Ariel Publicity

My trusted friend Corey Denis who I have deep roots with (we both started in the music business at What Are Records? ) back in the 90s…Corey is now the VP of Integrated Marketing at reapandsow and she has helped my company develop some new social networking trix and I call on her for all things digital.

I arrived in Seattle yesterday and was picked up by the delightful NOVA SHANK who worked at Ariel Publicity back in our Boulder CO days for 3 years and his business card actually said “Super Nova” and he is like a little brother to me. We dined on Oysters and local white wine and he took me to the awesome Experience Music Project, which is designed by the architect Frank Gehry whose museum I visited in Bilbao years ago. The EMP building did not seduce me the way the Guggenheim in Spain did but it was amazing in another way – it is like a living circus colorful and fun like a big mound of cotton candy from far away and it has a lot of cool textures glossy and metallic and steel and it stands behind a retro amusement park which added to the “funness” of it.

It is a museum of music history founded by Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft and it is a totally interactive museum which much like the theme of Gnomedex is all about capturing peoples personal experiences about music using ever-changing exhibitions which are all explorations of American popular music, there are studios where you can video tape yourself performing or singing or telling your favorite music story and the footage plays as part of the museum. Music is such a personal experience for all of us and I found the interactive part totally magical and really cool. Just like in blogging you could add your comments all over the museum – its like a living blogosphere & social networking museum.

Corey and I met up and headed over to the opening party and the first person I run into is Adam Metz who I have been communicating with for over 10 years (and who has recorded with Jen Chapin, one of my artists who I have been proudly representing for six years). I have never met in person. Adam is not only a musician but also a social networking expert and it was like meeting a long lost friend… cause that’s exactly what he is… I like Gnomedex already. There are more iphones here that at an Apple store and many conversations I have are being twittered and blogged and texted in real time which is a little distracting but what did I expect it’s a blogging conference… we ended the evening at Kells Irish Pub listening to spirited Irish and Folk music and drinking with Sue, Schlomo, Brian, Corey, Kris, Scales, and Lee. Nice and mellow start to the conference.

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Hi campers …be aware – my favorite go to peeps at the FMC (Future Of Music Coalition) have something up their sleeves around an issue that has been near and dear to my heart for quite some time. As a publicist for indie artists, Internet radio acts as a critical componant for us in getting the word out about our artists. Its one of the last bastians of free speech left as well as a community filled with enthusiastic and engaged people who love music. The programmers we work with (over 600 and counting are some of the most enthusastic music lovers Iv’e met in my 15 year career as a music chick and in a vast majority of cases they PAY to support their own stations simply because they enjoy music so much. It has been unbearable to all of us at Ariel Publicity to even think about the fact that our friends and constant cheerleaders may be foreced out of business and then forced to pay back royalties for their hobbies. We love Internet Radio so much we even host our very own Internet Radio station on Live 365 – Ariel’s Artists Here is the email I just got from the unsinkable and brilliant Jenny Toomey:We don’t usually send you anything but newsletters or conference information. But occasionally, a situation comes along that is so outrageous, so patently unfair that we must take immediate action.

Given our work on radio deregulation, payola and other media issues over the years, you might not be surprised that the situation involves Clear Channel. The current issue is so important that we are dedicating an entire week’s worth of FMC blog posts to it starting this Monday, July 9. The coverage will culminate on Friday, July 13 with a special surprise for Clear Channel.

So, what has us so outraged? It’s very simple. Clear Channel, which was just investigated for payola by the FCC, is engaging in a new type of questionable practice: requiring indie artists to waive royalties for consideration to get airplay. We’ve sent out a press release and posted this blog entry documenting the situation, but Clear Channel still doesn’t seem to get it.

So please, if you care about the future of music and musicians, take a moment and click here to add our blog to your RSS feeds. And send this link to all your music-loving, music-making friends. You won’t want to miss a single word.

We’ll lay out the situation fully on Monday, but definitely tune in to cut through Clear Channel’s static. And most of all, don’t forget about the special surprise on Friday. We know Clear Channel won’t.

Sincerely, Jenny Toomey, Executive Director, Future of Music Coalition

So – follow along – this is bound to be GOOD. I’ll keep you updated here as well at Cyber PR

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Last night I hosted our monthly NYC podcasters meetup group at the Ariel Publicity Offices and we had 2 speakers – First my friend from my Boulder Colorado days Corey Denis led a discussion about the Savenetradio.org CRB Copyright royalty hearing on July 15, 2007. She smartly pointed out that if there is an unfavorable ruling passes that the fees might also retroactively apply to podcasters because it sets a bad precedent. There is no clear definition of whether or not an RSS feed is a public performance. So if you haven’t already signed the petition AND called your senators please do this now http://somafm.com/crb/ it will take 5 minutes and you will be counted.

Next up was a wonderful and lively discussion led by John C Havens about transparency – what exactly defines transparency and how it can affect public relations around almost anything. He cited a small blunder he himself admitted to making by over sharing on a PodCamp Google Group and what ensued from being overly enthusiastic and not thinking through what he had posted. All of a sudden he had a fire to put out and a deep lesson was learned. Here is Johns description of his presentation:

“I’m intrigued to see how people view transparency online, both in positive ways and not so positive. Meaning, we all want people to put the comment feature on their blog and open up about issues they normally didn’t before (think big corporate websites that don’t allow us to post our reactions). But we also don’t want trolls (unwanted, nasty commenting types) to turn off any new visitors to our site. How do we manage a good balance?”

As a publicist for the last 15 years, I have learned these lessons myself many a time through dealing with traditional media. An artist having a bad day on the road over shares a personal topic or opinion with a friendly writer during a phoner and all of a sudden all hell breaks loose…. John has posted a forum to discuss transparency if you would like to visit. Doug Kerston did the intros as usual and brought the snacks – Easy Cheese Baby! Since it was my birthday week I brought red wine, which we polished off, in a flash with the Sun Chips landing second place for most coveted snack on the table.

Roll Call: Bendrix started it – I rounded it out

1. John Havens (Our Speaker) http://blog.blogtalkradio.com

2. Mark Tafoya (Our Chef) http://gildedfork.com

3. Corey Denis (Our 1st Speaker & San Franciscan blogger and podcaster connection) http://www.notshocking.com

4. Fiona Bloom (Our A&R Whizocologist) http://thebloomeffect.com

5. Christopher Michael (Our Digital Media Strategist)

6. Bendrix (Our Portable Media Strategist) http://codedsignal.com

7. Doug Kerston (Our Captain) http://www.allbusiness.com/business-planning-structures/starting-a-business/3882-1.html

8. Ava (Our Web Host) http://www.avahosting.biz

9. Fabio (Our Italian) Who just moved from Rome 2 weeks ago

10. Kim Last (Our Recent College Grad)

11. Francisco Daum (Our Civil Servant) http://franciscodaum.com/

12. Greg Weinstein (Our Corporate Exec) On his real birthday no less – Happy Birthday Greg!

13. Yours Truly (Our Publicist) http://www.arielpublicity.com

Technorati Tags: Ariel Publicity, cyber pr, music newsNYC podcasters meetup, coreydenis, john c havens,

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June 7th, 2007

Admission to PR Bootcamp: $60

Non-working, brand new 25,000 BTU A/C Unit (including installation): $698

Knowledge gained during a sweat-stained Saturday afternoon in a packed, un-airconditioned downtown Manhattan office on the first weekend of a New York June with industry PR experts Bob Baker and Ariel Hyatt: Priceless

Hands on training and unabashed information sharing were definitely the two major hits of 2^nd PR Publicity Bootcamp taking place in the successful afternoon session of Saturday’s workshop. The satisfaction of the participants was evident on their faces when they got to openly share their experiences with the other artists, Bob, and Ariel and learn about what worked and didn’t work from everybody’s collective trials and errors. Likewise, receiving expert critique on previous press kits and performing simulated pitches about their music to the rest of the group proved critical in the learning process for everybody and offered the kind of insight that is impossible to acquire from self-taught PR training or by reading from a book.

While participation and interaction between participants were great positives in the session, things would have been chaotic were it not for the guidance of Bob and Ariel. With voices of authority and time-worn experience Bob and Ariel zipped through a core explanation of what is “PR” in the first two hours. Presented with simplicity so that both novices and those with more experience could learn equally, they tracked the importance of PR for artists at its most basic definition all the way to the PR of the future on the web and in the digital form. Everybody was aware of the ever changing entity that is the music industry today, but with two PR veterans who have lived through and now embrace these developments directing the way, it was obvious that participants left with renewed enthusiasm and box of tools that they can use to take on the challenges of the contemporary music landscape.

The session wasn’t just “all work and no play,” however, as group exercises such as creating headlines and sub-headings for press releases and the sharing of biographies on a typical “one-sheet” provided some lighter moments of the day. With the creative spirit flowing, the group came up with catchy phrases like “Mortician Musician Resurrects Dylan.” Unfortunately, this also led to Bob venturing into his database of corny jokes (you’ll have to come to the next one to get those juicy tidbits). We had to give him credit though, the attempts at the least worked to distract everybody from the afternoon heat. In fact, by the end of the session, the A/C incident seemed to be a distant memory having been transplanted to the back of the minds of everybody by the wealth of knowledge and information delivered in the Publicity Bootcamp. A/C or no A/C, the session sent participants off with inspiration, knowledge, and confidence to tackle their musical goals that indeed, could be called priceless.

Technorati Tags: Ariel Publicity, cyber pr, music news

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Be sure to check out the exclusive video recap!

Delicious food, good wine, and great friends: The overwhelming success of the first ever Ariel Publicity Digital Press Conference, served as both the culmination of a year’s hard work in launching CyberPR and a sign of a promising future for the innovative firm. After a flood of interest, the venue was changed in an effort to accommodate more guests. The new location, Ariel’s parent’s beautiful and spacious apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, made for an evening that was equal parts joyous social gathering and serious press function.Rive Video, one of the most notable names in major label & independent music video promotion, served as event co-sponsor and took over Ariel’s childhood bedroom, creating an impromptu TV studio to host six hours worth of artist interviews for their assorted shows. Everyone’s favorite Internet radio personality, Jerry Bumpsky – with his Lennonesque son Patrick helping on the tech work – broadcasted the entire event live from a den that was transformed into a makeshift recording studio; going four and a half hours uninterrupted with fresh music, artist interviews, live impromptu performances, and the usual comedic banter that his fans love. Attendees were kept on their toes with Kathryn and Nick from Question of the Week roaming the apartment in search of great response to this week’s inquiry (tune in to find out what the question was!) Dan Herman of Radio Crystal Blue, bounced from artist to artist with a small digital recorder. While some, such as Ajay Chandriani from Mixed Bag Sound System, Mark Petracca of Culture Catch Podcast, and Thea Beemer from Brooklyn Radio, chose to put down the recording devices and keep it casual, preferring cordial conversations with the artists. DJ Copperhead from Next Big Hit Podcast booked several upcoming studio. Given the unique location, journalists had to get creative in finding quiet areas; Curtis Waller, from MTV and Waller Worldwide, set up for video interviews in the kitchen, being forced into momentary pauses as more hors d’oeuvres were taken from the oven to feed hungry guests. At one point, even the bathroom was used for interview purposes, hip-hop artist Ill Phil actually delivered rhymes from the bathtub but that flow was kept brief to avoid an angry line.

Several artists were in attendance including eight from Ariel’s Cyber PR: Darrin James, TRAEDONYA, edibleRed, Joe Deninzon of Stratospheerius, Leiana, Trystette, Kyle Lardner, and the lovely ladies of Lez Zeppelin. Blood Red Sun and Emiko came along with several representatives of ISL Publicity who helped shuttle artists around to interviews. Additionally, the guys from Rive brought Telesma and hip-hop artist Ill Phil Carnage. For many, the six-hour digital press marathon was a first-time experience, and each artist took full advantage, bouncing around every press station for interviews, videos, photos, conversation, and so forth. With such a positive response from all participants, the event was a smashing success, prompting many more, as it may potentially become a quarterly occurrence. The next event, however, will likely be held in a larger venue as the firms network and client list continues to grow.

FEATURED ARTISTS

Blood Red Sun
New York, NY
“Finally, a band out of New York that are not bed-headed Strokes clones. These guys wail, blending old-school riffs with radio-friendly chops. Plus, they’ve got the best female drummer this side of Meg White. Wait a sec, Meg White sucks.” -New York Press
http://www.blood-red-sun.com

Darrin James Band
Brooklyn, NY
Darrin’s songwriting has a narrative quality that draws us into his world through detailed imagery and captivates us in his mood. Darrin’s voice is expressive and unique, rough-around-the-edges and gravelly like a world-weary everyman that is somehow tragic but wise, heartbroken but funny. Musically, Darrin’s love of American blues and roots music shines through proudly as he draws from a diverse palette of musical styles of the past to create original music that is interesting in its depth and diversity.
http://www.darrinjames.com

edibleRed
New York, NY
Led by firecracker front woman Collette McLafferty, edibleRed is an eclectic New York City-based five-piece collective of atypical musicians. The memorable songs the band creates can be heard on their debut CD, Welcome to My Bad Behavior, slated for release on the day of the press conference May 22 on veteran indie label Select Records.
http://www.ediblered.com

Emiko
New York, NY
Indulging a rare breed of rock n’roll of the biggest kind, Emiko is a sensitive and introspective songwriter. Notwithstanding, this girl lives up to the rock legends as a trailblazer who sings, plays keys, takes her own solos, and is unafraid to say what others only dare to think. Having played piano since she was two and half, Emiko has transformed from classical pianist prodigy to rock and roll starlet.
http://www.emikomusic.com

Ill Phil Carnage
Staten Island, NY
A native of Brooklyn (NYC) who now resides in Staten Island (NYC), after college Phil started the independent label Suga’ Shack Ent. He is inspired by early nineties rap and heavy rock influences, but rhymes up to par with today’s standards. Phil has “in-your-face” adrenaline driven anthems with chanting hooks, and punch lines. Amongst the boasting lyrics, however, are innovative songs with meaning that fans can relate to. Phil is always writing and thrives on competition with the “freestyle” and “battle” capabilities of the “backpacking” emcees, but he is a true-to-form studio artist. He is a true voice of Middle America, controversial lyrics with a character, look, and style perfect for commercial marketability.
http://www.illphilcarnage.com

Kyle Lardner
New York, NY
Although Kyle is just a teenager, she is an incredibly insightful composer/performer. She wrote every song you hear on her album on the piano. With the help of her producer Alan Plotkin he was able to craft her sound into many different genres. This pop, rock and folk. The album was mastered by Greg Calbi (John Lennon, Billy Joel etc.).
http://www.kylemusic.biz

Leiana
Philadelphia, PA
The female-fronted, Philadelphia-based band of seasoned musicians has a rapidly growing fan base in the hardcore and skatepunk worlds. Leiana’s music is the result of the collaboration between the sultry underground vocalist Leiana and veteran musician Chuck Treece. Leiana – produced/co-written by Chuck Treece (Bad Brains, Urge Overkill, Billy Joel, The Roots) The music industry may be more dominated than ever by soulless mega-corporations, but the DIY spirit of bands like Leiana is still alive and definitely still kicking.
http://www.leiana.com

Lez Zeppelin
New York, NY
Lez Zeppelin, the New York City-based all-girl, all-Zeppelin quartet, is set to release its self-titled debut album on July 10, 2007, with a nationwide and European tour planned in support of the new record. Since forming in 2004, Lez Zeppelin has gained unanimous critical acclaim as one of the most exciting live acts around, becoming the first female rock act to pay homage to Led Zeppelin and to garner rave reviews across the board. The album was recorded with legendary producer/engineer Eddie Kramer, best known for his work with Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and KISS; and was mastered by George Marino, who with Jimmy Page digitally remastered all of the original Led Zeppelin recording.
http://www.lezzeppelin.com

Stratospheerius
New York, NY
Stratospheerius is the bastard child of Frank Zappa, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Blues Traveler. Lead by electric violinist/vocalist/mandolinist Joe Deninzon, the band has showcased their “psychojazz trip funk” at colleges, festivals, and clubs throughout the US. Their live performances are filled with funky dance grooves, rip-roaring guitar/violin jams, and hooks that mix jazz, funk, and world beat. The group was a winner in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, won the Online People’s Choice Awards in the Cornucopia Festival, and was named “Best Jam Band” in Musician’s Atlas Independent Music Awards.
http://www.stratospheerius.com

Telesma
Baltimore, MD
Blending ancient and modern instrumentation and spirit, Baltimore-based Telesma bridges the gap between primal and futuristic, setting itself apart from other bands in the music scene with their intoxicating sound and extra-ordinary live performances. Telesma’s unique sound, that has been labeled “electro-acoustic psychedelic world dance music”, is driven by the primal voices of the didgeridoo (one of the oldest instruments in the world, 40,000 years), the kubing (bamboo mouth harp), tribal drums and percussion, and the human voice. These elements are fused with modern instruments including keyboards, guitar, bass, theremin, samplers, modern drums, and the unique homemade “manDrum” to create a trance-like pulse not unlike that heard in modern electronic dance music.
http://www.telesma.net

Traedonya
Bronx, NY
The bride of new funk hip opera was born in Rocky Mount, NC , and was raised in the Bronx. In essence she is a country-city girl….a slice of both. Being raised by the funk and hip-hop, she has those influences in her music today. While in college, she was trained in the genre of jazz by some greats at the New School of Social Research in NYC. This cross section of cultures and music has allowed her to be comfortable across musical genres and cultures.
http://www.traedonya.com

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