. He/she will also need to have a deep understanding of the current musical landscape and musical history

Programmatic Planner (SpinMedia)

Job summary: SMG is a digital media company connecting entertainment and music fans to the content, communities and brands they love. We’re the passionate minds behind some of the web’s most influential properties and we harness our collective voice to create online content, social and mobile platforms, events and integrated marketing programs. Through our iconic properties such as SPIN, VIBE, Celebuzz, Death and Taxes, Buzznet, The Frisky, Idolator, Stereogum, SMG provides advertisers with authentic, unparalleled access to the most loyal and engaged audiences around the world.

Manager, Listener Care Certification & Audit (Sirius XM)

Job summary: The Manager, Listener Care Certification & Audit will manage the performance of trainers at SiriusXM call centers by collaborating with and overseeing day to day operations of our external service providers (vendors). You will ensure that training is being delivered as designed, that learners are engaged and that desired outcomes are met.

VP & Managing Editor, BET (Viacom)

Job summary: The Vice President and Managing Editor of BET Digital will oversee the development and execution of all content for BET Digital. S/he will be responsible for defining and driving the editorial voice for BET Digital, generating the content people want to see across BETN’s online, mobile and social media platforms. The Vice President and Managing Editor of BET Digital will work closely with sales, programming, technology, marketing, research and other departments to translate the BETN brand across BET’s digital suite.

Associate Dean of Admissions Marketing & Recruiting (Berklee)

Job summary: Under the broad direction of the Dean of Admissions, the Associate Dean of Admissions Marketing and Recruiting develops strategies to support the Dean’s enrollment vision. Oversees ROI on all recruitment marketing campaigns. Responsible for the Admissions digital marketing strategy through leverage of technologies including (but not limited to) Marketo and Salesforce. Oversees direct mail list segmentation to generate highly effective response rate for our various summer, undergraduate, and graduate programs. Ability to think strategically and monitor/adjust tactical implementation. An entrepreneurial, results-oriented outlook.

Interactive Marketing Manager (Warner Music Group)

Job summary: The Interactive Marketing Manager will be the main digital strategist for their own roster of artists and/or projects. They will craft and execute the digital campaign for those artists spanning promotion, social strategy, community engagement, e-commerce, and partnership opportunities with inter-departmental (marketing, radio, press, product development, etc..) input and coordination. They will continually look for new opportunities, services and platforms with which to partner and/or utilize. In addition to their work directly with artists, they will have a loud voice in forming overall departmental strategy and direction as operational digital specialists. Every campaign will come with mutually agreed upon goals and targets that the marketer will striving to achieve.

VP, Digital Marketing & Strategy (Isolation Network)

Job summary: The goal is to position INgrooves Music Group as the most effective monetization and distribution partner for independent content owners as the digital music market evolves from a transaction based economy to one based on access. This transition is being driven by the oncoming format change from download and physical sales of music to streaming subscription models and digital radio outlets. In order for the Company to achieve its goals, we need expertise in developing best practices and products around music discovery, digital promotion and viral marketing with the purpose of increasing overall consumption and revenue for our clients. You will lead a team of professionals who work with all INgrooves’ labels and artists across the globe. You and your team are responsible for helping us figure out how to make the most of, and stay in front of, this rapidly evolving marketplace. This position can be based in San Francisco or Los Angeles.

Senior Interaction Designer (Live Nation Entertainment)

Job Summary: Ticketmaster is looking for a Senior Interaction Designer to join our growing User Experience team. Reporting to the VP of User Experience, the designer will be responsible for creating best-in-class designs for the next generation of ticketing tools and live event applications. From complexity to clarity, we are seeking candidates who can translate business requirements into clean, intuitive experiences. The selected candidate will have a proven track record of understanding user needs and motivations, identifying underlying problems, and designing effective, highly functional solutions.

Sr. Analyst, Financial Planning & Analysis (Spotify)

Job summary: This individual will be responsible for providing timely and accurate financial reporting and analysis to the Finance and Marketing Organizations. Responsibilities include but are not limited to: forecasting and budgeting, supporting the CMO and business areas VPs on their strategic plans, variance analysis, capital allocation and KPI monitoring.

Marketing Coordinator (Los Angeles Philharmonic)

Job summary: The Marketing Coordinator works closely with the Senior Manager, Sales & Marketing to implement direct marketing plans for all concerts presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association.

Social Media Manager (Total Assault)

Job summary: As a Social Media Coordinator, you’ll be responsible for overseeing the social media profiles for a handful of music and/or entertainment clients. You will be charged with creating a social editorial calendar, bringing unique / creative ideas to the table, and executing a defined strategy. The position focuses on ensuring our social media campaigns are fully optimized, forward-thinking and possess consistent movement towards client goals (engagement, growth, awareness, etc.). The social media coordinator will also seamlessly integrate social campaigns with our internal marketing team. This position is a support position, but candidates should be comfortable expressing thoughts, marketing strategies, analytics and general campaign status to clients be it via phone, e-mail or in person.

Partner Marketing Manager (Ticketfly)

Job summary: Reporting to the Senior Manager of Marketing Services, the Partner Marketing Manager is responsible for helping Ticketfly clients maximize their marketing potential. This role will serve as a strategic marketing consultant to Ticketfly’s top venue, promoter, and festival partners to help drive important goals like building brand awareness, acquiring new customers, and selling more tickets. The Partner Marketing Manager will act as Ticketfly’s in-house subject matter expert on digital marketing best practices, diving deep into client marketing activities to develop marketing plans, guide implementation, and measure results.

Digital Marketing/Events Coordinator (C3 Consulting)

Job summary: This individual will be responsible for a broad range of digital marketing and event coordination activities. They will develop social media campaigns to managing customer leads through Hub Spot. The individual will couple the social media campaigns with industry/customer events designed to drive interest in electric vehicles. You will be part of a small team that manages all marketing, branding, public relations, digital activities and events. This position is responsible for all digital activities.

Communications Coordinator, School Of Music (University Of Tennessee)

Job summary: UT School of Music seeks a Communications Coordinator to publicize all music concerts and events, and who is also talented in graphic design and copy editing. Responsibilities include but are not limited to: brochure design, sending e-newsletters, working closely with the School of Music Recruitment Committee and Advisory Board, other on-campus communication’s offices,off-campus news agencies, purchasing advertising, and overseeing all related public relations for the School of Music. Some attendance at evening and weekend events may be required.

Marketing Manager (Peavey Electronics)

Job summary: Responsible for all marketing, advertising, promotional activities, and participation in product development. The Marketing Manager is responsible for developing and maintaining market strategies to meet organizational objectives and reports to the Chief Operations Officer.

Senior Category Marketing Manager, BizPro (EventBrite)

Job summary: In this role, you’ll be part of a team responsible for growing a vast world of events—from large conferences to weekly meet-ups, from tech to healthcare to nonprofit to education sectors. You will develop strategies and execute key activities designed to grow our market share in target segments and convert more organizers into Eventbrite advocates. You’ll work cross-functionally across our Marketing, Sales, Product and Design teams to drive initiatives forward, and ultimately help accelerate Eventbrite’s growth across these core markets.

Digital Marketing Manager (Pandora)

Job summary: Pandora is looking for a Digital Marketing Manager to join the growing Marketing team in Oakland, CA. The Digital Marketing Manager will be responsible for creating, managing and analyzing direct response mobile and web marketing campaigns as well as continuously identifying new opportunities for Pandora to acquire and reengage users.

Content Marketing (ReverbNation)

Job summary: ReverbNation is currently hiring for an articulate, motivated, and skilled marketing professional to become our Content Marketing and Community Manager. This hands-on position will report to the Director of Corporate Marketing and manage the company’s core content marketing efforts, social media and Artist-facing communications.

Lead Product Marketing Manager, YouTube Music (Youtube)

Job summary: As a Marketing manager, you are a fully dedicated business leader, shaping the future of one of our many Google products. Whether you’re on a consumer product (like Gmail, Search, Maps, Chrome, Android) or a business product (AdWords, AdSense, DoubleClick, Analytics), you take part in a complete marketing experience as you lead every facet of the product’s journey. From determining positioning, naming, competitive analysis, feature prioritization and external communications, you help shape the voice of the product and help it grow a loyal consumer base. This means you work with a cross-functional team across sales, corporate communications, legal, webmasters, product development, engineering and more. The role enables you to shape the product development process, organize product launches from beginning to end and form future marketing strategy.

Marketing Content Coordinator (Sony)

Job summary: As part of the US Latin Marketing team, the Marketing Content Coordinator is responsible for creating and keeping current a “holistic view” database / portfolio of artist-specific marketing assets that will support multichannel marketing programs, business development / licensing presentations, digital sales initiatives, physical sales initiatives and other programs as might be required.

Marketing Operations Coordinator- Arts & Theatre (LiveNation)

Job summary: The Marketing Operations Coordinator will lead the daily implementation and coordination of marketing activities, requests and communication across internal and external project teams. The individual will respond to requests from internal (principally Marketing Services Specialists) and external clients by using system tools to implement marketing tasks. He or she will assist in managing and scheduling regular updates for clients and assist the MSS team as required in day-to-day delivery of tactical marketing activities.

Sr. Product Marketing Manager (Bose)

Job summary: Bose Corporation was founded in 1964 by Dr. Amar G. Bose. Today, the company is one of the largest and best-known audio technology developers and product manufacturers in the United States and throughout the world. Bose is known for home entertainment systems and speakers, the Wave® products, premium automotive music systems, noise reducing headsets for consumers and pilots and sound for public spaces and musicians. We are seeking a new Sr. Product Marketing Manager to further these efforts.

Director, Sales & Marketing (The Orchard)

Job summary: This position is LA-based. Reporting to the VP of Sales & Marketing, the Director of Digital Sales & Marketing will be responsible for developing and fostering key relationships with the sales & marketing teams of worldwide digital and cable retailers. He/she will champion the Orchard’s growing slate of theatrical and digital releases, driving incremental revenue, merchandising and marketing opportunities and overall category management of the portfolio.

Categories
Job Board News

Industry Spotlight: Curran Reynolds

Hello, everyone! With Christmas morning less than a day away we’re working hard to get a few final emails sent, calls made, and posts written. We know a lot of you won’t catch up on this content until after the holidays, but for those that read as soon as they go live we want to extend an extra special thanks. Your support means the world to us, and we hope to continue sharing informative articles with you for a long time to come.

This site exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

Curran Reynolds is the kind of music industry professionals those just starting out aspire to one day become. He’s a hard working, driven, and incredibly successful man with a long history in numerous facets of the entertainment business. He’s perhaps best known around Haulix for his publicity efforts, and earlier this month Curran was nice enough to sit down with us for a conversation about his career up to this point.

A lot of the people we interviews are individuals that various Haulix team members have already gotten to know through their years of experience. Curran is no exception to this rule, but he is someone whose life outside of work was a bit of a mystery to us until this interview was conducted. His story is one I think many will relate to, and some may even find it inspiring. Either way, it’s definitely worth a read.

If you would like to learn more about Curran and his ongoing efforts in the music business, please take a moment and follow him on Twitter. Additional questions and comments can be left at the end of this post.

H: Hello, Curran. Thank you for joining us today. How is the weather wherever you happen to be?

C: James, hi, I’m at my apartment in New York City. It’s late December and it’s raining.

H: You’ve been a customer with Haulix for a while at this point. When did you first learn of our service, and what lead you to sign up?

C: I love Haulix. It was one of those things – I started seeing some other publicists using it and the momentum built. The final straw came when I was at lunch with the editor of SPIN and he told me he personally loved Haulix.

H: I want to dig into your life and work, but while we’re on the top of Haulix we should also talk about the releases you’re currently working to promote. Care to fill our readers in on some of your current clients?

C: My most recent release is The Banner’s new album, Greying, out this month on Good Fight Music. A few years back, Good Fight was distributing Guy Kozowyk’s label, Black Market Activities, and I was doing all the press for Black Market. Now I’m working direct with Good Fight to handle press for a bunch of their new releases. Some other ongoing label clients of mine include Vitriol, Melotov, and Twelve Gauge. I’m also excited to report that I’m starting work in 2015 with Three One G Records and Aqualamb Records. Three One G is Justin Pearson’s label – The Locust, Retox, Some Girls, Swing Kids, the list goes on. I’ve been a fan for a long time and I befriended Justin in 2011 when our bands toured the UK together. Aqualamb is a totally unique label out of Brooklyn – they design and print books for each release, in lieu of traditional packaging.

H: People have probably gathered by this point that you work in publicity, but that’s not all you do. You’ve also created quite a career for yourself as a musician. It seems safe to say you’re the definition of an industry ‘lifer,’ and I’d like to learn a bit about your origins. Was music always a big part of your life?

C: Yes, I fell deep under the rock n’ roll spell at age 10. It was building for a few years before that but 10 is when I started educating myself, buying my own music, and playing drums. It was a whole new world and I dove into it. I lived with my mom and my sister at the time and they were both very supportive.

H: Do you remember your first concert? How about the first album you purchased with your own money?

C: My first concert was Tina Turner at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine, in the summer of 1987. My mom and her boyfriend took my sister and me. I think the first album I purchased was Europe’s The Final Countdown, on tape, also in 1987. My sister and I split the cost of it and shared the tape.

H: A lot of people grow up thinking about life in the entertainment industry, but far less actually try to make those visions a reality. You not only tried, but succeeded at that effort, and I’m curious when it all began. Can you pinpoint a specific experience or time in your life that sold you on working in music?

C: I was obsessed with rock music from a young age, as I said. It started building and continued to build. On a visceral level and an intellectual level, it was a realm within which I found excitement and fulfillment. But at no point did I have a long term plan. It was always more about following my heart at any given moment.

H: My research shows that you attended Sarah Lawrence College. What did you study? Is it safe to assume that you were active in music in one way or another during this time?

C: I was at Sarah Lawrence from 1994-1999. It’s a school that gives its students freedom to study a wide variety of things. There are almost no requirements. I studied writing, literature, art, film, history, and economics. I continued my musical education on my own time. I played drums and went to a lot of shows. The school is a few miles north of New York City and I got to see some amazing shows during that time. Off the top of my head, some of the bands I saw during my college years include Fugazi, Quicksand, Today Is The Day, Unsane, Modest Mouse, The Make-Up, Sleater-Kinney, Kiss It Goodbye, Shai Hulud, Indecision, Candiria, Will Haven, and Soilent Green. Junior year of college, I got an internship in the publicity department at Matador Records – I think that experience helped steer me toward music as an actual career.

H: Looking back now, was college worth the cost? The one question we are asked most frequently by readers is whether or not they should pursue higher education when hoping to one day work in music. Do you have any thoughts to share on that?

Sarah Lawrence is currently ranked as the most expensive school in the country. I can’t believe I went there. Some of my classmates were the kids of rock stars and big Hollywood producers. I had won a $20,000 scholarship which helped a little bit. That, financial aid, and my parents’ extreme sacrifice and generosity. I was very young when making the decision to go there. I had skipped a grade so I was 16 right up until my high school graduation. Sarah Lawrence appealed to me because of its academic freedom, its emphasis on the arts, and its proximity to New York City. As to whether it was worth the cost, it’s tough to quantify experiences like that. I did not go to college with the intention of training for a specific career. It was more a time of growth and exploration for me. But in hindsight, I can say that my college years paved the way for everything that came after. A few specifics:

1) Sarah Lawrence strengthened my writing, a core part of everything I do now.
2) It placed me in the New York City area, giving me access to so much great music and opportunities like the internship at Matador.
3) It’s a school full of independent, creative people doing cool things (both students and faculty) so there was a lot to be inspired by. Coming out of a setting like that, you’re instilled with a certain amount of bravery to go out and do your own independent, creative thing, at whatever cost.

H: You graduated in 1999, and not long after took a job with the legendary Earache Records. Were you a big fan of the label prior to joining the company? Any insight you can provide into the application and interview process would be greatly appreciated.

C: I’d been aware of Earache Records since freshman year of high school when my friend turned me on to Napalm Death. The way I got the job there is like out of an old movie. It was about a year after graduating from college, I was in my kitchen in Brooklyn, looking through the Village Voice, and I just happened to see a want-ad that read: “independent metal label seeks publicist.” It seemed too good to be true – a perfect fit. I applied, had one interview, and got the job. I mean, what are the chances? From the moment I stumbled on that ad, it felt like it was meant to be. When I got the phone call saying I was hired, I knew it was a turning point in my life. If the Matador internship was the thing that steered me in the direction of a music career, the Earache job is the thing that sealed the deal. I stayed at Earache five years, 2000-2005.

H: I’ve found that a lot of people who make publicity a career have one or two mentors in life that show them the ropes of the business. Was that the case for you? If so, please tell us about the people who helped you learn the music industry.

C: Al Dawson was my boss at Earache. Al was a punk rocker in Australia in the ’70s. He was pen pals with Digby Pearson, the founder of Earache, going back to the very beginning of the label, then he moved to England to work there. He came over to New York to run the US office just a few months before he hired me. He is one of the sharpest guys I know. He really has a mind for PR and for business in general. Nowadays, as a freelancer, I get to work with many labels and pick up different things along the way. It’s symbiotic, I learn from them, they learn from me.

H: While you’re at Earache you’re performing in various bands. Were you touring during this time? How did you balance the requirements of the label with your desire to perform?

C: I started a band called Wetnurse about a year after starting work at Earache. That band got more and more serious over the next few years. We started leaving town for weekends and short tours. Al Dawson was supportive of it but eventually I wanted more freedom. I left Earache in 2005, partly because I wanted to be free to tour more. Wetnurse’s first major tour, a six-week US tour I booked myself, happened a week or two after I left the label.

H: While we’re talking about your other projects we might as well mention writing. When did you first begin writing about music outside of PR, and who were the first publications to run your work?

C: In my first year or two at Earache, I got to know a lot of magazine editors and I began getting offers to write. My first gig was for Rockpile, a Philly magazine that’s defunct now. I took whatever assignments the editors gave me, which wound up being interviews with The Icarus Line, The Faint, and Nic Endo from Atari Teenage Riot, and reviews of albums like Zeni Geva’s 10,000 Light Years and American Nightmare’s Background Music. I quickly learned something about myself from that experience: I have no interest in giving anyone a negative review. I am not a critic. I am a maker of things and a champion of things I like. Writing, like PR, is an opportunity to champion things I like. So I stopped writing for Rockpile and started writing for VICE. VICE gave me the freedom to review whatever music I wanted. Given that freedom, I chose all my personal favorite new releases and gave them all 10/10 ratings, no exceptions – this was 2002 so it was stuff like Premonitions of War’s self-titled demo, Lansing-Dreiden’s The Incomplete Triangle, and Khanate’s self-titled debut. Also, instead of standard reviews, I wrote poems. This lasted for a few issues until a new editor took over and tried to rein me in. I respectfully refused to change my ways and that’s where it ended. After that I didn’t pursue writing again, feeling I had pretty much hit the peak of music journalism – I mean, what could top handing out 10/10 reviews to my favorite bands while simultaneously seeing my poetry get published in a magazine that was, at that time, thought to be the pinnacle of cool?! The next great opportunity came up in 2006. My friend Alanna Gabin was working with the skateboarder Mark Gonzalez and she’d gotten Mark a gig as guest editor for an issue of The Journal, this art magazine based here in New York. Alanna and Mark gave me 16 pages in the issue to do with whatever I wanted so I gave them my tour diary and photos from Wetnurse’s first big tour – the tour I left Earache for. I’m still proud of that piece. I did not pursue writing again until just this year. Thanks to my friend Polly Watson, I wrote a feature for High Times about the rapper Lil Debbie. I followed that up with a feature for Mass Appeal about Justin Pearson of Three One G Records, The Locust, Retox, and countless other bands. Lil Debbie and Justin Pearson are two people I am in awe of in different ways and it was a pleasure to interview them and share it with the world.

H: You’ve continued to balance publicity and performances, as well as freelance music writing, for over a decade at this point. Do you have any advice to offer on the topic of time management?

C: There are two forces driving me. One is the financial necessity of food and shelter. I am self-employed, out on a limb with no security, and if I screw up, I’m done. The other force is the need to create, to leave a mark, to do something cool with my time on earth. These two forces keep me on track. All I do every day and night is work, whether it’s my business or my own creative stuff or some overlap of the two. I love what I do so it mostly doesn’t feel like work. I am always wishing for more hours so I could get more done, as opposed to that other scenario of the guy at work, watching the clock and counting down until the day is over. That scenario looks suicidal to me. You are literally wishing your life away. In terms of how I specifically organize my time, it’s pretty natural, according to what’s going on that particular day. You prioritize and act as needed.

H: Who was your first client as a solo publicist, and how did you initially contact them?

C: My first client as a solo publicist was Black Box Recordings, the label owned by Mike Hill who now fronts the band Tombs. Mike was already a friend of mine. Wetnurse had done shows with his band, Anodyne, and he had recorded one of our demos. I really respected his DIY approach and liked him as a person. Specifically, the first release I worked for him was an EP by the band The Heuristic, members of which are now in Mutilation Rites.

H: How did the decision to step out on your own impact your ability to tour and perform? Was it easier because you were essentially your own boss, or did the additional work required to be your own boss make it harder to stay active?

C: It was easier in the sense that I could do what I want, when I wanted. After becoming my own boss, I did many tours with Wetnurse, then later joined one of my favorite bands, Today Is The Day. I did four US tours and one European tour with Today Is The Day. I probably wouldn’t have felt capable of joining that band had I been tied down with a normal job.

H: I know it’s not something you do now, but not long after stepping out on your own you also founded a live music series in NYC called Precious Metal. We receive a lot of inquiries about how people can launch similar events in their areas, and I’d love to know about your motivations behind that project.

C: I founded Precious Metal in 2006 and continued it until 2013. It was a weekly series of shows, every Monday night at Lit, a bar in the East Village in Manhattan. By the end of the series I had booked and promoted over 300 shows. I was inspired by the DIY efforts of other people I’d seen. I think the do-it-yourself approach has always appealed to me, since I was a kid, and it was especially exciting to me to try and help build a community for cool music in New York City. I’d actually been booking shows around the city since 2001. The first show I ever put together in New York consisted of the hip hop group Cannibal Ox and the Hydrahead Records band Cattlepress, featuring Harley Flanagan from the Cro-Mags on drums! I was really psyched in 2006 when Lit offered me a weekly series because it meant I’d have a home base from which to do stuff on a regular basis. The scene in the city changed a lot during Precious Metal’s reign. When I started there didn’t seem to be a cohesive scene at all and by the end it was booming. I think Precious Metal was one of many factors that helped this change happen. Social media was another. Nowadays you have venues like Saint Vitus and The Acheron that have taken the Precious Metal vibe to a higher level, seven nights a week. Those venues are doing great work and I attend both of them often, as a fan.

H: Without going too in-depth, please walk us a through a typical work day:

C: Currently my time goes toward my PR work, my new musical project Body Stuff, and some freelance writing. Each day consists of a combination of those things, with the PR work taking up the majority. My drug of choice is coffee with coconut oil.

H: What would you say is the most difficult aspect of being a music publicist today?

C: The number of bands and publicists, and the volume of overall chatter, is greater than ever. There’s a lot of noise out there, the pace is faster than ever, and as a publicist you have to penetrate that. Editors and writers are defensive, they filter out a lot, because they have to. In the early ’00s I had many more in-depth conversations, where now no one has time. So it’s a game of how to continue to reach these people and be heard, without harassing them and adding to the noise they are trying to navigate through. In my case, I think it has been to my benefit that I am more than a publicist, I am someone who has worked within the industry on more than one front, and my relationships are often more dynamic than a simple publicist-press relationship. I think this has helped me become someone whose voice gets listened to.

H: If you could offer one piece of advice to people reading this who may be considering their own pursuit of a career in music, what would you tell them?

C: The only way I know how to live is to follow my heart and worry about the rest afterward. I don’t know if this is the most responsible advice so hey, kids, take it or leave it. But we only live once, we might as well make it as cool as possible.

H: Looking ahead, what goals do you have for the immediate future?

C: On the PR front, I have a ton of cool work lined up for the first part of 2015 – the labels I mentioned earlier, like Three One G, Aqualamb, Good Fight, Vitriol, Melotov, and Twelve Gauge. I’m excited to kick ass for all my clients and continue building what I do. On the music-making front, it’s all about Body Stuff right now. Body Stuff is my solo project where I’m writing songs and singing. I put out my first EP in 2013 and I am now halfway done tracking the second EP. I aim to finish the second EP this winter and I also put together a live band which consists of my some of my closest friends. There will be shows soon. On the journalism front, I have more stuff in the works with Mass Appeal – incidentally, the editor over there, Noah Rubin, was once my intern and has become a good friend. Not only is Noah killing it as editor of Mass Appeal but he’s running Mass Appeal Records where his first signing was Run The Jewels.

H: Let’s step a bit farther out. Where is Curran Reynolds in five years?

C: Great question. I have no idea. I feel like something big is coming up. I want to continue doing bigger and cooler things. Continuing to team up with people I respect is part of it. No idea yet what form it will take.

H: That’s all I have today, Curran. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Do you have any closing thoughts or comments you would like to share?

C: Thank you so much, James! It’s been fun sharing some stories with you. I’ll close by saying, be kind to each other out there.

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Inside Music #12 – Tom Cheney (Founder Of idobi Radio)

Hello, everyone! We promised you last week that our podcast would be returning to its once a week release schedule, and today we’re excited to share with you the 12th episode of INSIDE MUSIC. This particular recording was created earlier today, December 16, so the news and information included is as timely as possible. If you would like to subscribe to this show, or browse our archives, you can do so on iTunes.

This site exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

idobi Radio has been the go-to online station for alternative music fans since its launch in 1999. It’s one of the few websites active today that can honestly say it existed before the service it provides was a hot commodity in the digital space, and through hard work it has remained one of the premiere online radio stations while countless competitors have fallen by the wayside. We love the station, as well as the many shows it hosts, but recently we realized we knew almost nothing about the person who first brought the site to life. 

On this episode of Inside Music, idobi Radio founder Tom Cheney stops by to speak with host James Shotwell about his career, the early days of internet radio, and the many big plans he has for idobi’s future. It’s a great conversation about all things digital, and it includes a number of exclusive details about the company that you can only find on this show. You can stream and download the podcast, in full, below.

The music you hear in the intro to ‘Inside Music’ is provided by San Diego, California folk punk group Sledding with Tigers. You can learn more about their work on their official website.

We mentioned this at the beginning, but ‘Inside Music’ is now on iTunes! Click here to subscribe.

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Inside Music #11 – James Shotwell X

Hello, everyone! We promised you last week that our podcast would be returning to its once a week release schedule, and today we’re excited to share with you the 11th episode of INSIDE MUSIC. This particular recording is quite a bit different than the rest of the series, but we think you’ll get a kick out of what we have in store. If you would like to subscribe to this show, or browse our archives, you can do so on iTunes.

This site exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

On this episode of INSIDE MUSIC, host James Shotwell sits down with his father. His dad, who also happens to be named James, is not a music industry professional himself, but he is the reason James chose to pursue a career in entertainment. Their discussion touches on their relationship, as well as what it feels like to be a parent whose child wants to work in an industry like music. 

The music you hear in the intro to ‘Inside Music’ is provided by San Diego, California folk punk group Sledding with Tigers. You can learn more about their work on their official website.

We mentioned this at the beginning, but ‘Inside Music’ is now on iTunes! Click here to subscribe.

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Whole Again: Front Porch Step Discusses Life, Music, And Missing Home

Hello, everyone! Thank you for finding some time amidst your surely busy schedule to spend a few minutes on our site. We have been promising a resurgence of artist interviews for the last several weeks, and today we are thrilled to begin a new series of musician and label-focused pieces that we will continue to share throughout the month of December. The artist featured in today’s post also has a new EP out this week, so if you enjoy what you read please consider supporting his work when time and money allows.

This site exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

Making it in music today is hard for just about anyone who isn’t connected to an already established celebrity through blood or sexual encounters. We could argue all day about who faces the most challenges when it comes to breaking through from the underground to the mainstream, but I’ve always thought the singer/songwriter genre was one of the more difficult areas of music to conquer. Not only is the market incredibly diverse in terms of age and interests, but the number of people with guitars and lackluster original songs far outnumber the competition in every other realm of the music industry. In order to stand out you have to possess something special that I’m honestly not sure I can describe at great length. It’s not a physical trait in any way, but rather a feeling or series of feelings that you are able to convey through your music. It’s not about just making a connection, but rather tapping into something deeper than hooks and melodies will ever reach. You have to find a way to put yourself out there, as honestly as possible, and hope others relate to what you have to say. Then, and only then, will you begin to find success.

Jake Mcelfresh might not agree with everything I said above, but he’s certainly a great example of someone who creates music for all of the right reasons and expects nothing from the world in return. Known to many as Front Porch Step, Jake writes and sings songs he wants to hear, and in doing so has found a sense of confidence in his work rarely seen in the modern alternative music industry. He believes in his work and therefore cannot be dismayed by those who feel differently. Not every song is going to be liked by every person and that’s just fine. As long as Jake loves his work he is happy, and fortunately for him there are tens of thousands of people around the globe who love it as well.

Recently, I had the chance to speak with Jake about his career, his new EP, and the struggles of being a singer/songwriter in 2014. You can read about all of this and a whole lot more, below. If you like what you read, please make it a point to follow FPS on Twitter. Additional questions and comments can be left at the end of the page.

H: Thanks for joining us today, Jake. I live in Boston now, but I too am an Ohio native.

J: That’s cool, man. Always good to talk to someone from here.

H: Definitely. It’s kind of surprising how many people from Ohio are working in the industry today, and it seems everyone has a unique story about how they got here. I’m sure the same applies to you. There were a number of years when you performed live before changing you name to Front Porch Step. Did you have another stage name?

J: Just Jake. Well, Jake Mcelfresh. My name. There was a time when I was in a pop punk band around 17 or 18, but I’ve been playing under Jake Mcelfresh since I was 14 or 15. Since 2012 I’ve been Front Porch Step.

H: What inspired the change?

J: Honestly, it was all about marketing. When you play the kind of shows I was playing, like open mics and other events where people might not necessarily be paying the closest attention, but still like what they hear, you have to be able to tell them where they can find your stuff online. Saying things like “Go check out Jake Mcelfresh online” caused trouble because no one can spell my last name. If you see it then you can spell it, but if you just hear it you’re going to have a really hard time figuring it out.

Before you even ask, I’ll tell you. I had realized I needed a name and was trying to figure out what to call myself when I came across a photo of me sitting on a front porch step. A friend of mine jokingly said I should call myself Front Porch Step, and I thought it was a good idea. So yea, Front Porch Step. (Laughs)

H: That’s a pretty simple back story, but I have to be honest and say I didn’t expect anything too epic.

J: But it was so much more than that when he told it to me. Front Porch Step sounds like a music genre to me. You have two-step, hip-hop, bluegrass, front porch step, etc. I feel like the front porch step, especially being from Ohio, encapsulates this place where you can view the world outside, the falling leaves and everything. I feel like that really fits my music, and when he said it out loud something clicked.

H: I do want to talk about the new EP. It’s available now, and I really think it’s a strong release. Christmas covers never do much for me, but you make “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” pretty great. Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration for that record?

J: I choose to believe in God. I don’t know if you do and I really don’t give a shit. I’m not here to preach to you, and if you come to a Front Porch Step show I’m not going to try and convert you. I want people to find their own way. Atheists and other kids will come up and ask me about my faith sometimes, and I’ll tell them I believe in God, but I try not to discuss it at length. I simply choose to believe in a higher power. The reason I say all this is because the Christmas song I chose to cover has nothing to do with God or religion. People say because it’s Christmas it’s also Christian, but that is not the case. Christmas is a time when people put shit aside and try to be kind to one another. Kindness matters, and that’s part of what makes Christmas so important to me. I don’t know about other people’s families, but I’m blessed to have a family that gathers during the holiday and I cherish that. I’ve toured a lot more this year than ever before, and as a result I’ve been feeling pretty home sick. I’m a momma’s boy, man, and being away is hard. “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” breaks me now. It fucking breaks me. I miss my family so much, and it has given the song a new meaning to me. I’m very involved, with my nieces especially, and now I’m not able to be as involved as before. That wrecks me.

I’m sorry if I go off on tangents by the way. People always tell me I’m pretty long-winded.

H: No, that’s completely okay. We like long-winded on our site. Anything is better than responding with a single sentence. That kind of thing drives me nuts.

J: [Laughs] You won’t have that problem with me. I’m kind of a conceded asshole.

H: Not at all.

J: Thanks.

H: So when did you complete the EP?

J: It was all completed a couple of weeks after Warped Tour. I flew into Massachusetts, not Boston, but somewhere, and then I went to New Jersey. I did the Christmas song, “A Lovely Mess,” and “Whole Again” with Alana Day and Adam Ward. In New Jersey, Ace Enders co-wrote and produced “Heaven Sent.”

H: It’s funny that we just discussed how much time you’ve been away, but this month (December) you have a little time off. How is home?

J: It’s kind of weird, to be honest. Everything is so spread out in December that I’m still all over the place, even though we’re not touring constantly. I’m playing a few shows, but no full-fledged tour of any kind. I’m also announcing my first headline tour this month, and that is pretty exciting. Have Mercy will be direct support, with the revival of Alcoa following them. It’s full US and it’s taking place in the spring.

Like I said though, other than that I have like five shows this month that take place all over the country.

H: Then you go overseas in January?

J: Yea, we have a short run overseas at the beginning of the year. After that we will head right into the headlining tour.

H: So it seems like a lot of your 2015 is already planned out. Do you hope to get back into the studio at some point as well?

J: I want to, but I also kind of have to at this point. Not really, but it’s funny. I was in the Alternative Press most-anticipated list for 2014. My publicist told me they wanted me, and I said okay, but he did not mention the ’new album’ angle at first. I did the interview, which happened to be with the same guy who interview me for that magazine every time, and one of his first questions was about when a record could be expected. I tried my best to act like I had a plan, but truth be told I don’t really plan out that stuff. I didn’t think I was going to release anything this year, but then I wrote and recorded an EP in a week. So we’ll see about 2015, but anything is possible.

H: 2014 has really been your year. 2013 was big for you, but this year your name was everywhere. As a music writer, I know countless singer/songwriters who never get anywhere with their career, and yet Front Porch Step has gotten a ton of attention.

J: I don’t really know how, to be honest. Someone from AltPress said somewhere that I managed to write a whole album of songs with just my guitar without creating a boring coffee shop record. Not saying that is how I feel, but I think I understand what they mean. I listen to the coffee shop channel on satellite radio sometimes, and I really only like one in every ten or fifteen songs. There are some people who can do it really well, like Jack Johnson or Jason Mraz, but so many artists sound like they’re trying to write pop hits without heart or emotion. They’re gimmicky, but they don’t have the infectious nature needed to be a hit. “Banana Pancakes” by Jack Johnson feels gimmicky at first, and to an extent it is, but when you dig deeper it’s a beautiful song about wanting to spend the day with someone you love. A lot of artists try to do that and it just doesn’t work. Not judging them, it’s just how I feel.

I feel like I’ve made my career off not caring, though I didn’t do it on purpose. I have a line about putting my head between someone’s thighs until I can’t feel my lips, for example. I never thought my mom would hear that, or especially my grandparents. I thought Pure Noise would put out the record and that I may be able to get a few more show that I would have to reach by Greyhound bus. I wrote these songs because I like them, and really I think that is a better way to go. If you do that, anyone else who enjoys it is just sugar on top. If someone hates it, who cares? You didn’t write it for them. You did it for you.

H: I think you’re on the right track. If you go in expecting to get something out of it you’re almost bound to be let down.

J: Someone recently asked me what I want to do with my career. I didn’t know how to respond. More shows, I guess? I tried to explain that I played one date of Warped Tour 2013 and thought I was in heaven. That was all I needed or wanted in life. When I got offered the full tour this year, I couldn’t even believe it.

I think you have to stop setting goals at one point. I’m doing so many amazing things at this point that asking for more would just feel greedy. I mean, I’m going to Europe for free in January. Not to work a shitty job either, but to perform music I wrote and get paid for it. I’m spoiled. Anyone who does this is spoiled. You’re playing music for a living, so you’re not working at all. You’re getting paid to play.

So I don’t set goals anymore. I’m so grateful for everything I have and I am always conscious of the fact it could be taken away in a moment’s notice, so right now I’m trying to enjoy the experience.

H: Well I’m definitely excited to see what happens next. You’ve done so much already, but based on our conversation today it seems like 2015 may be your biggest year yet.

J: You’re not kidding. I just wrote with Jon Feldman and Joel Madden for a pop band. Like, ugh…shit is getting weird. I’m trying to pay my dues in the world of writing. You can’t just write a song for Adele and send it to her. They have to want to work with you, and the only way to do that is to write material for smaller artists. I’m trying to get my foot into the door in that world so I can write for like John Legend or Taylor Swift. That’s something I really want to do. If a song blows up at radio and it has my lyrics in it, that’s really cool for me, and I don’t care what people think. We need pop music. The world needs pop music. If we all listened to Brand New every day we would kill ourselves. I need artists like 5 Seconds Of Summer to help me not feel like a piece of shit who hates life.

H: I know you have another interview today, so I’ll let you go soon. Before you go, do you have any closing thoughts or observations that you would like to share with our readers?

J: I’m all set man. Thank you for everything. Have a wonderful holiday season. I’m sure we’ll talk soon.

Front Porch Step’s latest EP, Whole Again, is available now through Pure Noise Records. You can view a poster announcing his upcoming headlining tour below.

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Sometimes we create cool stuff, but other times we simply find it online. Brett Edgerly, editor at Your EDM, created this easy-to-follow guide to website evaluation earlier this week and we could not resist sharing it with all of you. Whether you’re a publicist hoping to better understand the industry, or you’re an artist trying to figure out what sites would be best suited to promote your content, there is something here for everyone to enjoy. 

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
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Penises, Butts, and Gossip: Why Modern Journalism Sucks

Greetings, everyone! It gives us quite a thrill to learn that you were able to find time amidst your hectic schedule to spend a few minutes with us talking about the state of music journalism. The post you are about to enjoy was created by our longtime contributor Lueda Alia, a brilliant young woman with years of experience in digital media under her belt. She’s written here before, and I can promise you right now she will delivered additional content in the future.

This site exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

My social media feeds are full of rants (and often snarky comments) from frustrated people in the entertainment industry. What worked so well for many years suddenly doesn’t seem to work anymore. Distribution of music has never been easier (Soundcloud, BandCamp, Spotify, Rdio, Pandora, etc.) and there are more publications, magazines, and blogs than ever before. Why, then, is it so difficult to secure artists and brands the exposure they deserve?

Well. The past two weeks, publications have been busy publishing articles on Kim Kardashian’s butt and Lorde’s “feud” with Diplo regarding his “tiny penis”:

The Guardian
Taylor swift ‘booty’ diss by Diplo inspires Lorde’s wrath

Screen Shot 2014-11-19 at 10.34.43 AM

Spin
Diplo Disses Taylor Swift’s Butt, Lorde Follows Up With the Perfect Comeback

The Huffington Post Entertainment
Lorde Totally Owns Diplo After He Disses Taylor Swift on Twitter

Rolling Stone
The Everything Index: Kim Kardashian’s Pavlovian Posterior Experiment

Fact Magazine
Diplo Prompts Gross Taylor Swift Kickstarter; Gets Shamed By Lorde For His ‘Tiny Penis’

CNN Entertainment
Make fun of Taylor Swift? Not on Lorde’s watch

Billboard 
Lorde Perfectly Disses Diplo After He Insults Taylor Swift

NME
Lord explains her Diplo ‘tiny penis’ comment

NY Daily News
Lorde defends Taylor Swift, disses Diplo’s “tiny penis” on Twitter

Fox News Entertainment
Katy Perry’s boyfriend Diplo disses Taylor Swift’s butt; Lorde disses Diplo’s manhood


Grantland
Asses of Fire: Why Kim Kardashian’s Magazine Shoot Failed to ‘Break the Internet’

Stereogum
Lorde Clarifies Comment About Kim Kardashian’s Butt

NME
Lorde says Kim Kardashian cover of Paper magazine is ‘pure heaven’

VICE
Getting to the Bottom of Kim Kardashian’s Alien Appeal

Time Magazine
Kim Kardashian’s Butt Is an Empty Promise

I could go on for hours with similar examples, but you get the point. Instead of using these platforms, which reach millions of people, to promote and reward deserving individuals for their skills and talents, the relentless pursuit of advertising revenue has pushed us to cover gossip about butts and penises.

We get it. Kim Kardashian has a huge ass, and Lorde made fun of Diplo in a hilarious way! And that’s a great way to get people to click on your website! Great, now writers and journalists are using wasting their skills writing about ludicrous and irrelevant stories, and all is well!

It’s easy to poke fun at these publications for struggling to adapt to technology and the internet. In order to remain relevant and make money, they have opted to become TMZ-esque because it’s easy and it works. But I can’t see this being a long-term solution, because all of these publications are becoming mirror images of each other and nothing more.

One of these days, we will start to care about journalistic integrity once more. We will begin to write stories that deserve to be shared with the rest of the world, and we’ll reward people who have earned the exposure through hard work and creativity and not through their fame. But that day is not today. And thus, everyone (artists and publicists included) needs to adapt the way they work in order to succeed. Stay tuned for my next article, which offers suggestions and advice for navigating the current landscape.

Lueda Alia is a music industry professional and freelance entertainment writer with years of experience working directly with artists on the rise. She maintains a great personal blog, as well as Made Of Chalk (which we featured on this blog earlier this year).

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Bands: Here Are A Few Tips For Improving Your Emails

Hello, everyone! I know we took a little time off yesterday without warning, but a close friend of the Haulix family passed away and we needed some time to mourn. Fortunately, many of our close friends in the industry reached out to help us continue our content creation efforts while we reflect on our recently deceased friend. The piece you’re about to read was created by Seth Werkheiser, and it offers insight that could help bands and artists of all sizes improve their digital marketing efforts.

This blog exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

I’ve talked to a handful of musicians and bands lately about the subject of “social media.” I usually steer the conversation towards email marketing, and explain how it converts better than the “social media flavor of the week.”

“But I don’t want to just email out our tour dates,” they usually say, explaining that they don’t like those emails.

There’s a simple solution: don’t be like the lazy bands who do just that.

Copying and pasting your tour dates into an email is very boring. An unpaid intern could do it. In their sleep.

Instead, try this: out of the 34 photos you posted to Instagram and Facebook during the course of your last few shows, or tours, pick a handful that “clicked well.” What dose that mean? That means the photos that got the most "likes,” or shares. Take those, and put a few of them into your next email.

Now, here’s the part where an unpaid intern can’t do what you do.

You write the back story. The location. Explain what happened. You lived it, bled it, slept in it. You drove all those hours, got sick, met an amazing character in a small town, hung out with coolest people.

Everyone loves a good story, and as a traveling musician you’ve got stories to tell, so stop “blasting” your tour dates every five minutes like every other hack band out there.

As Betabrand founder Chris Lindland says, “the assumption is that not everybody wants to shop every single time they get a newsletter.”

Think about that for a second: not everyone is ready buy tickets to your next show or watch your new music video (they might be watching Netflix at the moment). But if you tell a story about how cops nearly shut down your video shoot, you might distract them from ‘Orange is the New Black’ long enough to at least get a click!

For example, there’ a new video out from the Cancer Bats, for their song ‘Satellites.’ In the video they shoot fireworks at their drummer in a field the whole time.

 
Wait, they what?

How did they not get arrested shooting that video? Did anyone get burned? How much did they spend on fireworks? Who came up with that idea of shooting fireworks at their drummer? 

Their YouTube description field? "SATELLITES!! Hope you like it!” Snooze.

So don’t do that with your own email newsletter. Get creative. Just because every other band out there sends a list of tour dates and nothing more doesn’t mean you have to do the same.

Share some photos, stories from the road, and then paste your tour dates at the bottom of the email. Heck, list the mileage between stops, or the tourist destination you’re planning on visiting. Ask your fans for suggestions on places to check out, the best food stops in town. Invite a few out for pre-show pizza. 

These are the people who might may to come see you, right? Maybe buy a CD or shirt?

Remind your fans what you’re about, not just where you’ll be two months from now.

Seth Werkheiser is the quiz master of metal trivia at Skulltoaster. He’s also the founder of some music sites you may have heard of, including Noise Creep (2009) + Buzzgrinder (2001). He’s anti-Facebook, anti-clickbait, and anti-growth hacking. You should most definitely follow him on Twitter. Yes, right now.

Categories
Job Board News

Haulix Weekly Update #61 – The November Chill Has Arrived

Good afternoon, everyone! If you’re reading this the day it goes live then there is a decent chance you’re doing your best to look busy while running out the last few hours of the work week. Don’t worry, we won’t say anything. The first week of November has been a crazy one, and we’re ready to settle into the weekend as much as you are, but first we need to spend a little time reflecting on all that has occurred.

We did not have any major development updates or releases this week, but we did manage to put together an in-depth guide to creating great looking promos using transparent backgrounds. Check it out:

Creating an eye catching design for your next promo is really easy. In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to make a cool design utilizing our transparent background options.

I used Adobe Fireworks CS6 to create the background graphic.

1. Start out by finding a large image that will fill the screen. This can be anything you want, from an abstract design to a photo of the band them self.  Choose something large.  I started with an image that was over 3000 pixels wide.  I first opened the image in Fireworks and resized it to 2000 pixels wide. Make sure to click the lock icon to scale the height down as you decrease the width.

2. Click to “Fit the Canvas” after resizing.

3. If you were to use the background in your promo the way it is now, the text would be hard to read. The next step, is to add a block in the middle that will be slightly darker than the rest of the background. This will make the text pop.

4. Use the rectangle tool and drag out a rectangle that is 870 pixels wide. Drag it to the exact center of the background image. Use the eye-dropper tool and give the rectangle a fill color that is dark and something that matches the overall color scheme of the background image.  I chose a dark blue.

5. Give the rectangle an “Opacity” of 50% so that the background shows through.

6. Export your background image. Try to size it down as much as possible without losing quality and use .jpg as the type.

7. Sign into your Haulix account and click on Promos. With your promo selected in the left column, click on the “Design” button.

8. In the upper right Template Designer, select “New…” from the drop down list. Give the template a name and click Create.

9. Click to upload your new background image. Check all of the “Transparent” check boxes and un-check the background repeat check box. This will allow the background to peek through while anchoring it in the center of the screen.

10. Update the rest of the colors so that they pop. I used a white text for this design. Click the “Save” button once finished.

11. Click the “Preview” button and check out your promo.  You are done!

Developing our marketing content, as well as planning future features on this blog, took up a lot of our time this week. We conducted three interview, wrote five interviews, edited two podcasts, and planned at least half a dozen more interviews for the week ahead. On top of this, we also planned and edited guest features, in addition to creating original content ourselves. We are trying to make November a month that find our blog filled with diversity, and so far I think we’re pulling it off. Here’s everything that ran in recent days:

Industry Spotlight: Richard Collier (The Keynote Company)

Holiday Cover Songs Currently In The Public Domain

A Stranger in a Strange Land: My First Concert Photography Experience

One Way To Improve Your Haulix Promo Engagement

Inside Music Podcast #9 – Matthew Leimkuehler (Under The Gun Review)

Music Industry Job Board (11/2/14)

That’s all we have this week. Stay safe and check back Sunday for more content!

Categories
News

Industry Spotlight: Richard Collier (Keynote Company)

Hello, everyone! We are thrilled to learn that you found time in your busy schedule to spend a few minutes browsing our blog. There has been a rising demand for interviews as of late, and today we hope to satisfy those readers with an in-depth conversation on the topics of talent buying and concert promotion.

This blog exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

Before we get to the interview we have in store for today I must first issue an apology. We started this blog with the mission to highlight all corners of the music business, but in recent weeks those efforts have skewed heavily towards the digital/blog side of the industry. We love every feature we’ve done, but in the interest of keeping things fresh we’ve gone out of our way to try and ensure November is one of the most diverse months we’ve had on our blog to date. Those efforts started several days ago, and now we’re happy to take them one step further by sharing an interview with someone who I’m relatively sure has never been much of a blogger. Ready? Let’s begin…

If you live in New England and enjoy live music you more than likely owe Richard Collier, founder of Keynote Company, a thousand thank you notes. For the better part of the last year Richard and his team of promotion gurus have been putting on shows in Boston, Providence, and beyond. All that effort has helped develop a budding concert empire that continues to grow in leaps and bounds with each passing year. Richard has been the mastermind behind these efforts since day one, and late last week we convinced the nationally recognized talent buyer to share his insight on the music business with our readers. You can learn about his life, the development of Keynote Company, and where Richard believes the industry is headed in the years to come, below.

As a longtime resident of Boston, I’ve known about Richard’s work for a number of years. We’ve spoken briefly in the past, but this interview was the first chance I had to really learn about the man who makes so many great events happen. If you would like to learn more about Richard beyond what is contained in this post, please make it a point to follow Keynote Company on Twitter. Additional questions and comments can be left at the end of this post.

H: Hello, Richard. How are you this afternoon?

R: Hello, James. I’m doing quite well right now. Keeping busy per usual!

H: It’s great to have you with us. I’ve been wanting to feature you on our site for a while, but scheduling got a little messy at the end of summer. Things cooled off a bit and here we are. Has October treated you well?

R: I appreciate you having me! October was a pretty solid month. Honestly we had a pretty rough summer so it was a nice turnaround month. We had a lot of great shows, but a lot of them under-performed and were high finance shows this summer. July was the toughest month we’ve had financially in my seven years of booking. That being said we are back on pace now though heading into the end of the year and 2015.

H: When would you say is the busiest time of year for you? I’ve heard from other people in your position that the fall is usually pretty hectic.

R: It’s tough to say. I mean tours are definitely more frequent in spring/summer from my viewpoint. Every high school band is off and wants to get out on the road so usually I’m bombarded with “Hey were x band from x town just seeking x.” It’s tough because I want to help everyone, but the realistic viewpoint is I can’t with where we are at. We are seeking nationals with a respectable draw and locals that are looking to build the scene.

H: You and I have known each other through industry connections for a bit, but truth be told I don’t really know much about your history. Where do you think your interest in music comes from? Were your parents big on live music?

R: My parents weren’t really big on music. My dad likes classic rock and my mom had a musician friend Matty B that I would listen to, but it wasn’t like a major influence to pushing me by any means. I guess some of my early memories with music would be watching TRL on MTV after school back when they played music. I would listen to N Sync, Jay Z, and Limp Bizkit a lot… so I had a pretty eclectic taste. I just loved everything regardless of genre so I guess that’s where it would start for me. My interest in live music came from school. To be honest I was pretty much a loser in school and I didn’t really have friends. A group by the name of Another Option (still going as War Games now – check them out) started playing out locally in the vfw/legion/school and I started getting into live music. It was also around the time of Myspace so I met a lot of people online. I just would start making a lot of friends and what would later be connections by seeing bands like A Loss For Words, Vanna, Therefore I Am, Four Year Strong, etc… all the bands that MA is proud of today.

H: What was the first concert you can remember attending? Any details you can give us from that experience would be appreciated.

R: I honestly don’t know what my first show was which really bums me out sometimes considering what I do haha. I think it was my mom’s friend Matty B at like some local place, but if not it had to be Another Option in a hall probably. I will say whatever first local show I went to I don’t remember much, but it definitely got me interested.

H: I’m sure you had no idea when you attended that first concert where your life would eventually lead, but I am curious when your interest in the business side of the music industry began. Can you recall what was happening in your life at that time?

R: I mean definitely didn’t expect for my life to be what it is today from being that loser back in middle & high school. I always had an interest from day one that something would happen in music, but I didn’t believe I’d book bands I cherished and people that I see on TV and the radio. It’s just wild. The business side was definitely started in college though. I was approached by my friend Alex Mazzuchelli about helping his booking company. I was always into the booking part, but never knew how to really start so I give him the credit for pushing me. We collaborated on an Eyes Set To Kill show at The Living Room that did fairly well, but I think it lost a few hundred bucks or at the least wasn’t well in the green. So that was my first sign that a quality lineup didn’t equate success. Following that my first personal show was Vanna’s first RI show. We soldout the Riverside legion with the bands I saw in high school – Orchestrate The Incident, Follow The Flies, Outrage (now Raindance), In Response To You, and Dour Cursiva in those halls in all over the southcoast of Massachusetts We even had to sneak people in. I was hooked and there was no looking back!

H: I know you attended Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island. What did you study there, and how involved were you in the music community at that time?

R: I studied Sports/Entertainment/Event Management there. I was very involved in the music community and would be at The Living Room 2-3 times a week. It was a bummer because I’d always see all these awesome shows in high school going there, but I didn’t really have friends to go with so I’d miss out. I’d walk to most of the shows and start meeting more people and making friends there. I honestly think the RI scene hasn’t had as strong mid level shows as The Living Room days and wonder if it ever will. I saw so many great shows there that I just don’t see any venue filling what they did. The other part of attending so many of those was doing papers in the wee hours of the night/morning and waking up at 7/9 AM and losing sleep. All completely worth it though.

H: Did you finish college?

R: I did finish college. I graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor’s degree.

H: This is a question that comes up in almost every interview we do. It would be possible to argue that your career today is not a direct result of your time in college. A lot of what you have accomplished is owed to your own drive and hard work. That said, do you still feel college was worth your money and time? Why or why not? Would you suggest others hoping to enter the entertainment business pursue a college education?

R: HAH. Absolutely not from the college itself standpoint and that’s nothing against JWU persay – it is a great institution, but for what I do they definitely didn’t get me much in terms of career parth. I will say that dorming in Providence allowed me to be engulfed into the music scene and making connections which would help me later on. That being said I have 100k in loans that luckily are split between me and my parents, but it sucks flat out. I could have went to community college for free, but it has that stigma that it’s “not as good” or whatever. Yes, I learned things in college that goes without saying, but nothing like my own experience taught me. I’m really passionate in what I’ve told people about industry vs college. You can get great grades and learn all sorts of stuff by the books in college. That’s well and good, but when “shit hits the fan” day of the event you need to adapt. It takes a lot of patience and a certain mindset to run events successfully. That’s not to say myself or anyone in this industry isn’t without making mistakes – we all have and will as nobody is perfect at what they do. I’ve done some pretty stupid stuff over the years haha, but I feel I’m definitely very good at what I do. You constantly learn just like anything else. It’s a high stress environment that’s for sure. You’d be better off learning time management than certain things in a class. I strongly encourage people not to attend a high cost private institute if they are looking to get into the music business. Start at the ground level and work your butt off like you never have to showcase your worth in whatever position you can get – even if not directly related to what you want – referrals like anyone will help. Network with every single person possible – you never know who will help you in life and don’t count anyone out because it could bite ya later. One of my best connections in this industry who always offers great advice – Mathew Barletta – was in a small band that I booked several times in a pool hall to tiny shows. We went from a random booking to solid friends that can always relate industry talk. So never ever count out someone because you never know what the relationship can develop to. I answer every single message / e-mail I get even if I can’t help just because that’s who I am. If you want to go to college (which you should) get a degree at a community college and save yourself the money. The other thing is especially for a while the music business isn’t going to be lucrative. You’re going to likely scrap by and not want fat loans to pay off. So that’s my thoughts on all that… def a big subject for me.

H: Keynote Company started in 2007, which would have been during your time in college. Did you intern, work, or otherwise train with another booking company/group prior to launching your own venture?

R: As I stated previously I worked with Alex on a show, but it wasn’t formal interning or anything. I honestly have never worked for anyone else I just observed and knew what to do and who to do it with. I basically behind the scenes studied what worked and didn’t and would learn my own lessons. That’s why I was saying in the previous answer like – books can teach you one thing – you learn so much more by doing it on your own.

H: I really like the name Keynote Company, but for the life of me I don’t know why you chose it for your business. Can you tell us the origin story behind this name?

R: It’s funny because I don’t think really many people know what the name means. Originally with Alex we were X-Mothaz booking. I have NO clue why he chose that ridiculously bad name. I think we were just joking around and were like well whatever it’s just for fun. When I knew that Vanna show was hyping up and it was what I wanted in life I knew I needed a more serious name. Basically everyone assumes the company is Keynote and company is attached as a formality like a company. The name is suppose to be separated – Key (right fit / top notch) Note (music) Company (meaning the company of friends). So essentially it’s a behind the scenes meaning is the right fit top notch music booking with good company. It’s a little trick so I never really explain it that much. Basically though the name was just suppose to reflect that it’s not just about booking shows. It’s about trying to book the best shows with the right company and making them feel like a community.

H: How big is the Keynote Company? I know you’re the leader, but how many people work with you for promotion/marketing/etc.?

R: Honestly right now it’s basically just me although I do have friends that help out. Over the years my best friend Derick Swiader was booking with me, but he left this year to pursue other endeavors in life. I’ve had countless people help me, but the most mainstays that are worth namedropping are my other best friends Nichole Bishop, Erin Rice, Lauren Sullivan, my brother Jason Collier, and definitely my dad and mom have helped a ton as well. Also right now I take a lot of great advice from various promoters in other markets – most specifically Jake Zimmerman, Anthony Cabrera, and Sage Keber.

H: Are you looking to expand your team? I’m sure a few of our New England readers might want to join your efforts.

R: I take pride it my company as like it’s my personal baby. I do want to expand, but the relationship would have to be strong and the person would have to bring a lot to the table. I’m always open to networking and collaborating, but I don’t see myself officially adding anyone to the team anytime soon. I would love for someone to have enough to offer to the company though and change my mind absolutely.

H: Without going too in depth, can you walk us through your typical day at work?

R: I would just say there is no typical day. That’s the beauty of it I can wake up and have a ton of great emails or a ton of spam. Everything can go right or mostly everything can go wrong til I fix it and adapt. I love it. It beats waking up in an office 9-5 and a routine schedule. My owning my own company I can work when and if I want. I don’t have to answer your e-mail right away or I can sit and read them as they come in. It’s a beautiful thing to have that freedom. That being said I still end up working 60-80 hours a week on average.

H: Is Keynote your full time job? If so, how long has that been the case?

R: Yes it is my full time job and always has been. I started in December of 2006 and my first show was February of 2007. So were closing on just about 8 years although I host my anniversary as February to the first show. It’s crazy to think about and I still have people that talk about the early days. Let’s hope they do down the road when were even older!

H: Do you have any advice to offer show promoters and talent buyers about maximizing profits and ensuring they stay profitable?

R: Work work work. There’s the good, the bad, and the ugly. Like I mentioned earlier this past July was incredibly discouraging. I never expected to just take hit after hit after hit. I lost almost 70% of my life savings in one month. It was really eye opening, but as down as I got I knew I wouldn’t quit. It just goes to show you can work super hard and think everything is gravy and a show can just not perform. Unfortunately that month it happened several times on some of the biggest finance shows I’ve had.

H: How far out do you typically book? I know shows sometimes come up at the last minute, but generally speaking how far ahead are you planning? For instance, it’s October now. Are you booking for 2015?

R: Yupp I have 3 shows on the books for May 2015. One is already fully confirmed. Typically I’m 2-3 months out which is the standard for most average booking. I’m not getting One Direction so I’m not getting stuff a year out haha. Maybe someday… but I was pretty stoked on confirming a May date… in October.

H: What would you say is the most difficult part of your job? How about the most rewarding?

R: Definitely the stress and time. As a single person business owner doing 20 shows a month is tough. I definitely will say thanks to my family and friends for dealing with me. I’m not always the easiest, but I think most see what I have to do to make myself succeed. The most rewarding is the finished product really. Watching a show go off without a hitch or when the headliner hits the stage to a packed/soldout show. Or when 20 kids watch an unknown touring band play for the first time and just give them the attention. Sometimes it isn’t about the big shows. Those little things count too. So definitely that and also the same thing I got into it for. I see friendships form and relationships. I see people meet people literally saved their lives. The fact that what I do literally saves lives and changes them in such a positive manner is worth so much more than any dollar. I feel like I’m making a difference and that’s really a powerful feeling.

H: Keynote company has been around for close to a decade at this point. What are your longterm goals for the company? Do you think you will ever have a venue of your own, or would you prefer to stay in the booking/promotion realm?

R: My longterm goals are just the simple “bigger and better”. I’m not content with just booing 500 people shows. It’s been my goal to book Lupos / Palladium downstairs and pack it, but it hasn’t happened yet. It’s on the near horizon and was suppose to happen several times this year, but things feel through. I want to sellout Gilette Stadium or the Dunk one day. Anything is possible if you work hard enough. I don’t doubt that someday it could happen. It’s a bit ambitious and crazy right now… but hey that’s what entrepreneurs get super successful are anyways. I would like to own my own venue someday potentially too, but I rather diversify and book several different markets. Maybe when and if I do have a staff of people someday I’d open my own though. That’s been something I’ve though about a lot before too.

H: What would you say is the biggest misconception about what you do?

R: Easily that I’m just cashing in on talent. It’s so far from the truth. Do I make decent money right now? Yes there’s no denying that. But it’s no different than I would (and likely way less) if I used my college degree to pursue a job. It took me 7 years to make significant money really. I was always profiting yearly from the get go, but I’ve invested a lot back into building the company up. People get a false idea when I work the door and have a fat wad of cash. Just because it’s in my hand or pocket doesn’t mean it stays there. The expenses on shows are a lot higher than most people realize. Promoters aren’t all rich or we’d have fancy houses and cars haha.

H: I know you work with talent from essentially every genre of music. Is one genre typically more difficult to book/promote than others in New England?

R: For once I don’t have that lengthy an answer. I think anything can succeed, but I would feel like country is a weaker genre in the Northeast. Metal and hardcore are more prevalent in MA because they are known for that.

H: What are the biggest challenges facing Keynote Company in the year ahead?

R: That’s a tough one. I think I’m at the stage of branching out from under 500 people to shows that draw 1000 or 2000. It’s definitely going to be nerve-wracking shelling out that money for the artists and venues that bring that crowd in. Yeah… that’s going to be the biggest challenge. Learning how to effectively do those types of shows.

H: I know we talked about the company’s plans, but what about you? Do you have any addition goals you’re hoping to achieve in the next year or so?

R: Not really. I’d like to have some time to travel and maybe attend Fest in Florida this year, but my schedule is tight around traveling definitely.

H: What advice would you offer to those reading this who are currently considering the pursuit of a career in your line of work?

R: As I said before it’s just about hard work and networking. Learn from your mistakes and don’t get too discourage by them because we all make them. Don’t put the word quit in your vocabulary or if it is make sure it’s just out of frustration. You’ll go through hard times, but just strive and adapt to get the success you want.

H: Where is Richard Collier five years from now?

R: Hopefully as a household name in booking on the east coast. I’m not ever going to be Livenation or Bowery because of their financials, but I definitely think we’ll be making a statement and providing quality shows.

H: That’s all I have, Richard. Thank you for your time. Do you have any closing thoughts you would like to share?

R: I appreciate you reaching out to me for the interview. I hope everyone that reads this gets some more insight to what me and my company are about. You can find us at www.keynotecompany.net and keynotecompany on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter and Youtube. We hope to hear from you as we love meeting new people!

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