Three of music’s most exciting publicists recently came together for a panel on the state of the industry that cannot be missed.
If there is anything to learn from the age of COVID-19, aside from the need for personal hygiene, it is the importance of connection. Human beings are not meant to live in isolation. We need relationships as much as we need air in our lungs and water in our cups. Friendships are the key to everything, including happiness and success, which explains why these long periods without human interaction are so tricky.
With that in mind, 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.
On Thursday, August 20, at 2PM EST, we held a free PR roundtable with special guests Jesea Lee (High Road Publicity), Jon Asher (Asher Media Relations), and Rey Roldan (Reybee Inc). The event covered the state of music PR today, emerging trends in music publicity, and advice for people hoping to work in the field. Viewers also had an opportunity to ask our guests questions.
About the panelists:
Jesea Lee, a man who hails from the birthplace of Rock n’ Roll where the river was hot, but the beer is cold, is the co-owner and Head Publicist at High Road Publicity. Lee fell in love with music at a young age, starting his first band before he could even play an instrument. Applying that “dive headfirst” attitude to the business side of music, Lee was hired as a PR intern at Tragic Hero Records which quickly led to him becoming the director of publicity at Tragic Hero, Sun Pedal Recordings, and Revival Recordings. At the beginning of 2015, the newly-formed company High Road Publicity launched with Lee at the helm. Since then, he’s worked with many talented and burgeoning artists, making meaningful impacts to their careers.
Jon Asher, known for being a regular fixture on the Montreal music scene, founded ASHER MEDIA RELATIONS in September 2007 to aid bands and labels in celebrating their headbanging tunes to the world. A musician himself, and a McGill University graduate in public relations, Jon had his epiphany – to help out the struggling artists and help them gain the attention they need to support their music. He has worked with a number of independent and established artists such as Annihilator, Gene Hoglan (Testament, Death, SYL, Fear Factory), Quo Vadis, Fuck The Facts, Striker, Psychostick, Necronomicon, Helion Prime, Hibria, Mutank, Anonymus, Sons of Butcher, Kill Devil Hill ft. Rex Brown (Pantera) + Vinny Appice (DIO, Black Sabbath)), Drum Wars (Vinny Appice vs. Carmine Appice), Nephelium, Ninjaspy, Scythia, All Else Fails, Auroch, Planet Eater, Vesperia, Rockshots Records, Wacken Metal Battle Canada/USA, Armstrong Metal Fest, Loud As Hell MetalFest, Calgary Metalfest, Metalocalypstick Fest, Decimate Metal Fest, Le FestEvil, Obscene Extreme America Fest and many more. He has also guest lectured at McGill University on Music Publicity for the public relations program plus has spoken on panels for Alberta Music (Calgary), Indie Week (Toronto), Noctis Fest (Calgary), Halifax Pop Explosion, and mentoring sessions at SXSW (Austin, TX).
Rey Roldan is a veteran of the music industry, both as a publicist and journalist at I.R.S. Records, Mammoth Records, Grass / Wind-up Records, Jive /Silvertone/Zomba Recordings, KSA Public Relations and Island Def Jam, for over two decades. He’s also the founder of Reybee, Inc. (est. 2004). Throughout his career, he has been involved with musicians and artists from practically every facet of the entertainment business including music, film, books, television and plays. He has spearheaded campaigns for artists including Britney Spears, Brooks & Dunn, Duran Duran, director Baz Luhrmann, Backstreet Boys, Sting, Hootie & the Blowfish, Hanson, Dresden Dolls, A Tribe Called Quest, as well as the films Bridget Jones’ Diary, Grammy winner Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,O Brother Where Art Thou? He has also helped launch record labels including Lost Highway, Jive Electro, and Planet Dog. If that’s not enough, he’s also currently a staff writer at American Songwriter Magazine.
The Haulix LIVE! panel series continues this month with an in-depth conversation featuring three of music’s leading publicists.
If there is anything to learn from the age of COVID-19, aside from the need for personal hygiene, it is the importance of connection. Human beings are not meant to live in isolation. We need relationships as much as we need air in our lungs and water in our cups. Friendships are the key to everything, including happiness and success, which explains why these long periods without human interaction are so tricky.
With that in mind, 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, August 20, at 2PM EST for a free PR roundtable with special guests Jesea Lee (High Road Publicity), Jon Asher (Asher Media Relations), and Rey Roldan (Reybee Inc). The event will cover the state of music PR today, emerging trends in music publicity, and advice for people hoping to work in the field. Viewers will also have an opportunity to ask our guests questions. Click here to register.
About the panelists:
Jesea Lee, a man who hails from the birthplace of Rock n’ Roll where the river was hot, but the beer is cold, is the co-owner and Head Publicist at High Road Publicity. Lee fell in love with music at a young age, starting his first band before he could even play an instrument. Applying that “dive headfirst” attitude to the business side of music, Lee was hired as a PR intern at Tragic Hero Records which quickly led to him becoming the director of publicity at Tragic Hero, Sun Pedal Recordings, and Revival Recordings. At the beginning of 2015, the newly-formed company High Road Publicity launched with Lee at the helm. Since then, he’s worked with many talented and burgeoning artists, making meaningful impacts to their careers.
Jon Asher, known for being a regular fixture on the Montreal music scene, founded ASHER MEDIA RELATIONS in September 2007 to aid bands and labels in celebrating their headbanging tunes to the world. A musician himself, and a McGill University graduate in public relations, Jon had his epiphany – to help out the struggling artists and help them gain the attention they need to support their music. He has worked with a number of independent and established artists such as Annihilator, Gene Hoglan (Testament, Death, SYL, Fear Factory), Quo Vadis, Fuck The Facts, Striker, Psychostick, Necronomicon, Helion Prime, Hibria, Mutank, Anonymus, Sons of Butcher, Kill Devil Hill ft. Rex Brown (Pantera) + Vinny Appice (DIO, Black Sabbath)), Drum Wars (Vinny Appice vs. Carmine Appice), Nephelium, Ninjaspy, Scythia, All Else Fails, Auroch, Planet Eater, Vesperia, Rockshots Records, Wacken Metal Battle Canada/USA, Armstrong Metal Fest, Loud As Hell MetalFest, Calgary Metalfest, Metalocalypstick Fest, Decimate Metal Fest, Le FestEvil, Obscene Extreme America Fest and many more. He has also guest lectured at McGill University on Music Publicity for the public relations program plus has spoken on panels for Alberta Music (Calgary), Indie Week (Toronto), Noctis Fest (Calgary), Halifax Pop Explosion, and mentoring sessions at SXSW (Austin, TX).
Rey Roldan is a veteran of the music industry, both as a publicist and journalist at I.R.S. Records, Mammoth Records, Grass / Wind-up Records, Jive /Silvertone/Zomba Recordings, KSA Public Relations and Island Def Jam, for over two decades. He’s also the founder of Reybee, Inc. (est. 2004). Throughout his career, he has been involved with musicians and artists from practically every facet of the entertainment business including music, film, books, television and plays. He has spearheaded campaigns for artists including Britney Spears, Brooks & Dunn, Duran Duran, director Baz Luhrmann, Backstreet Boys, Sting, Hootie & the Blowfish, Hanson, Dresden Dolls, A Tribe Called Quest, as well as the films Bridget Jones’ Diary, Grammy winner Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,O Brother Where Art Thou? He has also helped launch record labels including Lost Highway, Jive Electro, and Planet Dog. If that’s not enough, he’s also currently a staff writer at American Songwriter Magazine.
Rey Roldan is someone we consider both a client and friend. His Reybee PR team is one of the industry’s best, and no matter how busy he gets Rey always finds time to help aspiring professionals find their way in music. We asked Rey if he would be interested in contributing to our site on a regular basis earlier this year, and fortunately for us he said yes. The piece that follows is his latest creation, and we sincerely hope you enjoy the insight it has to offer.
“What do you call an ex-music industry person,” a friend asked me recently.
“I dunno, what,” I asked.
“A realtor,” he chuckled, and took a swig of his beer. But then, almost instantly, his expression changed, his laughter stopped, and he slunk away.
The funny thing is, this friend of mine was once a really successful music industry guy, handling flashy names and pop stars. One day, while doing his PR gig at a major label, he decided he just couldn’t hack it anymore. He walked into his boss’s office and gave two weeks’ notice. He was done… spent… over it. He suffered career burnout.
I ran into him at the bar a few more times that night, and each time he asked me about the music business. When I’d answer, I’d temper my responses so it didn’t feel like I was rubbing it in his face, but still, he looked more and more bummed out with each of my answers. I could tell he really missed it. I guess realty just wasn’t as sexy.
The older I get and the more years I log in as a publicist, the more I worry about ending up like him, getting burned out at this job… What on earth would I do if I had to start over? And really, I hated the thought of selling houses.
Needing some sound advice and words of wisdom from editor friends and publicist peers who were still in the industry, I asked a few if they fear getting burnt out and, more importantly, how they overcame it, because, God knows, I have no intention of talking about square footage and how many parking spaces come with each unit.
Whether you call it Writer’s Block, work fatigue, or career burnout, the ability to “keep on keeping on” is something that every each one of us encounters. Whether you’re an editor, staff writer, freelancer, blogger or publicist, getting unstuck when you’re hopelessly trapped in a mental headlock is a very real and sometimes difficult obstacle to maneuver. How each of us deal with it was what I was interested in learning.
For some, like Jason Pettigrew, Editor in Chief of Alternative Press, the nation’s leading publication in alternative music, mental fatigue is easily overcome by completely unplugging and getting back to the basics. “Given the 24/7/365 cycle of the internet, burnout is positively inevitable,” he explained to me. “The demands of various people in a journalist’s life—management, readers, loved ones—are hard to navigate and negotiate.”
When I asked him how he avoids hitting that brick wall, he replied, “The best way I’ve learned to cope with burnout is to take a vacation from devices. Don’t go on a conventional vacation: stay at home and don’t plug your phone or laptop in for a day. Try it. See what you’ll actually miss. Don’t take your phone to bed; take the love of your life.”
Even though I don’t have a “love of my life” (unless my dogs count and cozying up to them in bed just sounds wrong), Jason’s advice about shutting out technology and unplugging for some time sounded like really great advice, though the thought of being away from my iPhone even for an instant seems like it’s create mass chaos and emotional decay for me.
I turned to my buddy Robbie Daw, Editor-in-Chief of Idolator, the uber-trafficked site for pop music and gossip. Like Jason, Robbie logged years upon years of employment in the industry. “In my experience, burnout can happen with almost any field you enter into — and I’ve worked in film, television, print and online journalism,” he told me. “What I always remind myself is that at the heart of everything, I’m a writer, and when I’m feeling a bit creatively spent at any job, I try to create some kind of other outlet for me to get the juices flowing again, even if it’s in my spare time. For instance, during my six years working at a print publication, Instinct, I created Chart Rigger, a pop music blog, at home one Friday night in January 2005. I still bang out the occasional post on there and work on other types of writing in my spare time, and it alleviates a lot of day-to-day job stress and helps keep everything in perspective.”
Personally speaking, when I was a full-time journalist years ago, I kinda did what both of those guys did but in a slightly different manner. Since smartphones hadn’t been discovered yet, unplugging wasn’t a problem, so I’d walk away from my computer and ride my bike around Boston. Or, since I freelanced for a ton of different magazines, if I hit a mental block writing one article, I’d switch gears and redirect my creative energy and work on another article. Either of those usually did the trick.
But now as a full-time publicist, I was curious how my PR peers dealt with it. Unlike writers, publicists suffering from a mental block aren’t just affecting their own careers, but their clients’ careers as well. Our own paychecks aren’t the only things at stake… our artists’ livelihoods are too.
So I thought I’d ask a hot shit whippersnapper publicist like Tito Bellis who works for well-known and respected indie music publicity and marketing firm Big Hassle Media. Considering the level of artists they handle such high-pressure clients as Against Me!, Jimmy Eat World, and The Replacements, among many others, Tito for sure must come dangerously close to breaking point. “Due to the sheer pace and pressure surrounding the job of a publicist, burning out from time to time is bound to happen,” he explained. “For me, this tends to occur more in the summer time due to every single band and their mothers being on the road, festival season being in full swing, and the constant expectations and requests being flung at you from so many directions.” I wanted to make a crack about bands and their moms, but before I could interject, he continued, “Making time for yourself is important, but from within the job, I try to do my best to keep my plate manageable and work to include projects that are a little out of my wheelhouse just to keep things interesting, challenging and personally fulfilling.”
Tito does raise some great points… I mean, at the end of the day, we work in music. We make a living out of writing, talking, and plugging away about music. So looking within our own spheres and finding something in there to keep things interesting and challenging must be pretty easy. And unless you’re a glutton for punishment and only work with music you absolutely despise, finding interesting stuff in our own artists is a great way to liven things up. I mean, think about it: Instead of balancing spreadsheets and discussing mutual funds, we shoot the shit about music all day. Whether we’re talking about the Taylor Swift/Katy Perry feud, oogling Miley Cyrus’ Instagram feed, or pitching the new Electric Six album titled Bitch, Don’t Let Me Die (yes, that’s the REAL name of their new album that comes out in October… Hit me up if you want a copy… Shameless self-promo. Oops?), the fact that we write about, talk about, and listen to music all day is probably one of silliest ways to make a living… so why on earth would we want to jeopardize that career because of something as transient as burnout??
Sometimes though, burnout isn’t due to our doing, but something that happens as a result. When I asked my pal Maggie Poulos, founder of Mixtape Media, the awesome Brooklyn-based music boutique firm who handles The Fontaines, BETS and Bird Dog among others, about her experiences, she relayed a story that sounded pretty soul-crushing… though the silver lining is that she regrouped her energy in… wait for it… Fiji. “I have absolutely suffered from publicist burnout,” she told me. “In 2009, I was laid off from a very high-pressure situation and was able to take some real time off and went to Fiji for a few weeks. That was instrumental in helping me overcome my burnout that time, but I can’t always take off for the South Pacific.” If only… but if you can turn lemons into lemonade while decked out on a tropical beach with a toucan on your shoulder and a pack of hyenas dragging buckets of Coronas to you, why not? (CONFESSION: I don’t know where Fiji is but I know it’s tropical). “Lately though, when I’ve felt burnt out, I’ve sought out publicist friends and asked for advice on certain situations. It’s always helpful to have a fresh perspective and some new ideas heralded in by others in similar situations.” Seeking solace from publicist friends and venting is also good because you can bitch about clients and they’ll understand you without stopping you to ask, “So wait, what exactly is ‘lead time’?”
A lot of times, it’s not just the work load that causes a mental and emotional shutdown. Journalism and publicity alike is rife with pressure to deliver, often with a client at the ready to constantly remind you of the impending deadlines. Managing client and editor expectations while delivering our journalistic pièce de résistance or brandishing our PR magnum opus is a balance we strive for, but achieving it can be extensively draining and soul sucking.
Detaching from the job, as Jason previously mentioned, seems to be the best way to relieve that stress and tackle it with a renewed sense of energy.
Similarly, Maggie feels the same way. “I’ve also made a larger effort to compartmentalize my work things and not let them bleed over into the rest of my life as they have in the past,” she explained. “It’s hard, but I find it’s better for me to stick to designated work hours. While it’s not always possible with this job, I do try to keep work in check. It’s also important to maintain a healthy social life – it’s always beneficial to me to remember that my life is more than my job. That all being said, music is still my passion and I still enjoy doing what I do.”
So with this precarious game of weights and pulleys, how does one stay connected and effervescent in our chosen careers… and is it possible to maintain a lifelong career in these fields? “I remember someone once telling me when I was working in print that most editors switch jobs within five years — and usually it’s to become a publicist,” laughs Robbie. “Whether or not that’s the actual case, I don’t know. But I do see writing as a lifelong career for me. Whatever form that takes as far as actual nine-to-five jobs down the line, we shall see.”
Jason agrees. Once a writer, always a writer. “In the journalism world, I don’t think anyone in this line of work ever leaves writing full stop,” he says. “Robert Christgau [music journalist, essayist, and self-proclaimed “Dean of American Rock Critics”] is still very much offering his personal take on eras, be it his youth via his personal memoirs (His recent memoir, Going Into The City) and on things that are very much all about right now (his “Expert Witness” series for Vice). What’s good for music writers who are aligned to a particular era or movement, is the old adage of “history is what’s happening now.” Those who are entrenched in something are documenting history. Then decades later, when the inevitable revival or interest in a cultural adjunct is revived, consider who should be read – a well-constructed press release or someone who was there? I didn’t fully realize consider this until Alternative Press turned 30 and music fans and industry types reminded me of that scope.”
The publicists agree as well… It’s like a chosen field. You don’t chose to be a publicist… it chooses you.
“I don’t believe this job [as a publicist] has a shelf life,” explains Tito. “There is always a story needing to be told and this is a job entirely based on relationships. So the longer you commit to it, the more valuable you are. Keeping up with the constantly changing climate (e.g. lower press budgets/decreasing editorial real estate, etc.) can be frustrating and exhausting in general, but those who can continue to navigate it successfully will find it to be a career they can enjoy for the long haul.”
“I’ve seen many people do this work for decades and on the flip, but I’ve seen plenty of people get burnt out and move on to entirely different careers,” adds Maggie. “I love music and cannot imagine my involvement with it not being a part of my career, but I am not certain that it will always take the form of working in music publicity. We shall see!”
******
I ran into my friend again last weekend. I asked him how the real estate business was going.
“Dude, I’m thinking of starting an indie label with my friend… Real small, working with local bands here in North Jersey, who don’t know what they’re doing, but at least this gives them an outlet and a sense of accomplishment, and it’s one foot back in the door.” I could see some fresh life pumping behind his eyes. The color was coming back into his face.
“What about the real estate business,” I repeated.
“It’s meh… It’s a job. But the label, I’m working on big things…” His voice trailed off as he detailed excitedly all the plans he had.
I guess it’s true that one does not choose to be in the music industry. It chooses you.
Earlier this week I was browsing a forum for online music journalists when I came across a question I knew we had to feature on the blog. I won’t out the person who first posed this inquiry, but I did want to share their original comment in full as I feel it’s probably not far from how other young writers have felt or acted when trying to build their brand. It reads:
“Okay…. I just want to make sure I’m not making some rookie mistake. When I get haulix invites or private links, I forward it to my writer depending on their tastes, yeah? Obviously, you’re not supposed to share the invite, and my writers sign a disclaimer about not sharing music and if they do it’s on them, but surely they don’t mean “do not forward this to a writer?” I just ask because I got Finch’s album from razor and tie and she asked me to please not share it. I would never do that outside of sharing it with ONE writer that is writing the review.”
This is not an uncommon question, and to be honest we are kind of glad someone brought this post to our attention as it provides the perfect opportunity to address this concern on a large scale.
To put it the simplest terms possible: You should never share a Haulix promo. There is messaging included with every promo sent out that informs recipients their promos are not to be shared, but there are many who do not follow this request. By sharing Haulix promos you are not only breaking the trust of the label/publicist who sent you that material, but you are also putting yourself in a position to face severe legal repercussions should that material find its way onto the internet.
Most promos sent from Haulix are injected with numerous watermarks that not only identify the original recipient, but also the geo-locations of every person who accesses the respective promo. You should check each promo you receive to know whether or not that particular advance has a watermark. If you share your watermarked promo with someone, and that person later leaks the material online, our tools will point to you as the person responsible for the piracy. You may not have leaked the album yourself, but because the record was entrusted to you it is your responsibility to ensure it is not made available for public consumption. Should that occur, any legal action taken to recoup lost profits will be made against you and not the friend who you allowed to enjoy your advance.
To better explain what happens when an album leaks, we asked Rey Roldan of Another Reybee Production to share some of his experience with piracy:
“A blogger who is part of this site once sent a download of a band I was working with to two writers. One of his writers leaked the album (it was a very highly coveted advance). When we traced it back, we found his watermark. Label, management, band and I were thisclose to taking this a step further in the legal direction. While the writer was responsible for the leak, said "blogger” was ultimately responsible because he breached the contract (I often tick off the “watermark warning” with writers who I am unsure of, just as an extra warning). We got very close to making it legal but we opted to re-strategize and move forward.
I know some editors pass round links designated for them and it sucks. I usually often tell editors that if they are assigning a writer, give me their email address so I can get them their own watermarked music. To be honest, do YOU trust your writers to NOT leak music? If they did leak it, do you want to be legally and professionally responsible for that because YOUR watermark is on that music? God forbid, you pass your streak or download to a writer who inadvertently leaks it, do you want to become that industry pariah?
The music industry is really pretty tiny… Make the wrong move and it can follow you… Be smart about this… Request a link for anyone who is reviewing it for you. Don’t take the fall for anyone because it can happen a LOT easier than you think.”
Some sites may believe an easy solution to this problem is to have one email dedicated to receiving promos that every contributor can access. This may work at first, but should any member of your staff leave the site it is of the utmost importance you change both your email password, as well as your 4-digit Haulix passcode. That way, if they have a promo link and/or access to a promo, they can’t get to ***all**** promos, because they won’t know the passcode.
Likewise, if you allow writers to reach out to publicists on their own and one of your writers decides to leave your site, make sure you inform all publicists the writer has left and is no longer a part of your writing team. If not, that person may continue to receive advances that are linked to your site. Should something happen to those files, it may come back to you.
The best thing you can do to protect yourself and the reputation of your site is to first do a good job vetting your writing staff. Make sure you trust everyone you send releases to not only as writers, but as professionals in the industry. If you would not trust a writer to contact a label directly you might not want them handling advance releases.
Haulix has no say in what happens to individuals caught sharing watermarked materials. We are simply a middle man between journalists and labels. It’s up to our customers to handle the situation how they see fit.
Additionally, you should ALWAYS request additional promos if someone other than you will be reviewing material you have been sent. It may seem like this complicates or otherwise draws out the assignment process, but publicists would rather know who is in possession of their music than have less work to do. For example, let’s say I send you, a blog owner, a copy of my client’s album for your site. You receive the promo, pass it off to a writers, and several days later send me a link to a review of my client’s album written by someone who is not you. Who is this third party? How did they get the watermarked music I sent you? Are they someone I can trust? I have a million questions about this anonymous person. In fact, I may not want to send you another advance if I think you’re going to pass it off to more people I do not know.
It’s easy to understand why forwarding promos seems like a quick solution to the issue of how to get advances from one person to another, but actually taking part in such efforts puts you, your reputation, the livelihood of your site, and possibly even the reputations of your contributors at risk. It takes less than a minute to request additional promos, and doing so keeps you out of trouble.
Don’t risk a leak just to save time. It’s just not worth it.
With the third year of our blog still finding its footing, we thought now would be as good a time as any to introduce our latest guest contributor. Rey Roldan has lead an incredible career in music PR that now spans multiple decades, and in the coming months he will be sharing some of his vast industry knowledge with us through his very own bi-weekly column. Enjoy!
“I loved the opportunity, but I only liked a handful of the bands,” texted a friend recently about a job at a growing indie label that I had recommended her for. The label was a solid company – full benefits, allotted vacation time and a publicity team… and the bands – mostly indie rock with a smattering of alt-country (which she abhors).
“You should look at the job first, and THEN the bands,” I typed back, trying to convince her that she needs more experience. “And besides, you like a lot of the bands.”
“I know, but I want to love ALL the bands,” she replied. “I want a job at [INSERT HIPSTER LABEL HERE].”
I stared at the text message and almost did a facepalm. I typed, “Like THAT will ever happen”… but I deleted it before sending.
While there’s a really great advantage to only work bands that you love as a publicist, many publicists don’t get that dream job in the early part of their career. Learning the craft is more important than loving the bands you’re working. But if you’re able to combine the two, you’re golden.
For some, like Amy Sciarretto of Atom Splitter PR, they’re able to achieve just that. “Most of my career has trafficked in hard rock and metal, as a writer and a publicist,” she says. “I have ventured outside the genre somewhat, and I have worked with artists that are not metal. But I do have that specialty. You really do get to know your base and your ham ‘n’ eggers and go-tos. You tend to develop awesome strong relationships and friendships with people you work so closely with. I find that the outlet and I can get really creative as to how much we work together. We’ll come up with new ways to publicize a release or a band, for maximum exposure for the artist and the outlet.”
The big advantage of working a certain genre is that writers and editors trust that you know what you’re talking about. If they’re working on a story and need a band that fits your wheelhouse, then they know who to go to. Being a trusted name in your field is a huge accomplishment and Sciarretto, by far, is one of the most trusted people in the metal and hard rock world. When one thinks of metal publicists, her name is at the top of that list.
In a lot of ways, it also makes it like one-stop shopping for a writer who is working on a genre-specific story to find appropriate artists. “You usually know what to expect when you’re getting a pitch from a genre-specific publicist,” says writer John B. Moore of Blurt, New Noise, Innocent Words and others. “But if I’m writing for pubs that aren’t likely to cover that genre of music, I usually don’t bother even opening the emails from those publicists.”
“Speaking for myself, I found it easier to do publicity within one genre of music,” answers Jim Smith, Sales and Promotions Manager of Metropolis Records. Once a genre-specific behemoth in the industrial/goth/electronic/avant-garde label world, Metropolis has been slowly shifting and evolving into a much broader spectrum of artists that still includes many of those bands like Frontline Assembly, Skinny Puppy and Covenent, but now includes legendary 70s punk and postpunk artists such as Gang of Four, The Rezillos, Membranes and even 80s stalwarts Alison Moyet and Ali Campbell of UB40. “When we first started out as a label that catered to a very narrow field, the shrinking media market combined with the challenges of developing new relationships in other niche music markets presented a slew of new challenges. When we were more specialized, we had a stable of press and media people that we had long-standing relationships with. Now, it’s an ever present challenge to get publicity outside of what we have been pigeonholed into.”
Broadening the palette into much wider and colorful strokes instead of gothic black is how Metropolis is evolving. For writers too, a wider view offers more colors to choose from. “For me, it’s all about the music, not the genre label,” says William Dashiell Hammett, a freelance journalist who has written about a myriad of artists across a multitude of platforms. “It’s great to be able to work with people who can draw knowledge from across the musical spectrum and make comparisons those too focused on one specific style would never consider.”
In my personal experience, I’ve been lucky in my career to go through phases that took me through from a legendary artist-driven label, I.R.S. Records (The Go-Go’s, R.E.M., Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine), to a buzz-heavy alt-rock label in Mammoth Records (Squirrel Nut Zippers, Juliana Hatfield, Jason and the Scorchers), to a blues/rock label in Silvertone (Buddy Guy, John Mayall, Stone Roses), to a pop/urban labelJive (Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, A Tribe Called Quest), to a high-powered boutique PR firm KSA PR(Sting, Duran Duran, Fiona Apple), to a major label Island Records (Hanson, Ryan Adams, Mariah Carey).
Now with my own firm, I thrive in a diverse roster of talent that covers all those genres without heavily concentrations. You’ll find English Beat, KMFDM, Dashboard Confessional, Yellowcard, The Fratellis, andBlackalicious all cohabitating my roster. For me, being able to switch gears is what keeps my job interesting. It’s a challenge to talk about the heavy alt-country of The White Buffalo in the same breath as the piano house music of Game of Thronesactor Kristian Nairn (“Hodor”).
Rounder Label Group’s Director of Publicity Regina Joskow (a sage in the publicity realm) has had a similar wide-ranging history as me, having handled widely eclectic rosters as well as a highly specialized and focused clientele. “I’ve worked on both sides of that fence. I think that it’s probably easier for a publicist to work with a broader range of music and with more broad-based journalists, rather than work within a specific genre where you really, really need to know your stuff,” she explains. “Metal writers and the metal community in general can be very welcoming, but in certain genres – say, jazz or classical – you really have to be educated. So if you’re already really knowledgeable and passionate about the music, you’re in good shape. But if you’re not, you really need to get educated. Jazz writers (at least the good ones, and there are many good ones) tend to be extremely knowledgeable, and in order to get any respect from them, you need to have to know what you’re talking about. You can’t just fake that.”
Moore adds that it’s not about the genre a publicist specializes in, but from the publicist’s knowledge of what kind of music he covers. “Ultimately the best way to get my attention is to read what I write and learn the types of bands I cover. I have a handful of publicists that I have been working with since the late 90s and I read every single e-mail they send me and will listen if they say ‘I think you’ll dig this,’ simply because they have learned my tastes. Also, never underestimate the ego of a writer. If you are even half way pretending to follow my stuff, I’ll engage with you.”
As for my friend who turned down that job? She was just handed two country bands as clients and she hatescountry. And her dream label? It just extended its publicist’s contract for two more years. She now wishes she went for that other job.
With the third year of our blog still finding its footing, we thought now would be as good a time as any to introduce our latest guest contributor. Rey Roldan has lead an incredible career in music PR that now spans multiple decades, and in the coming months he will be sharing some of his vast industry knowledge with us through his very own bi-weekly column. Enjoy!
As the pool of publicists gets more and more crowded with journalists and bloggers trying their hand at hacking away at artists’ campaigns, a direct result of this influx is the flooding of inboxes with massive amounts of press releases and pitches. Many of the higher-tiered journalists can get pummeled with over 500 pitches a day – some even more than that! Each morning, writers, bloggers, producers and editors weed out their emails, deleting hundreds of them without even knowing exactly what the pitches are selling.
So how does a publicist cut through the clutter and get a journalists’ attention?
“Well, I think it’s a fairly simple answer: if you can’t make a really compelling case in the first paragraph, chances are, your press release or pitch will either go unnoticed, or will simply get deleted,” answers Regina Joskow, Director of Publicity for the Rounder Label Group. “It’s kind of like an audition when a performer gets to sing 16 bars, and that’s what determines whether they get a call-back or not. These days, people are inundated from all sides with email messages, text messages, social media posts and messages, instant messages – it’s completely overwhelming. People’s attention spans aren’t what they used to be.”
And she’s right. The secret to getting a journalist’s attention isn’t flooding them with information, bio material and too much text that they didn’t ask for… It’s about getting right to the point. An old editor friend of mine, Gus Pena of the amazing but unfortunately now defunct Chord Magazine, once said, “It’s about the first three lines. If I don’t know what your point is by then, you’ve already lost me.”
“To me, the first paragraph is very crucial,” agrees Gil Macias, Editorial Coordinator atPlayboy and contributing editor of Inked Magazine. “An accurate description of the band’s sound makes or breaks whether or not I want to listen to something…. and comparing the band or musician to other bands that sound similar also peaks my interest.”
“For me, the first line of a press release is very important,” says Lori Majewski, longtime music editor, writer, and author of Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs That Defined the 1980s. “If I don’t read anything there that appeals to me, I’m not going to go any further.”
While it’s always nice to start off with a pleasant “Lovely day, innit” type of greeting, being rather direct can save everyone a lot of time. “The first paragraph is mission critical in my opinion, this stems from my journalism training,” explains Heather West of Western Publicity. “Writers sometimes want to get ‘creative’ and bury their lede in a morass of descriptors that obscure the key elements, which are who, what, when, where and why. Journalists, in my experience, find this irritating. So it’s best to get right to the point.”
Some journalists might be so busy that if they don’t like what they immediately see, they might not even get to the first line of your pitch. “Actually, even more important than the first line of a press release is the subject line of the email,” adds Majewski. “Journalists are inundated with so many emails daily, you have to stand out somehow, someway, or it never even being opened.”
“I read every press release I get, and as important as the subject line is, the opening paragraph is equally – if not more – important,” counters Chuck Armstrong, Editor-in-Chief of Diffuser. “I want the story. I want to know why this band or this song or this video is important to me and, potentially, to our readers. If you can sum that up in the beginning, you have my attention.”
So it boils down to subject line and the first three sentences… Capturing your audience’s attention lies within a short window of words and can turn a writer’s apathy into intrigue that forces them to read your pitches. Armstrong adds the parting shot, “The only time I don’t open an email is if it’s from Rey Roldan. I delete that shit before it infects my computer with his well-known publicity viruses.” #shotsfired
Hello, everyone. If this is your first time visiting our site then please know we are thrilled to have you join us. If you are a regular reader, we’re happy to have you back. We promised on Monday that this week would be jam packed with big features, and we hope to keep that trend going this afternoon with the second half of our interview with Rey Roldan. If you have any questions about the content of the blog, or if you would like more information regarding the distributional services offered by Haulix, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Today we are excited to unveil the second in a two-part interview feature with Rey Roldan, founder of Another Reybee Production (part 1 can be found here). We originally started working on this feature way back in August of 2013, but due to email troubles and scheduling troubles we had to start, stop, start, stop, and start all over again. It’s okay though, because we have finally had a chance to learn the story behind this powerful force in Music PR and are now prepared to present his journey to you.
It would be pretty difficult for you to find anyone working in music today who has not crossed paths with Rey Roldan at one point or another. From working with top 40 acts like Britney Spears and Duran Duran, to helping develop more buzzworthy alternative acts than I could possibly attempt to name here, Rey has spent the better part of the last two decades helping the world’s greatest talent find attention in the public eye. He started in the label world, but it’s when he decided to step out on his own that his career really began to take off.
I have known Rey for over half a decade at this point and can say beyond the shadow of a doubt he is one of the nicest, most professional, and often funniest people you will ever meet in the music industry. Everybody has a Rey Roldan story, and every single one makes him out to be someone you want as your new best friend. The insight he has to share is priceless, and we thank him for taking the time to share it with us.
The first part of this feature dealt mainly with Rey’s life before he started his own company, so this time around we are discussing the life of Another Reybee Production. If you would like to learn more about Rey and his efforts in music PR, please take a moment to follow him on Twitter. Additional questions and comments can be left at the end of this post.
H: Who was your first client?
R: At Reybee, my first clients were this Boston punk band called Lost City Angels and LA’s 50s-girl-group-combined-with-cowpunk Miss Derringer. I’m still friends with the members of both bands (Lost City Angels are on ‘hiatus’ but occasionally reunite for their legendary St. Valentine’s Day Massacre shows; Liz and Morgan from Miss Derringer had a baby and are hopefully working on new music… They’re so great).
H: You’ve worked with a wide range of names, including everyone from Britney Spears to Ryan Adams (during the ‘Heartbreaker’ years, no less). Have you found any genre of music to be particularly easier to work than another? Do you have any personal preference when it comes to the genres you work?
R: That’s a bit of a tough question because there are elements of each genre that are easier than others, but as a whole, each genre has its sweet spot. For example, we do a lot of industrial/synthpop/electro and I love how dedicated many of those writers are to the “scene”. There are about 20-25 writers who I know who I can assuredly go to and say, “Hey, [NAME], I have a brand new IAMX album… let’s go!” and it’ll connect. But on the flipside, working that kind of music to the bigger press outlets is a daunting task because it’s not as viable in the mainstream as a Top 40 act. When it comes to which genre is my favorite, I’d have to say that it’s not exactly a “genre” but I love working bands who are starting out (I would never call these kinds of artists “baby bands” except in a derogatory fashion… “Baby bands” is just so disrespectful of a term). I love being presented with a challenge and working my ass off to help these bands in their trajectory. I love the excitement getting a band their first good “look”… I love getting a band their first positive review, feature, cover, etc. Knowing that I helped a band in their strive to achieve their dream is one of the greatest satisfactions.
H: Without going too in-depth, please walk us through a typical work day:
R: Coffee… More coffee… and perhaps lunch at some point? Kidding aside, my mornings are the most hectic. Like most of us who are constantly jacked into our email, if I wake up in the middle of the night, I check email… mainly in preparation for the morning because I get anywhere between 400 to 1,500 emails overnight. Some of it is spam, but most of it is work-related, so my first hour or so of work is sifting through emails right away and answer as many of them immediately as I can. Then it’s pitching pitching pitching via email, phone, IM… and oddly, sometimes text. I always set a goal for myself every day as to how many interviews I set up, how many reviews I lock in, and how many calls I make. I’ve learned that setting goals every day makes me far more productive than doing it the standard PR strategy of letting things land where they fall. Publicity is far more effective when you’re proactive.
H: You were active in publicity before the rise of social media. Do you feel the digital age and abundant access to information has made your job as a publicist easier or more difficult?
R: Technology was a double-edged sword for publicity. In my early days of my career, I met a lot more journalists face-to-face. We met for lunch, drinks, concerts, even sometimes in the morning commute if we were heading in the same direction. Publicity was 60% social, 40% office. I had a group of friends who were a mix of publicists, journalists, TV bookers, and musicians. We’d hang out all the time (I’d say we were bar and/or concert hopping maybe four or five nights a week). Back then, we all had expense accounts (since I was at major labels, I had a huge one so I was usually Mr. Moneybags). Since we were all friends, it was easier to get our artists into Rolling Stone, Spin, and all the big mags… and the “friend of a friend” thing came in handy when pitching people who were in our little group but were associated with one of us. Pitching was done either in person, on the phone, through USPS mail, or… the modern day precursor to email, fax. There was answering machines to occasionally tend with but before caller-ID, people picked up their phone whenever it rang.
With technology came the dying out of the “hang outs”. Email slowly crept in and then soon took over and phone calls stopped being de rigueur. And it all became too convenient. Sending an email was so much more passive than making a phone call or meeting for lunch or a drink. And bosses, knowing that these meetings weren’t that necessary anymore, made us work harder… and longer. Writers became savvy to avoidance and voicemail and caller-ID prevented many personal connections from happening.
It’s MUCH easier these days to reach a lot more people, but it’s also a lot more impersonal and unfriendly. I still try to make as many phone calls as I can to establish some sort of personal interaction and keep human contact, but almost 65% of my job now is digital communication. It may be more convenient and perhaps “easier”, but I really do miss that human interaction of the old days.
H: We ask journalists a lot about what up and coming bands can say to help them when networking for coverage. As a publicist, what advice would you offer writers hoping to work with your clients?
R: Courtesy and respect will get you everywhere… or at least help you get everywhere. There are so many emails and phone calls I get from writers who feel that the way to get what they want/need is to be demanding or entitled. That doesn’t fly in my book. I don’t care if you’re from the biggest publication or a blog with three readers, I’ll treat you the same way. I’m very karmic. If you barge through my door and demand, I’ll push right back. If you come in with respect and courtesy, I’ll return it in kind. I can’t fulfill every request I get, but if I can, I will. And please, if you’re going to use a template or a form letter, make sure all the details are correct. Sure, my name is oddly spelled so I’ll forgive you if you write “Ray” or “Mr. Roland”… but if you’re requesting an interview for “Yellowcard” and you forget to change “All Time Low” in your email, that’s going to send me a different signal than you originally intended.
H: Piracy is one of the most discussed topics 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?
R: Leaks aren’t 100% preventable but there are ways to insuring you stop leaks from coming from you. I’m a big user and supporter of Haulix (and no, I’m not fishing for brownie points because you’re interviewing me). 90% of the writing world is familiar with Haulix and how it’s watermarked with each writer’s info. So that’s a good preventative. Most writers aren’t hip to streams but will deal if that’s the only alternative. But for me, one of the biggest ways I’ve learned to prevent leaks from my own dealings is through firm and honest trust. When I am working a very high-level record, I will connect with the writer first and make sure they are planning on covering it before I send it. And when I connect with the writer, if I don’t know them already, we establish a trust bond that will tell me if I feel it safe to send to them. There are bands where I’ll send downloads and streams in my first pitch, but I tailor my list to those people who have exhibited trust to me in the past. I don’t do big blasts of downloadable music to hundreds of people who I may or may not know… That’s just asking for a leak.
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?
R: As I mentioned above, I’m a firm believer in Haulix. We put a good portion of our clients on Haulix. And it’s great too because you can run reports and see who has listened to albums and which songs the most to help tailor follow-up calls. But I also use Dropbox, mostly when a record has already been released and the fear of leaking is over.
H: Looking towards the future, what are the biggest challenges currently facing your company?
R: I’ll be honest. Reybee is at a VERY good place right now. Thankfully, I’ve really never had to actively pursue projects and I don’t mean that in an egotistical way. One thing I’ve always maintained is a great relationship with many of our clients both past and present. We get a lot of repeat business (and I hate to call it “business” but there’s a lack for a better term). We’ve worked every Yellowcard record since they came off of hiatus. With the exception of one Bayside record, we’ve been attached to their last handful of records. We work all of the high-level projects off of Metropolis Records. Chuck Ragan probably will stay with us forever (I hope). Because of our track record working with Chris Carrabba on Twin Forks, we are now working with Dashboard Confessional. The Architects have been with us forever. And the great thing is, these bands and their teams recommend us all the time to their friends. I take pride in being a faithful to bands. It’s a great feeling going to a show and meeting bands who I’ve always been a fan of and have them say, “Wait, YOU’RE Reybee? We need to talk.” That’s happened countless times and it feels awesome.
H: What are your current career goals, and how have they changed in recent years?
R: I don’t set goals too far into the future. I set benchmarks to help me get where I want to go. When I started out in publicity, my goal was to work at a label. When I got to a label, I wanted to build an artist from the ground up. When I did that, I wanted a platinum record. When I got that, I wanted to run the publicity department… etc… all the way up to running my own company. And I’m there now. I’m not one to be too open about my plans because I don’t want other people to see what I’m planning and beat me to the punch… but let’s just say that I have my eyes set on my next step… and if you look at my past record, I’ve achieved pretty much every career goal I had set for myself. Place your bets now!
H: If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
R: I don’t mean this in a “oooh, he’s asskissing”, but I want the music industry to go back to being about the artist and the album. I mean, I had a hand in propelling the idea further of a “singles-dominated industry” with my hand at being a teen pop publicist for Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, etc., but we lost sight of music as art. There are some really awesome artists who have amazing full “albums” but not many people today have the attention span to listen to albums in full. We forget just how deep some of these wells are that artists dig to write these songs. I still marvel at intricate musicianship that most people pass over in search of a hook. I still am amazed at lyrical word play and clever lyrics. And the industry tends to look for “hits” or whatever “fits” the current hot sound.
H: Your roster is as eclectic now as ever before. Do you have any plans or releases on the horizon you would like to bring to our attention?
R: We just signed three amazing artists that I’m floored by. SPEAK and Tinnarose both from Austin and Mustered Courage from Australia. SPEAK is this, for lack of a better genre, rockin’ synthpop band that wanders the line that Passion Pit, Phoenix and Kids of 88 traipsed. They’re very close to Tegan & Sara, Ra Ra Riot and RAC too, so they’re a band’s band as well which is awesome. Tinnarose is this brand new band with sublime boy/girl vocals like The Magic Numbers and The New Pornographers but with a rootsy twist. Mustered Courage is one of Australia’s biggest young bluegrass bands and are huge Down Under but the US isn’t hip to them… yet. They’re making a move toward being a string band for their next chapter but this album we’re going to be working is freakin’ phenomenal. You think you heard where the new generation of bluegrass-infused Americana a la Mumford and Sons and Avett Brothers? Just wait… just wait.
H: I think that covers everything. Before I let you go, are there any final thoughts or observations you care to share?
R: Best way to tackle publicity (or any music industry job) is with humor. Even when I get the most annoying requests or dealing with the most tyrannical managers, humor can disarm anyone. Plus, life’s too short to be humorless.
Hello and welcome to the official blog of Haulix. We are thrilled to have you join us, and whether this is your first time or ninety-second we certainly hope you find something in this post to love. We built this site to inspire and inform the future of the music business, which is a goal we shared with everyone who participates in our features. If you have any questions about the content of the blog, or if you would like more information regarding the distributional services offered by Haulix, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Today we are excited to unveil the first in a two-part interview feature with Rey Roldan, founder of Another Reybee Production. We originally started working on this feature way back in August of 2013, but due to email troubles and scheduling troubles we had to start, stop, start, stop, and start all over again. It’s okay though, because we have finally had a chance to learn the story behind this powerful force in Music PR and are now prepared to present his journey to you.
It would be pretty difficult for you to find anyone working in music today who has not crossed paths with Rey Roldan at one point or another. From working with top 40 acts like Britney Spears and Duran Duran, to helping develop more buzzworthy alternative acts than I could possibly attempt to name here, Rey has spent the better part of the last two decades helping the world’s greatest talent find attention in the public eye. He started in the label world, but it’s when he decided to step out on his own that his career really began to take off.
I have known Rey for over half a decade at this point and can say beyond the shadow of a doubt he is one of the nicest, most professional, and often funniest people you will ever meet in the music industry. Everybody has a Rey Roldan story, and every single one makes him out to be someone you want as your new best friend. The insight he has to share is priceless, and we thank him for taking the time to share it with us.
As we mentioned above, due to the length of this feature we have decided to cut the final interview into two chunks, starting below with Rey’s life before launching his own PR firm. We will bring you the second half, which focuses on Another Reybee Production and the possibilities that lie on the horizon, later this week. If you would like to learn more about Rey and his efforts in music PR, please take a moment to follow him on Twitter. Additional questions and 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 that business:
R: I’m Rey Roldan of Another Reybee Productions, Inc… or Reybee Prods, for short… or Reybee, even shorter. I’m the Prez guy at the company. I founded in back in the Fall of 2004… and ten years later, we’re still going strong!
H: Let’s start at the beginning. When you think of your earliest interactions with music, what comes to mind?
R: I think of sitting on the stairs of the home I grew up in with my sister Joy. I’m gonna date myself here, but we were listening to a radio broadcast on an old radio/cassette player… and I remember hearing the radio DJ say that Elvis Presley has died. I know I was aware of music before then, but when I think of my most vivid memory concerning music, that comes to mind. I was still a wee lad, but for some reason, that sticks out.
H: What was your first concert experience like, and who took you to the show?
R: You know, it’s funny… I kinda don’t exactly remember my first concert. I remember going to tons of concerts before the age of ten, but was my “first concert” when I went to Disney World and saw a live cover band do disco classics? Was it when I went to see U2 in a tiny little club before they even had a full-length album out? Was it seeing Bruce Springsteen with my brothers and sister when we tailgated in the parking lot? I can’t remember. I was going to live shows even before my age hit the second digits.
H: How about the first album you purchased with your own money? (Bonus points if you remember the format)
R: The very first album I purchased… well, there were two. Sex Pistols “Never Mind the Bollocks” and Meat Loaf “Bat Out of Hell”. I bought them on vinyl for $2.77 at a local grocery store where I grew up in Parsippany, NJ (interesting trivia: Meat Loaf’s “Bat Out of Hell” was also one half of my very first two CDs I ever purchased. The other was Psychedelic Furs “Mirror Moves”). I’d spend hours in that store, flipping through the six racks of vinyl. At that age (8? 9?), I didn’t know what I was looking for… I just picked up records because I liked the band names or titles. My dad gave me a great allowance the time ($20 a week!) and I spent most of it on vinyl and at the arcade. I remember seeing Sex Pistols and it screamed “buy me”. I didn’t know anything about them. But I liked the cover and it just reeked of debauchery. It had “sex” in the name, and that just made it “feel” naughty. Meat Loaf’s album… well, my older sibs liked it and I wanted a copy of my own.
H: Thinking back on your life now, are you able to pinpoint any pivotal moments or experiences that steered you toward the career you have today?
R: I used to read music magazines ALL the time… I remember reading this magazine “Song Hits” and watching videos of New Wave bands like Missing Persons, Duran Duran, Romeovoid, Devo, etc. on a local channel called U-68 (pre-MTV) and thinking that I wanted to be surrounded by music all the time. But what made me want to be on the “other” side (instead of being just a listener) was when my brother Rex brought be backstage to a Paul Young concert when he played at Boston College’s student center. I remember walking back there and meeting Paul, and seeing how much fun it was backstage, and thinking that I wanted to be backstage all the time. I had been backstage lots of time before then, but this time, I felt like I wasn’t just a fan taking up space but part of an elite group since my brother helped put on the show.
H: I know you studied creative writing in college. Are there any long lost Rey Roldan manuscripts sitting in your closet/attic that may one day see the light of day?
R: There are TONS… I have two novels written, one screenplay done, a whole slew of short stories, and my memoirs that are still being written. They’re all on 3 ¼” floppy disc though… Hmmm.
H: Was publicity the first thing you wanted to do in the music industry? If not, can you tell us what initially sparked your interest in the world of PR?
R: God no… I wanted to be a journalist. And for a while, I was. I was a staff writer for my college newspaper (as well as the weekly cartoonist about a drunken, lazy rabbit named “Chester”… Yeah, he was modeled after myself). I was writing record reviews, interviewing artists, going to concerts, hanging out backstage, etc. When I graduated from Boston College, I joined a group of five people who were starting up a brand new entertainment biweekly newspaper in Boston called The Improper Bostonian (it still exists). I zoomed up the ranks from Staff Writer to Music Editor in a few months. But I was far too impatient to write for just one media outlet, so I started writing for magazines across the US like Meanstreet (in Los Angeles), QRM (in New Orleans), Cake Magazine (Minneapolis), ROCKRGRL (Seattle), among many others. I started a bunch of magazines in Boston too, but I wasn’t making enough money to make a living, so I decided it was time for me to grow up and get a real job. Since I dealt with publicists all the time and learned the tools and tricks of the trade from my friends in the industry (I’ve always been REALLY observant and inquisitive), I set my sights on a job in the industry… I moved out of Boston and back home to Jersey, and started my trajectory as a publicist.
H: Your first role in PR came from I.R.S. Records. What do you recall about the application process, as well as the world of music PR in general at the time?
R: Getting that job at I.R.S. was the easiest thing ever. I didn’t even have to apply. The head of publicity at the time, Steve Karas, was one of my mentors. He told me about a potential job opening up there… and so I set up a visit to the office. What he didn’t tell me was that he was quitting I.R.S. and moving to A&M, and there would be a new head of publicity that I’d be meeting instead. I walked in and the new head of publicity basically asked me, “What can you start?” The new guy didn’t really know what he was doing (I think it was one of his first jobs running a press department)… so I basically taught myself how to do everything. I basically had to train myself how to set up press days, how to organize press campaigns, how to pitch. Luckily, I.R.S. had a great roster and a great history, so nearly every call I made (again, this was pre-internet, so emails didn’t exist yet) was returned. Among the first projects I spearheaded was The Go-Go’s greatest hits double disc set and a new album by late 80s legend Kirsty MacColl. It was amazing… but again, since it was pre-internet, there was a LOT of phone calls to make… I even remember having to pitch via fax machine. Each pitch had to be personal because of that… Unlike today where there are tools that can send emails in bulk, I had to make each phone call individually… It was a very hands-on experience back then… and there was a LOT of real, human interaction.
H: From this point you begin a decade-long run of publicity gigs, switching labels/companies every few years. You are now your own boss, so I do not want to dwell on the past too much, but what can you tell us about those experiences and how you eventually settled on stepping out with a company of your own?
R: I don’t mean this is any negative way, but when I worked for people, I was more interested in learning what NOT to do… My previous bosses were all good at their jobs, and while I paid attention to how they landed press, I was more interested in what made them fail. I worked for mean bosses (who would yell and scream all day), “too nice” bosses (who would let their artists and press walk all over them), pretentious bosses (who were too concerned with their own careers and not their artists’ lives), and bosses who were too scattered (and never could run a solid campaign). So, when I felt confident enough in my own abilities and learned how NOT to do publicity, I set out on my own… It was scary but it all worked out perfectly. I won’t say that I didn’t have any rough patches, but truthfully, I’ve been very lucky.
H: Before we get any further, what was the first Reybee Production (as this is ‘Another’)? As a follow-up, where does the name ‘Reybee’ come from?
R: Haha… You’re the first person to ever ask that. When I was a kid, my nickname was “Reybee”. I’ve always had an active imagination… One of my lifelong hobbies is painting… I paint “portraits” of cheeses and bees. For the longest time, I would sign my paintings “A Reybee Production”… I’m also a writer/author/journalist and some of my short stories were published as “A Reybee Production”. So when it came time for me to come up with the name of my PR firm, I decided to refer back to that and coin it “Another Reybee Production”. Since I’m so creatively restless, I didn’t want to limit my company to be JUST about Public Relations, so when I’m ready to branch off into another direction, the name “Another Reybee Production” can encompass that too. It’s very open-ended.
