Haulix LIVE! is your chance to learn from and engage with the greatest minds in music publicity today.
With Coronavirus making music conferences and festivals impossible, Haulix LIVE! is here to fill a void in the entertainment business. Twice a month, Haulix brings together the greatest minds in music publicity and promotion to share their knowledge with anyone hoping to hear it. These events are 100% free, and they are open to everyone.
Join us on Thursday, June 18, at 2PM EST for a free PR roundtable with special guests Ebony Jeanette (EJPR), Jamie Roberts (Better Noise), Jon Freeman (Freeman Promotions), and Bill Meis (eOne Entertainment). The event will cover the promotional challenges of COVID-19, emerging trends in music publicity, and advice for people hoping to work in music PR. Viewers will also have an opportunity to ask our guests questions. Click here to register.
About our panelists:
Bill Meis is an aggressive multi-skilled music business professional with more than fifteen years of experience in marketing, media relations, and logistics. He is still driven by the same love for rock n’ roll that fueled him as a teenager growing up on Long Island, New York.
Currently, Bill oversees all media relations and marketing for the rock and metal artists found on the eOne music roster. During the last decade, he has landed his artists in significant publications like Billboard, Rolling Stone, NPR, Pitchfork, and Guitar World. Bill was also at the publicity helm when his artist High On Fire won for “Best Metal Performance” at the 2018 GRAMMY Awards.
Metal music publicist Ebony Jeanette’s lifework is connecting people with the entertainment and brands they love by converting messages into discoverable media experiences. Ebony currently owns and operates boutique Public Relations firm, Ebony Jeanette PR (EJPR), and over the course of her decade on this side of the desk in the music industry, she has held posts as the in-house publicist for two of the world’s foremost extreme heavy metal record labels; Century Media Records (Sony) and Prosthetic Records. Additionally, Ebony is a singer and music journalist whose work has been featured in Substream Magazine, SonicBids, New Noise Magazine, and more.
Jamie Roberts from Better Noise Entertainment has a wealth of experience as a music publicist and PR executive, having led departments at Roadrunner Records, Universal Records and EMI’s The Enclave prior to her time at Better Noise (previously Eleven Seven Music) as well as running her own firms – Right Angle PR, then For The Win Media. Over 25+ years in the music industry, she has worked with such top-tier artists as Mötley Crüe, Blondie, Papa Roach, Godsmack, Nick Lachey, and Paulina Rubio, among others. She has been an integral part of building the careers of bands like Slipknot and Nickelback and has helped artists like The Dillinger Escape Plan, Sloan, and Nothing More reach new heights of success.
Freeman Promotions is the brainchild of Jon Freeman, whose humble career beginnings are rooted in college radio. Freeman has worked his way up the music industry ranks, thanks to a cocktail of ambition, drive, and good, old-fashioned elbow grease.
Some key artists whose careers he has been intrinsically involved in include Type O Negative, Whitesnake, Alice Cooper, GWAR, Mark Morton, and Municipal Waste. If you’ve heard about these acts in some form or another, chances are, it’s because Jon Freeman was involved in spreading the word and creating their media profiles.
These four PR powerhouses have never sat on a panel together before, and you can be there to learn from their combined experiences FOR FREE. Click here to register for our event.
This series is written and curated by publicist and industry mastermind Bill Meis. When not helping your favorite band planned their next phase of promotion Bill is a family man with an interest in sharing the creative people he’s met through music with the world. Through his official blog he recently started interviewing those he finds interesting, and with his permission we are going begin sharing them on our site as well. You can find Bill on Twitter and Tumblr. Follow him.
I work with a lot of interesting people.
Each of these industry war-hogs have their own stories and a shed full of tools they use every day.
My Callsheet blog series showcases these well oiled machines of the music business.
I met Seth W at a show in upstate New York about 13 years ago. I played with my band, and Seth was his own. Since then he’s become one of the sharpest blogging minds in the country.
Your mobile hardware: iPhone 5 with Mophie Juice Pack, laptop, Logitech wireless mouse
Your computer: 2008 Aluminum MacBook
Your 5 Go to Web/Mobile Apps and why:
1. Rdio: New releases every tuesday, old favorites, social works well with people I follow, and the Recommendations are pretty spot on. Waiting for Metallica, though! Argh.
3. TweetDeck: Twitter on the web is awful, and I don’t like the Twitter Desktop app, so this works best.
4. TweetBot: 80% of Skull Toaster is done through Twitter, so I need an app that’ll keep up when I’m mobile, which is most of the time.
5. Evernote: Perfect sync of notes between my laptop and phone. I couldn’t do Skull Toaster without this. Holds all my client work info, travel details for when I’m on the road (like screenshots and phone numbers). Can’t recommend Evernote enough.
What’s your workspace setup like?
Just a laptop on a desk, or kitchen table.
What’s your best time-saving tip or trick?
Using followupthen.com to remember to follow up on certain items. This means I don’t have to set a reminder or a Calendar item to follow up. That may only take a minute, but add that up over a year and that’s too much time. I just forward the email and it pops up in my inbox when I need to act on it.
What’s your favorite to-do list manager?
I don’t use one.
Which area of technology excites you most?
Mobile web. Blogs ruled in 2006. Social media rules now. I think mobile web becomes the wild west and I can’t wait to see how that plays out.
Besides your cell phone and computer, what gadget can’t you go without and why?
Mophie Juice Pack. I don’t fault the iPhone at all, since I use this amazing piece of technology that fits in my pocket every hour of the day.
What everyday thing are you better at than everybody else?
Managing email. Inbox zero, always. As I mentioned before, followupthen.com let’s me get emails out of my inbox to follow up when needed. Then forwarding emails toEvernote, and organizing them by client or project helps me stay super organized. So when someone asks for details on a project I can go to Evernote (on my laptop or iPhone) and find the details in seconds. That means no folders or “tags” or whatever in Gmail. I’d never go back to organizing things in email ever again.
Twitter. If the news is big enough, it bubbles up to people I follow. I stopped following news ever since I read ‘Four Hour Work Week.’
What advice would you give to someone who wants to do what you do?
“Ship,” from ‘Linchpin’ by Seth Godin. Ship something. Get it out of the door. Make a website. Produce a video. Have something to show for your expertise, no matter how bad the first version is. Ship it, anyways. The next one will be better, and the one after that. Always be shipping. Five years from now you’ll wished you started today.
What’s the one activity you use to escape?
Long walks with no music. I force myself to 100% be in the moment, and not let the problems follow me. If shit is on my mind I look at a tree and think, “tree, tree, tree.” Look at a house, and think, “house, house, house.” The faster I get out of my head, away from everything, the better I’ll be when I sit back down at my computer to get back to work.
What’s your sleep routine like?
I’ve been couch surfing since 2010, and have only had my own bed for seven or eight months during that whole time. Right now I sleep on a couch. Asleep at 3am, up by 9am most everyday, or earlier.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
“We’re not saving lives.” Shit happens, deadlines are missed, managers are angry, label doesn’t like a review, at the end of the day, hey, we’re not saving lives. Relax.
Are more a phone call person or email/text worker?
Email and text.
What music app do you use to consume music the most?
Proud paying subscriber to Rdio for the past few years.
Inspired by the fine folks at LifeHacker and their How I Work blog series, the Callsheet series gives the spotlight to the people behind the scenes that keep the music business going. The managers, road dogs and 3am phone call takers who live and die making things happen. Callsheet gives you a chance to learn their secrets, tips and tricks that make their day easier.
Welcome to the first PR Spotlight of September 2013. We debuted this feature in early August, and the weeks since have been met with a flood of positive feedback. Moving forward we hope to dive deeper than ever before into the lives lead within the music industry, starting with the story of a man who knew from his day in high school that music was the life for him. If you know of a company or publicist you feel should be highlighted in an upcoming edition of this column, please do not hesitate to email james@haulix.com and share your story.
Bill Meis has spent more than a decade working his way through the ranks of the music business. From his days as an intern at Sony, to now being the Publicity Manager (Rock and Metal) for Entertainment One Music, Bill has never shied away from a challenge because he knew deep down this was the industry for him. His passion for music and drive to succeed knows no bounds, and in today’s spotlight we learn about the journey he took to find his start, what lead him to join the team at EOne, and a little bit of everything in between. You can read about his adventures below.
On a personal note, I’ve known and worked with Bill for the better part of five years, and in that time I have met no one quite as kind and helpful as him. His love of music comes from somewhere deep in his soul, and his genuine desire to help artists further develop is evident from the moment you meet. I’m proud to call him a friend and am thankful for his guidance. Sharing his story is a bit of an honor for me, and I believe the insight he has to offer will go a long way towards helping a new generation of talent get their start.
If you want to know more about Bill’s work, be sure to check out everyone on Entertainment One Music’s website. Additional questions or comments can be left at the end of this post.
H: For those unaware, please state your name, the company you work for, and your role at said business:
BM: Publicity Manager (Rock and Metal) for Entertainment One Music
H: Everyone has to start somewhere. To what or whom do you attribute your interest in music?
BM: My family. My grandfather was an avid piano player and my uncle showed me my first guitar, I’ve been playing ever since. I have some older cousins to thank for showing me my first records when I was around 11 & 12 years old.
H: What was the first album you purchased with your own money? Do you still own it today?
BM: The Pearl Jam “Alive” maxi single. I probably have it somewhere. I bought it at Slipped Disc in Valley Stream, Long Island.
H: You actually went to school to study music business. When did you know you wanted to pursue a career in entertainment?
BM: When I was in high school I played in bands with other kids that weren’t into sports. Once we were ready to play outside our parent’s basements and garages we set out to play local shows. That was my first attempt at the music business and when I knew I wanted to do it more professionally, I was about 17.
H: You interned at Sony’s marketing department in early 2002, then joined the team at Red a year later as a production coordinator. After then your own business, and slowly moved away from the major label space. What lead you down the path of small, more independent companies?
BM: It wasn’t something I set out to do. I wasn’t thinking major versus independent while I was making those decisions. They each seemed like the no brainer choice at the time. In hindsight, I feel like I made the right moves. Both for stability sake as well as integrity.
H: There will many roles on your resume before publicist. How did you first find yourself in a PR position, and when did it become your specialty in the business?
BM: When you thrust yourself into this business, you start to wear a lot of hats all the time. When I was in my band from 00-05 I played tour manager, manager and publicist. When I worked at Facedown I worked along side their publicists and saw what they did on a day by day basis. Then when I was working for Ryan Downey / Superhero I was on the other side of the table dealing with each artists respective publicists. Looking back it gave me a good perspective to start with at eOne. It wasn’t until I came to eOne where that’s what my focus was 100%. It was a nice change of pace to only concentrate on one area of the business.
H: For the last four years you have been a part of eOne Entertainment, one of the more diverse labels operating today. What attracted you to the company in the first place?
BM: I had been working with the band Throwdown that was (and still is) signed to eOne (Koch Records at the time), so I was vaguely familiar with the people that worked here and their track record. I had met Scott Givens before and knew he was making some big moves with artists like Hatebreed, In Flames and Otep. So, between that and the fact that their offices had just conveniently moved close to my hometown, it was an easy decision.
H: As someone who has spent a decade in paying positions throughout the industry, what advice would you offer to young professionals aspiring for a career in music?
BM: You really, really have to want to do it. Anyone I’ve seen that has been successful in this business lives it on a daily basis. I’m not just talking about the passionate part either, it doesn’t take much to be passionate about music. I’m talking about the bad parts too, the parts of this business that aren’t attractive. You need to love all of it.
H: eOne is known as much for breaking new talent as it is delivering strong releases from it veteran roster. When you want to find new music, where do you turn?
BM: The internet. Plain and simple. I can’t even remember the last time I saw a press kit or physical demo in our office. Our A&R arm was recently boosted with our partnership with Good Fight Music. Carl Severson is another veteran who has brought a lot to the table. Personally I like to troll Rdio, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Twitter and recommendations from friends for new music.
H: If you could offer one piece of advice to young bands hoping to make a mark in the current music industry, what would it be?
BM: Do everything yourself before you ask, or even get the idea in your head that you need to have someone else do something for you. If young bands did that, they’d accomplish so much more. The young bands that distribute their own records, get themselves on their own tours, print their own merch, run their own merch stores, run their own marketing and social media campaigns (successfully) that impress me the most. If you do that, managers, agents and labels will come to you.
H: As a publicist, what advice would you offer writers hoping to work with your clients?
BM: Read their bio first! No seriously, read their bio first.
H: Piracy is one of the most discussed topic in the industry today. Do you feel album leaks are preventable? If so, how would you advise an artist to keep their music safe while still getting the word out?
BM: I don’t think album leaks are preventable, but it is manageable. The more accessible and affordable you make music, the less people will steal it. Plain and simple. There’s not much I can say here that hasn’t been said before. We spit the bit about 10 years ago and we’re paying the price for it now. Hopefully we can keep playing catchup and stay afloat. It seems we have done that so far.
H: When it comes to working with your clients, how do you prefer to share their music with press? What is it about this method that appeals to you the most?
BM: Haulix, obviously! It is my tool of choice when it comes to digital promo distribution. This appeals to me because it’s instantaneous. There’s no envelope stuffing, no costly postage and no paper cuts. It’s also a daily battle between the old dogs who prefer the piece of plastic in their hands and the writers and editors who can work with streams and download links. The ones that do are waiting around a lot less for packages to arrive.
H: If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
BM: I wouldn’t change much. It’s really exciting to see where things are going. I know I’ll look back on my time here and be able to say I was a part of a historic time. I would change the way our industry treated technology in the early days. I really feel like if we embraced it back then we would not be in as deep of a hole we’re in now. But like Mustaine says, hindsight is always 20/20.
H: Your roster is as eclectic now as ever before. Do you have any plans or releases on the horizon you’d like to share with our readers?
BM: Black Label Society is releasing a live DVD/CD called “Unblackened” on 9/24. It’s a toned down version of BLS fans might not have seen or heard before. We just debuted the first single via Rollingstone.com last week. A Bill Withers cover of “Aint No Sunshine.” Our metal roster is as strong as it’s ever been. Bands like Within The Ruins, Impending Doom, Reflections, Fit For An Autopsy are setting the bar really high for the bands that come after them. We’ll also have new studio albums from High On Fire, Overkill and Black Label Society next year.
