By Sheena Metal
It’s one of the oldest riddles in the history of
music: If a band rocks hard in the forest and
there’s no one there to hear it…did it ever
really happen? It’s a fact: you may be the most
talented musician in the galaxy, but if no knows
about you, you’ll probably never advance past
playing to your one and only fan in the mirror
in your mom’s garage.
Writing, recording and performing terrific music
is half the battle, but the other half may be
even tougher than the challenge of creating a #1
hit…the task of publicizing it. Without
publicity, your great opus might very well sit,
gathering dust on your closet floor with the
other 999 copies you had printed, cased and
shrink-wrapped. Getting your name/your band’s
name out there is quintessentially the most
crucial step to: gigs, management, fans, radio,
label exposure and rock ‘n’ roll stardom.
But what if your new found press is
not-so-positive? Should you turn away a chance
to pimp your band to the masses if the article
is entitled, “Worst Bands In The History Of
Sound” or “CDs You Wouldn’t Listen To If They
Washed Up Next To You On A Desert Island”? Is
all press “good press”? Is it always a positive
move for your band if the average music lover
reads your name in print; even if the article’s
content is not exactly what you’d frame for your
dad on his birthday? In a word, “Hell
Yeah!”...Well, that was two words.
The following are a few tips that may help you
to utilize both the positive and the negative
press that may come your way:
-
Never Turn Down Press---If
people are talking about you, you’re doing
something right. Don’t throw away free
exposure by becoming your own publicist and
deciding who can say what about you.
Brittney Spears can afford to hire a PR
genius to nix an upcoming article on
“Overweight Pop Stars Looking For A Comeback
After Two Kids.” You, however, should tell
your vocalist to pooch out her gut, grab her
babies and smile for the camera. The only
thing more important in the music business
than who you know is who knows you. So,
remember, “bad press" is good and “good
press” is outstanding.
-
Make Sure They Print Your
Name---The single most important key to
success in entertainment is the recognition
of your name. A magazine may print, “The
John Smith Band sounds like a toilet
flushing.” Weeks later, most people will
only remember that they have heard the band
name. This is the beauty of press. Plus,
even if rabid music listeners now associate
your band with potties, they will probably
check you out just to see if you’re really
that terrible. How many songs/bands do you
think are horrific yet, when they come on
the radio, you listen anyway? Name
recognition is essential to the success of
your band. Whether they’re praising or
dissing, everybody needs to be talking about
you.
-
Turn Bad Press Into
Good---There’s no way around it…bad press
happens. Even the hottest band in the world
has just as many hate sites as fan sites.
But what reads to you as bad press doesn’t
always have to translate as bad press in
your press package and mailers and on your
web site. There are two easy ways, to turn
bad press into good. First, edit it. It’s
your press after all and not every word can
be bad. Simply omit the parts that make you
want to run screaming and leave the rest to
make up at least a decent review. Second,
interpret the negative as positive. No
matter what’s in the article, act like you
think it’s a great thing. Turn criticism
into irony, insults into humor, and bad
ratings into humility. Make it seem as if
the reviewer was on your side and don’t let
on that it upset you at all. Again, in the
long run, it will only matter that you got
the publicity nod in the first place.
-
Complaining Only Makes Bad
Press Worse---Bad press will come and go,
but your making an issue out of it will
surely last longer than the review itself.
Press is only as current as its latest issue
and soon enough, what feels like the ruin of
your band will be replaced by the ruin of
someone else’s. But, repeat mentions of it
on your websites, My Space pages, etc. will
keep the negativity alive as long as you
refuse to let it go. I realize that your art
is precious to you and that you’re easily
hurt by bad press but continuing to ruminate
on it, only serves to keep the wound open
way past the original issue date. The energy
you put into bad press should be focused
onto getting newer, better press for the
band. You will remember the bad press long
after everyone else has forgotten about it
so let it go and move onto more positive
things.
No one every said that the music
business was going to be all sugar and spice and
everything nice, so it should come as no
surprise that you’ll probably garner as much bad
press as good. Foster the positive publicity as
much as you can and chalk up the negativity to a
small pothole on your road to success. It’s true
that it doesn’t matter what they say as long as
they’re talking about you so be thankful for the
free PR, take the high road, and let the bad
reviews roll by your band and into oblivion
where they belong. It’s unrealistic to think
that you can get everyone to like your music, so
make it your goal to get everyone to remember
your name.
Sheena Metal is a radio host, producer,
promoter, music supervisor, consultant,
columnist, journalist and musician. Her
syndicated radio program, Music Highway Radio,
airs on over 700 affiliates to more than 126
million listeners. Her musicians’ assistance
program, Music Highway, boasts over 10,000
members. She currently promotes numerous live
shows weekly in the Los Angeles Area, where she
resides. For more info:
http://www.sheena-metal.com.
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