On most Fridays, I post interviews with folks far more knowledgeable than myself on specific marketing and publicity subjects. This week, that damned, elusive Opera Chic (!) on the future of the blog, why the New York Times isn't sweatin' it, and which opera writers to read across international lines. Opera Chic, a young New Yorker, is privy to some of Italy's most exciting and exclusive opera events. Based in Milan, Opera Chic unlocks the fabulous -- but sometimes insular -- world of Italian opera & symphony through firsthand accounts in … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2008
And now she’s gone and done it!
Don't ask me how I got there, but this morning I poured myself a cup of ambition and tooled around the 9 to 5: The Musical website. The first thing I noticed was that they had an "LA Audience Member" pull-quote on the homepage. Yikes, I thought: out-of-town-tryout reviews were so bad that they had to go with audience survey quotes on the website? Lo and behold, though, as the quotes rotated, I realized they were doing something I have been encouraging for months (years!): pull-quotes from multiple perspectives. Critics are just a slice of the … [Read more...]
[insert pun on “heights” here]
I really hesitate to comment on the awesomeness of the In the Heights video banner ads on Playbill dot com, because the last two Broadway productions whose marketing I praised on this blog either closed with a quickness or never opened. Still got it, Ameer. Stiiill got it. I'm going to risk it, though: In the Heights, beware. The In the Heights banner ads are great because they give you a real sense of the live show experience. Why hasn't The Emerson String Quartet ever done a video banner ad for one of their albums? If you see them perform … [Read more...]
I speak for the trees
The Christian Science Monitor announced today that it will drop its print edition and exist only in online form. And while we're on the subject. The Star-Ledger, previously thought to be closing up shop completely, announced last week that they would cut 40% of their newsroom staff. Good. Times.A few months back, I recommended that a publicist friend reach out to bloggers for one of her artists. She replied, "Thus far, we've kept X artist away from The Online, and we intend to keep it that way."Blink. Blink. ((cricket chirp:::cricket chirp)) … [Read more...]
On classical music celebrity, part deux
Stephen Colbert: So you are a superstar cellist.Yo-Yo Ma: What does that mean?Stephen Colbert: What-does-that-mean.Yo-Yo Ma: Nothing. (So there you go.)Update, 10/28,11:20 am: Watch at ~14 minutes here. … [Read more...]
Perlman and Pollini Rock (the Vote)
This comes via Nico via Daniel Stephen Johnson's blog: Itzhak Perlman's opposition of Proposition 8 on YouTube. The video was posted on October 22, and has already received 23,879 views. Good stuff, IP. Also, I'm happy to report that Maurizio Pollini wore an Obama button to his post-concert signing at Carnegie Hall yesterday, and more than one person was talking about it on their way out the door. You can't swing a dead donkey without hitting an Obama button in New York City, so I wondered why I, and the audience members at the signing, were … [Read more...]
Who’s not honoring me now
What's got two thumbs and did not make the Sounds & Fury Top 50 Classical Music Blogs: 3rd Quarter 2008 (Jul-Sep) Edition? THIS BLOG.Despite being totally schooled by Jason Heath's Double Bass Blog, Mostly Opera: A Woman in Her Thirties and Sticks and Drones, among 47 others, I direct you to the list for pitching purposes. Time to start campaigning hardcore for the 4th Quarter. I'm gunning for Hugh Sung, who I hesitate to even link to for fear of increasing his readership. … [Read more...]
Laying the flack down
Hailing from 2004, this piece from the site The Dance Insider was sent to me in response to my post yesterday. Writer/editor Paul Ben-Itzak actually gives awards/taglines to the publicity firms he likes working with, calling the piece "Best Publicists in NYC". I love hearing what journalists think of publicists. Here's an excerpt:...here are some things you should look for -- at least from the perspective of this writer and editor, who not only covers dance concerts but reviews hundreds if not thousands of press releases from around the world … [Read more...]
Why me?
A lot of artists have asked me if I think they need a publicist. I should probably always just say yes, but I don't. There are a lot of factors to consider - money, number of performances, and story potential being the big three. If the timing's not right for the publicist, current media climate and artist, no good will come of the relationship. The money, of course, is complicated: I get paid a monthly retainer whether I'm able to get press for my artists or not, unlike a manager or booking agent, who would only get paid when the artist gets … [Read more...]
Fleming, Warrior Princess
The following image was sent out this morning to publicize the Washington National Opera's upcoming production of Lucrezia Borgia with Renée Fleming (by an indy publicist, NOT the opera company, and NOT Renée's publicist, that's for sure): I mean.... As one journalist pointed out, is she an action figure, now?? ((stocking stuffers for the whole family!))Is this image "on message" for any of the parties involved? Who or what does it seek to represent? And it was sent to east coast classical press? Y-i-k-e-s. Yikes. Tip of the iceberg, but the … [Read more...]
Quel désastre!
I was just cruising around BAM's website trying to find the page for David's ballet score, and - to my horror/delight - stumbled upon this!!!! … [Read more...]
Witty-waltzing party stravinsky your mother dances
As previously mentioned, I had the distinct pleasure of hanging with Kevin Stalheim (among others) in the thriving metropolis of Buffalo, NY a few weekends ago. He gave me his series', Present Music's, season brochure (pronounced PRESent Music, as in, "current" or "generally around" music, not PreSENT Music, as in, "we present music"), and I thought it was rockin'. Here is one of the brochure panels (please ignore the embarrassingly dirty scanner):Intriguing images, good concert titles, clear date/time/locations, BUT the coolest part, I think, … [Read more...]
Talk to me about publicizing “The Nation”
Each (some?) Friday(s?), I'll post an interview with someone far more knowledgeable than myself on specific marketing and publicity subjects. This week, The Nation's Publicity Director Ben Wyskida on what publicizing a publication actually entails, preaching to the choir, and the best/worst publicity moments of the presidential campaigns. Ben Wyskida is the Publicity Director for The Nation. Additionally, he edits the politics and culture blog Pinko Magazine. Before joining The Nation, Ben was a community organizer in addition to working … [Read more...]
The one where I get pitched
As if we need any further proof that "media coverage" in 2008 is undefinable, once a day or so someone sends me something to potentially write about here: a website or marketing initiative from their organization that they they think I'll like, or something from another organization they think I'll hate. So I spend my days pitching stories whilst getting pitched. It's all very silly.Someone's father...wait for it...in-law sent me his daughter-in-law's chamber music website a couple weeks ago. That was cute, but the site was bad. It did … [Read more...]