I'm enjoying the growing list of what me and my people do wrong in the comments section of this post. To re-cap, journalists don't like it when publicists:...use ALL CAPS in the subjects or bodies of their e mails....mail discs with no liner notes/track listings/context of any kind....blindly send press releases to journalists who have no history of writing about that artist/concert/repertoire/genre....don't include audio or video clips in their press releases....act all lover-scorned when editors aren't interested in their clients....send … [Read more...]

One topic of conversation at the Turkey Day table yesterday afternoon was how early everyone was getting to the Short Hills Mall, Kohl's and Best Buy today, destination preferences delineated by expected gender and age stereotypes. That in mind, my first order of business this morning was to do some serious Google work on Black Friday classical music sales ((nerd)). Do any orchestras have discounted tickets tonight? Does ArkivMusic have a Black Friday CD sale like Amazon does? Are there any afternoon chamber music concerts advertised as … [Read more...]

Atlantic Records' digital sales beat physical sales, so says The New York Times and lots of research-y people. HOWEVER:This performance is sharply at odds with the trends in the music industry over all, where data show that sales of compact discs still account for more than two-thirds of music sales. Forrester Research does not expect digital music to reach 50 percent of the overall pie until 2011.Fear not, gentle readers, Atlanta Records President Julie Greenwald has "figured it out", "it" being, presumably, how to sell records in 2008?"I … [Read more...]

From: a New York City classical music and dance writerTo: Me, just nowI would like to take a moment to thank you for never sending me emails with all caps subject lines.  It is an affliction of many publicists, and actually makes me less likely to want to read the email.I also assume that marking all your press releases "High Importance" gets pretty annoying to writers. And including huge attachments, I would imagine. Calling all journalists! What do publicists do that annoy you the most?[Some comique is probably going to say "blog".] … [Read more...]

Can there be viral marketing when most classical concerts are one-night-only events?I went to the high-flyin'-larious play Boeing Boeing on Broadway last week, and took a gander at my call log today: I sent three texts at intermission and another two while walking to the subway. "Definitely go see Boeing Boeing." "Boeing Boeing is funny stuff." "Loved Boeing Boeing even though my beloved Josh Lyman isn't in it any more." Assuming others had as much fun as my friend and I did, Boeing Boeing got good press on the SMS airwaves that night. And, if … [Read more...]

From Playbill.com: Perhaps the most famous incident of his career was instigated by New York Shakespeare Festival impresario Joe Papp. In 1973, when Papp learned that Mr. [Clive] Barnes had given a poor review to David Rabe's In the Boom Boom Room -- Papp's choice to open his reign as the new director of the Lincoln Center Theater program -- Papp called the critic at home at 11:30 PM and cursed him, yelling into the phone, "You think you're going to get me? Well, I am going to get you. I am going to get you." That might have been the end of the … [Read more...]

Today we learned that Lang Lang is one of the Sexiest Men Alive, or so says People Magazine.Now, I like Lang Lang a lot, but I have to ask...of all the men...alive...is he really...the superlative of sexy? David Beckham...Lang Lang...David Beckham...I didn't get a sociology/biology degree between his Sexiest Man Alive status being declared this morning and the present moment, but I do know that "sexy" is in the eye of (body of? pheromones of?) the (be)holder. Who am I to say who/what's sexy to someone else? Who is People Magazine, for that … [Read more...]

This could have been you, Gerard Mortier!Or any arts organization executive director or orchestra music director, for that matter. Keep us in the loop! We'll care more about what you're doing if you...tell us. … [Read more...]

In recent days, the following happened in the topsy turvy world of media*:Alex Ross quotes a press release on his blog. Anthony Tommasini directs New York Times print and online readers to Jeremy Denk's blog in a concert review. Ronald Blum references Opera Chic in an Associated Press article. Opera Chic blogs about the reference.Inspired by a New York Times profile, Gawker suggests Nico Muhly compose a "singfest" for Gossip Girl. Nico Muhly accepts their offer on his blog. *("  ") … [Read more...]

I went to...brace yourselves...Mary Poppins on Broadway yesterday, and it took all strength I had left on a windy Sunday night to stop my 20-something sister from buying a Mary Poppins bird-head umbrella. Granted, the umbrella was pretty cute (if not slightly creepy), but, come on now. The joint was filled with merchandise! It is, after all, a Walt Disney production, so the amount of merch was to be expected. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious t-shirts, Mary Poppins dolls, Mary Poppins mugs, a signed poster from the cast (those sales were going … [Read more...]

I hauled this woolly mammoth of a shopping bag (CD to show scale) to the post office yesterday, only to be informed by a knowing piece of paper on the door that it was Veteran's Day, and the post was closed. Cue sad Charlie Brown music. I proceeded to take my mailing to dinner, at which point my friend kindly didn't comment on our third party. Physical releases: The expense! The environment! My back! What's the over-under on physical CD production, do we think? Five (ten?) years, and we're all digital, with special-edition physical releases … [Read more...]

Well, every publicist or marketing director, anyway. Now, we all make mistakes. A few weeks back, I sent Steve Smith a potential Time Out NY listing without a date. He was kind enough to write back (errr...when is this??) rather than simply ignoring me, which would have been deserved. But I received two comments on this blog today that will certainly make me think about my pitching efforts and relationship with journalists going forward.The first was an e mail suggesting I write about a website that I already written about, not five days ago. … [Read more...]

Jerry Portwood is the editor of the New York Press, and he does a lot of theater reviews. Like lots of theater reviewers, he gets free tickets for plays from publicists. But last week, he was abruptly disinvited and taken off the list for the play "The Sexual Neuroses of Our Parents," just before he was scheduled to attend. The reason: the play's publicist didn't like a NY Press story that pointed out that the play's publicists were marketing it by hyping up the fact that Meryl Streep's daughter is a cast member. Losing a pair of free tickets … [Read more...]

More thoughts for City Opera, should they decide to go into belated grassroots fundraising mode: Enlist top singers who love City Opera to create public service announcements, or an opera star-filled Obamaish video that can be easily forwarded and posted on opera blogs around the world.Have singers record phone messages, a la the crazy Snakes on a Plane marketing campaign with Samuel L. Jackson, that people can leave on their friend's voicemails. Idea courtesy of my sister.Does footage of Beverly Sills speaking about City Opera exist? That's … [Read more...]

"The irony of all this, I really believe, and many others do as well, is if we could simply have gotten the first season on the boards, it really would have galvanized fund-raising." - New York City Opera's Susan L. Baker to The New York Times 11/7/08, on losing Gerard Mortier due to a lack of funds.I hate to kick City Opera while it's down but...what first season? The homepage of their website, above, looks like the same old City Opera. I realize they need to promote the concerts they're presenting around town this season, but why is there … [Read more...]

I don't completely (heart) the fancy Celebrate Salonen season site that the LA Phil put together, but I do appreciate the alliteration potential and the gesture.Two cool things: 1. The fact that you can hover over any timeline point with an eighth note graphic and an interview will start without your having to click on it, and 2. the wall on which you can leave your tribute to Salonen.I've mentioned this before, but I'm big into the juxtaposition of, you know, Bill Viola's thoughts on Salonen with Lemon Lim from Hong Kong's thoughts on Salonen. … [Read more...]

Fill in the blank:It's ____________ that the first thing that comes up when you Google "Metropolitan Opera" is a search for movie showtimes. … [Read more...]