INDIE SOUNDS Interviews Music Industry Insider – Ariel Hyatt
INDIE SOUNDS: TELL US HOW YOU GOT INTO THIS ZANY MUSIC PR BUSINESS?
Ariel Hyatt: While I was at University, I spent all 4 summers interning and then working at a major fashion PR firm. So I learned the PR ropes through that experience.
When I graduated from college (and moved back in with my parents), I realized I was much more in love with music than with fashion so I stared the long humbling journey of finding a music related job. After a lot of rejection and the realization that a paying job at a top fashion PR firm does not mean a paying job in the music industry I decided to take an unpaid internship an the coolest indie label I could find. I made sure that the label represented some of my favorite bands and really had a need for me. I then myself indispensable at the label (What Are Records?) and got hired not long after I started.
IS: HOW HAS ARIEL GROWN?
AH: Ariel Publicity will be turning 10 this March 2006 ! I can't believe how fast the time has flown we have grown from one computer and me in my kitchen in Boulder, Colorado to a four-publicist firm in the heart of New York City. I think the reason we have grown is mostly through word of mouth and the fact that Ariel Publicity has and will always service developing indie artists.
IS: What can an artist expect from a PR agency, versus what PR they might do on their own? What makes hiring a PR agency worth the money?
AH: PR Agency ‘s job is to get the word about the artist out to the media. It is our job to present artists to music writers, TV bookers, and online outlets and to build a story on your behalf in the media.
What an artist should expect from a PR agency is effort made on their behalf to get the word out.
What makes hiring a PR agency worth the money is twofold – First and foremost - our contacts and relationships coupled with our skill at presenting artists in the best possible way. A great publicist should always make the writers’ job as easy as possible. We are aware of schedules and deadlines and we know when it is appropriate to follow up with writers. We also know how to walk the fine line between being appropriately aggressive and just plain annoying to media (and this is a very fine line).
Second is the sheer fact that most artists hate “selling” themselves to writers. Many of our artists come to us after having tried their hand at Pr and detest it. It takes sheer determination and not being afraid of rejection / apathy on the part of the media.
IS: TYPICALLY, WHAT DOES A PR CAMPAIGN CONSIST OF?
AH: It really depends on the desires of the artist. Some artists come to us at the very beginning of their careers in need of basic exposure in their hometowns, online and in ‘zines where more experienced artists may come to us because they are touring and need tour publicity and national exposure.
IS: CAN YOU CITE ANY PARTICULARLY SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGNS YOU’VE WORKED ON?
AH: I have placed over 10,000 articles since I started and I feel like every placement no matter how big or small is a small victory. I love when we get a new artist that has never gotten any ink and build them from the ground up. It is always satisfying to say – look we got your first placement, your first CD review or your first calendar photo.
IS: IDEALLY, HOW SHOULD AN ARTIST PREPARE BEFORE MEETING WITH A PR AGENCY WITH A VIEW TO ENGAGING THEM?
AH: I think hiring a publicist is like hiring a 5th or 6th band member. You are trusting that person to represent you and your artistic vision and your music in the best light possible and on paper so you should feel comfortable with your publicist. If that person does not set you at ease and does not seem to understand your artistic vision and goals that’s an indication that you are probably not hiring the right person. Your publicist should prepare you for what the PR process is and coach you on how to be prepared for interviews, photo shoots and bio writing.
Your publicist should set goals with you and work towards them on your behalf with your input. Our most successful campaigns come from the artists that are willing to come to their own party and work to understand what it is we go through everyday. Artists that step up and say something if they are not pleased with the way the campaign is going. Ask questions and always remember that your publicist works for you – not the other way around.
IS: HOW HAS THE INTERNET CHANGED THE ROLE OF, AND PROCESS OF, BEING A PR AGENT?
AH: It’s no secret that the music industry has radically changed over the past few years and this goes for the music PR industry as well. It has become harder and harder to stand out in a world that releases 1,000 CDs a week and any given city has so many shows on any given week. It is not easy to do this work and sometimes results take a long time to produce. We used to produce results a lot faster than it takes now due to the sheer volume of CDs being sent to the writers (coupled with the fact that there are more publicity firms than ever before). I recently placed a CD review in Performing Songwriter in the DIY section a full 9 months after the album was released. It took 9 solid months of consistent follow up and contact with the editor to get that placement. This is not unusual at all – that is just the amount of time it took the magazine to get the CD out of the stacks, listen to the CD, decide that it was appropriate and assign the review to a writer. In this new world of hiring a publicist patience is key.
I can’t tell you how many calls we get from artists ready to leave their current publicists because they feel that their expectations are not being met or that their publicists do not have time for them. 9 times out of 10 I will play devils advocate and by the end of the conversation the artist realizes that the PR campaign is not going badly at all.
IS: AND ARIEL IS DEVELOPING A WEB-BASED SERVICE TOO ISN’T IT?
AH: Yes. We’re developing a new web based PR solution for indie artists that are looking to get as much exposure online as possible, which will include podcasters, audioblogs, Internet radio stations and online music directories as well as online publications and ‘zines that cover music.
IS: WILL THIS BE SIMPLY A RESOURCE DIRECTORY OR WILL THERE BE MECHANISMS TO HELP INDIE ARTISTS SUBMIT TO RADIO STATIONS, ONLINE PUBLICATIONS ETC.?
AH: We will be fully submitting the information on the artists’ behalf. We will ask that each outlet give us feedback so that the artist can see where they were added and what each resource thinks of their music. Watch for that in the spring of 2006.
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