The music industry is a tumultuous place. Its troubles are no secret and as jobs are axed, spending decreases, and executives fight the advancement of the digital age, everyone hopes that solutions will be found to bail out a sinking ship. But record companies aren’t the only part of the industry that need to adapt to changes in technology. Social media has provided new and unique opportunities for instant communication, rapid dissemination of information, and creative approaches to business. To get a clearer picture of this changing landscape and how it’s affecting the broader music industry, I interviewed a number of artists and publicists about social media and how they use it.  I’m gathering my findings into a three-part essay that I will post in installments on this blog. Part one will deal with publicists, part two with artists, and part three with my conclusions and ideas about how to move forward.

PART 1: Publicists

Billboard Magazine recently posted their Maximum Exposure List, a list of new and effective ways to reach large audiences and expose new music. The magazine enlisted a panel of 20 experts in marketing and publicity to assist in compiling this list. The results were typical of the industry with ideas like: have a song covered on American Idol, get a cover story in Rolling Stone, perform live on Oprah. It reminded me of when I played music and I’d get unhelpful advice from family and friends outside of the industry. “You guys should go on tour with U2,” they’d suggest. “That would definitely help your career.” They’d explain as if I didn’t know.

The problem with the article is that these outlets aren’t new at all. Additionally they are available only to artists already at the top, not artists who are on their way there. In fact the closest the list came to embracing new media was suggesting that publicists secure a video link on PerezHilton.com or have a video on You Tube’s Most Viewed Videos page. Given that there was a panel of publicists and marketers involved in this list made its content even more shocking. Is the industry really this out of touch? Furthermore, are publicists not adapting to new technologies?

“It has completely changed the PR landscape,” says Lori Mahon, the principal at Overture Media, in Franklin, TN. “If a publicist isn’t getting their feet wet with social media they are going to look back next year and wonder where everyone is. It’s a new tool; instant communication!”

“It’s impossible to ignore, and anyone who does is setting themselves up for failure” says Francesca Caldara, the in-house publicist at Equal Vision Records, the popular indie label with one of the best track records in music today.

Francesca and Lori are not alone as other publicists repeated those same sentiments in some form or another. Social media has made the transfer of information instantaneous. We can now find out the latest news as it happens, without the filter of major news networks. Artists continually break through word of mouth, viral videos, and strong grassroots fanbases. They often seem to jump into the mainstream overnight, although in reality these artists are likely to have used social media to propel themselves to success.

“Print magazines have been late because of their 3 month lead times, while the blogs and webzines post information within days,” says Caldara. “Now those blogs and webzines are late because of sites like Twitter where people post about something instantaneously and it spreads in seconds. Individuals are determining the news now and the press is just playing catch up.”

With all of this fast communication it makes it easier for bands, labels, and publicists to stay in sync and have real time impact on their PR campaigns.

“I will help my bands set up accounts on social media networks if they haven’t already,” says John Kasiewicz, principal of 440PR. “I walk them through basic strategy for their specific social network and encourage them to post and express their own voice through those mediums. Usually fans know when it’s the publicist posting rather than the artist. Musicians now have the ability (and some would say the responsibility) to engage in a more personal role with their fans online.”

Beyond just advising bands on social media, some publicists are partnering with their artists in developing and executing a content strategy that can reach across across multiple channels for maximum impact.

“We were twittering and posting on Facebook very frequently as a team, not just PR,” says Mahon of her recent campaign with Christian rock band Thousand Foot Krutch (seen on the left). “I also re-tweet my bands’ posts or they re-tweet links of reviews I post.” Mahon also credits social media sites like Twitter and YouTube in developing momentum for some of her less mainstream bands. “We have to think outside the box and find other avenues when we’re going against more popular, streamline projects,” she says.

At The Beggars Group of Labels, Sonya Kolowrat emphasizes the impact of social media on some of her biggest successes. “We’ve had to adapt a lot since the introduction of blogs… people want a ton more online content,” says Kolowrat. “Vampire Weekend has been my most successful campaign. It was a perfect storm of a band’s hard work,
key early supporters, and of course some key blogs.”

Recognizing the importance of walking the walk, Caldara, Mahon, Kolowrat, and Kasiewicz all blog, and use social media to discover new artists to work with.

“I check out bands on Myspace all the time,” says Grace Jones of Tell All Your Friends PR, in New York. “I often find them on there and if they’re not already represented, I move forward.”

While the importance of social media meets no objections here (an overwhelming majority of those interviewed listed social media as “very important”), they are all quick to caution that it’s never a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket.

“One of the biggest mistakes I see publicists make is focusing on the latest social media trends and not spending enough time tailoring a campaign to fit an artist,” says Kasiewicz. “I still believe everyone can still benefit from some traditional PR.”

Mahon has a similar take.

“Relationships are the most important aspect of PR,” says Mahon. “When you have a trusting relationship with a media outlet, manager, band member, and label, you are successful. Social media is a good center to begin a PR campaign, but I still keep many elements of traditional PR.”

“My job is tailored around traditional PR models,” says Kolowrat. “It’s important to know your outlets and the journalists you pitch to. This is such an email society but sometimes you just need to pick up the phone. It helps to build and maintain personal relationships, which are very important.” After all, in addition to crediting bloggers with much of Vampire Weekend’s success, she points to the band’s coverage in The New York Times and The New Yorker as campaign highlights.

“I cultivate relationships with specific journalists daily,” says Caldara, an admission I heard repeated by the other publicists in this article. “There are a few people I was friends with before I started at Equal Vision and those relationships are the strongest and I tend to get the most coverage from them.”

While I am dismayed by Billboard’s aforementioned article, its lack of inventiveness, and total disregard for new media tools, I am happy to discover that some of my music industry peers are eagerly embracing social media’s importance. Whether they’re teaching their artists to use these tools strategically, using social media in concert with their artists to maximize its impact, or simply disseminating news, they are all taking steps to adapt to a changing way of doing business.

“Actually a lot of the media outlets I work with are now on Twitter,” says Mahon. “So it’s a great instant tool to get info out on our artists. As social media invades the PR world things will evolve in ways I can’t even imagine. But that is exciting!”

It is this readiness to adapt that will ultimately keep PR a relevant profession, as they are balancing traditional PR with new media opportunities. The rules are changing and roles are becoming less defined, but PR seems to know that:

“Our marketing department utilizes social media more than I do and may place ads on Facebook and build fan pages,” says Kolowrat. “That hasn’t been my job (yet)!”

For more information on the participants in this article please visit the following sites:

The Beggars Group of Labels
Official
Twitter
Blog

Overture Media
Official
Twitter
Blog

Equal Vision Records
Official
Twitter
Blog

440PR
Official
Twitter
Blog

Tell All Your Friends PR
Official
Facebook
Myspace

60 Cycle Media
Myspace