October 2009 Archives

I'm working on the US press for the new Cecilia Bartoli album, Sacrificium, which not unlike Michael Jackson's new album, came out this week. Buy it here to support this blog. Just kidding: album sales have nothing to do with this blog, but it's a good album so buy it anyway.

Somewhere along the line we came up with the idea for a "virtual archeological dig," and today the thing actually happened.

SO, La Cieca over at parterre.com kicks things off. Follow the clues to 8 other sites and answer questions to reveal puzzle pieces here. Last clue is at The Iron Tongue of Midnight.

So this happened: Kanye West mentions (cute and good) Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes on his blog.

We have this thing "Site Meter"--which is exactly what it sounds like--set up for our ArtsJournal blogs, so we can see how many people are reading us, from where, at what time, so on, so forth.

One of the intriguing aspects of Site Meter is that I can see what people have Googled to get to me. "Amanda Ameer" Google Image searches crop up every once and a while and totally creep me out, but most Google searches that get you to home sweet Life's a Pitch are "how to find a publicist," "classical music publicity," etc.. This one, in addition to the recent Yankees' lead on the TV, really made my night, though:


That's right folks: according to Lord Google, this right here is is the second stop for the Best Publicity in the World. You should all feel quite pleased with yourselves for reading. Clients who are reading: consider this your notice that I'm raising my rates.

I carry around big purses a lot, so sometimes I'll see a cute dog on the street and actually think I can scoop him or her up, mush him or her into the bag with my computer, lip plumper and blotting tissue, and continue on my way. These are the things that drift through my head, and for a split second I'm certain I can pull the off the dog heist without getting arrested. If I suddenly stop blogging, it probably means I've actually done it and, in fact, gotten arrested; apologies in advance.

I lugged this white leather and plastic Jill Stuart monstrosity around LA this weekend and had a similar stroke of crazy about Disney Hall and Gustavo Dudamel. They could fit; I'll just take out this map of Los Angeles, ditch the MacBook, move the make-up around...they could totally fit. Disney Hall looks bendable, as does Dudamel's hair. Just come home with me. I love you.

Unfortunately, The Dude was not conducting while I was in town, and instead I sampled the auditory delights of John Williams Conducts John Williams. Even my cold, black heart was warmed by the "Imperial Death March" encore, though getting through the Memoirs of a Geisha suite with applause between all--I think 8?--movements was a challenge. But I've seen Dudamel conduct, and can say for sure that this appointment was not a matter of snagging a cool Dude with great hair from a Foriegn Land That's Not Europe to garner some press and buzz for an American orchestra. This is an excellent musician and a consummate communicator who also happens to be all those other things.  As previously mentioned, I think the "Gustavo" marketing campaign is mildly ridiculous, but it was still encouraging to see posters all over town. I mean, all over town. I got lost on Sunset Boulevard ("twisting Boulevard") and thought I could use the blue "Gustavo Awesome-O" or whatever street light banners as my breadcrumbs; big mistake, they're everywhere.

I realize it's silly to write my impressions of Disney Hall almost exactly six years after it opened on October 23, 2003, but you've read this far already, so just come with me. The John Williams Event was at 2pm, so my friend from college was going to drive me around the city and take me to The Grove for breakfast before the concert. The hall was a few blocks up from my hotel, but I hadn't seen it yet, so when we drove by I started grinning and then, oh no, here it comes - crying! If you don't know me, you probably think "crying" means a few tears running down my face dragging clumps of mineral make-up along with them, but sadly no: I really cry.  "Wait, are you CRYING?" my friend asked. "Should we pull over??"

How cool, though, that this is where the classical music lives in LA. This isn't a museum or a hotel, it isn't some crazy new apartment building for the rich and famous. This is the Home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and I was overwhelmed. I walked around the garden at intermission and took photos like a Proper Tourist. Of course the sunshiny weather didn't hurt the building's cause, but I would go to a concert every Sunday afternoon there if I could. And most importantly, just like its new music director, inside that shiny, wavy, exciting wonder is a hall that sounds fantastic.

Knowing my penchant for quotes, my friend Abigail sent this over this afternoon from Bloomberg News:

[Clive] Gillinson, who came from the London Symphony Orchestra in 2005, made less in 2007-08 than two other New York performing- arts leaders with more complex tasks. Lincoln Center President Reynold Levy made $1.1 million to oversee a 16-acre complex that houses 12 resident companies. Metropolitan Opera General Manager Peter Gelb earned $1.5 million to produce 219 opera performances...

Gillinson oversees management, raises money and develops "artistic concepts" for concerts, according to the hall.

I guess the writer doesn't consider that a legit part of the job? Or like, he does it in the way David Letterman apparently "developed" "artistic" "concepts"?

Though many, many more music journalists are on Twitter, these are the people I noticed interacting with the publicists I interviewed the most. Oodles of thanks to  @nightafternight: Steve Smith, New York Times, Time Out New York;  @anastasiat: Anastasia Tsioulcas, Gramophone, Variety; @gsandow: Greg Sandow, Wall Street Journal, ArtsJournal; and @sethcolterwalls: Seth Colter Walls, Newsweek for their answers.

These interviews were conducted via Telex machine. Just kidding.

___________________

How long have you been using Twitter?
@nightafternight: Since April 2009.

@anastasiat: I just went back & checked my profile--since Sept. 8, 2008. Huh. Had no idea it had been that long.

@sethcolterwalls: Since August 2008.

@gsandow: Six to nine months, can't remember exactly.


Where you motivated by personal or professional reasons?
@nightafternight: The two are largely inextricable in my experience, but personal was probably the initial catalyst.  The short answer is that I was frustrated by my inability to keep my blog updated on a reasonably regular basis, primarily as a result of the promotion and expanded workload I took on at Time Out last August.  I very badly missed having a personal, interactive outlet for thoughts and observations that didn't necessarily extend from either of my jobs, but wouldn't necessarily exclude them, either, since they're a large part of who I am. The long answer is here.

@sethcolterwalls: My last job strongly encouraged that I take the plunge right around the time I was becoming curious about what was happening on Twitter. So both.

@anastasiat: Both, honestly.

@gsandow: Motivated by curiosity, and then by professional interests.

Many thanks to @cjpr: Christina Jensen, Christina Jensen PR; @CarnegieMatt: Matt Carlson, Carnegie Hall; @dotdotdottweet: Steven Swartz, DotDotDot Music; @SarahBaird: Sarah Baird, Boosey and Hawkes; @BklsweetMedia: Amanda Sweet, Bucklesweet Media;  @glennpetry, @seanmgross, @PhilipWilder: Glenn Petry, Sean Gross and Philip Wilder, 21C Media Group; and @mlaffs: Maura Lafferty, New Century Chamber Orchestra for their help with this. Now stop Tweeting and answering blog questions and revise some bios!

These interviews were conducted via carrier pigeon, i.e. e mail.

___________________


How long have you been using Twitter?
@cjpr: Since March 2009.

@CarnegieMatt: About seven months.

@dotdotdottweet: Since last winter - don't recall exactly when I started, but it was definitely BO (Before Oprah).  

@SarahBaird: I began listening in March 2008 but didn't join the conversation and start tweeting until March 2009.

@BklsweetMedia: One week!

@glennpetry: We began using Twitter last season 2008-2009.

@seanmgross: I signed up for Twitter over a year ago, but I didn't start actively using it until about six months ago.

@PhilipWilder: I began my life as a tweeter about 9 months ago.

@mlaffs: Since April or March?


Were you motivated by personal or professional reasons?
@cjpr: Professional.

@CarnegieMatt: I was initially motivated because Carnegie Hall was planning its own Twitter account (now launched @carnegiehall) as part of an expanded social media effort. So I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. That said, my feed is really meant to be a personal account - I comment on non-musical matters as well, and it's linked to my personal email account. If I could do it again, I suppose I wouldn't have picked @carnegiematt as my handle since it's not reflective of everything you read there.

@dotdotdottweet: Mostly personal - thought it might be fun. Its promotional potential wasn't immediately obvious to me.

@SarahBaird: I was curious about Twitter and I appreciated the ability to see trends and participate in conversations, share experiences. The major impetus for me to join was SXSW. I was heading to Austin and knew that I'd only be able to see about 20 of the thousands of showcasing bands, and meet about 20 of the thousands of interesting people. So Twitter was a way for me to tune into the larger conversation and tweet-up with people who were zipping around to different venues. I'd say it's personal-professional for me. I tweet as Sarah-Baird-Who-Works-for-Boosey-&-Hawkes. So a person who follows me isn't following a company megaphone, but the same person they'd see if they were my colleague, working in my office. None of my personal friends follow me on Twitter (who aren't involved in the industry).

@BklsweetMedia: Professional but just like most things in my life, those boundaries are blurred.  I actually sent out a tweet last week about DC Green Works and my great meeting with them about bayscaping in my yard.

@glennpetry: I would say we were motivated by both personal and professional reasons, which is why we maintain both "personal" and "professional" Twitter accounts.

@seanmgross: I use my own Twitter account mainly for personal reasons.  I let my friends and "followers" (although I don't like that word...it makes me sound creepy, like I'm trying to be David Koresh) know about a new restaurant that I discovered, an interesting article I read, or something unusual or funny that happened to me that day.  However, I don't share anything that is too personal, since my Tweets can also be seen by colleagues and clients. For our company, I oversee a separate 21C Media Group Twitter feed that is one of several ways that the press and public can elect to receive information on our clients (other ways include our website, news release emails, RSS feed, and Facebook page).  Each tweet includes a one-line news item and a link to a news release on our company's website.  It's not meant to be the most interactive Twitter feed.  We encourage our artists to Twitter on their own if they are interested and have the time to commit to it, as this is where the true power of Twitter lies.  Our feed is engineered to be more of news feed, like CNN's but with a much more singular focus.

@PhilipWilder: Since I travel tons for work, as well as my life as a "bi-coastal", it initially seemed to be a good way to keep in touch with friends and colleagues. Now, I have a good amount of followers - friends and strangers - and have many discussions with them over Twitter and through email when 140 characters isn't enough.   Of course, 21C posts daily Tweets on breaking news about our clients too. Mine are more of an inside view from Behind the scenes.

@mlaffs: Initially, I wanted to get to know the tool and the user base before even considering using it for my company, since I've seen a lot of arts organizations mis-use social media. Since then, the relationships that I have built have offered both personal and professional value.

About a week ago, I had coffee with an arts marketer from out of town. She mentioned going to the opera with a prominent critic, and having--a meal or a meeting, I don't remember--with a prominent New York presenter. She was by no means bragging about these things, just telling me what she had been up to during her trip. No judging, I started, but if you've never worked in the city, how do you know these people? "Through Twitter!" she said.

I've never joined Facebook, and I had no burning desire to join Twitter. It's Thursday at 11:40pm, and I'm watching the Phillies (hopefully) beat the Dodgers, answering e mails and writing this blog post. Point being I work a lot, so the thought of adding personal Facebook and Twitter updating to the mix makes me want to move to Tahiti and sell sunblock. But Twitter for work purposes got my attention (label me with whatever -aholic you must), and I started looking into which publicists and which journalists were active members of the twitterati. More importantly, which publicists and journalists interacted with each other on Twitter. Were stories being pitched? Introductions being made? Contacts being found?

I went to Christine Brewer's Zankel (Carnegie) Hall recital tonight and now, over a glass of strawberry milk, I will tell you what it made me think about. Spoiler Alert: it's marketing and PR.

1. One of, if not the, best things about working at IMG Artists was getting to meet the clients in a non-formal setting when they came into the office. I'm not sure if he remembers, but I remember Eric Owens coming in and suggesting we rearrange the furniture in the lobby. I was all-too-happy to offer my two...dollars...on the lobby design, as was my friend Mark from the Vocal Division. I also remember washing my hands next to Renée Fleming in the Ladies Room and uncharacteristically trying not to look her in the eye because I was wearing something stupid that day and she was the real-deal glamorous. And I think Hilary baked cookies for everyone at one point? Regardless, it was fun to interact with the artists in the office, because then you'd go to a concert later that night and remember Joshua Bell talking about how he had spent all morning at the Apple Store. I never met Christine Brewer, though she is represented by IMG, so what was amazing about her performance tonight was that I felt like I had met her, many times. I'm not going to say she was "warm and natural on stage" because that is an understatement; I actually felt like she was practicing her recital in my apartment and we'd known each other for a decade. When a mutual friend introduced us backstage, he said to her, "You've met Amanda, right?" I actually almost said "yes"! Can you imagine? I had in no way met this woman and I was almost like, "Oh yeah, we've met. Many times." I write a lot on this blog about how marketing and publicity materials need to make the artists seem accessible, but there's really no substitute for an artist actually being that accessible in live performance.

2. I like a lot of concerts, but I rarely want to hear them again right after I've experienced them. This one, though, I would have bought and could have been re-listening to as I type now. "Bought," you ask? Recently, bands have been selling the MP3s from their live shows right after they happen. I realize this gets more complicated when the music is not written or owned by the artist, but that is something I would be more willing to purchase than a CD, even if the CD was of the exact same repertoire.

3. It is ironic that skinny women get fancy recording deals because, erm, that's when the music is supposed to be heard and not seen? Yes yes, I know all about "the whole package," but that doesn't make it any less ironic.

4. Christine (first name-basis, because as you know, we've met many times before) sang an encore about a review of an opera singer's Carnegie Hall recital at her Carnegie Hall recital! M-E-T-A Meta Meta woooo! Carnegie is going to post the name of the piece and composer tomorrow. The piece was Celius Dougherty's "Review". There was a genius line about the singer's recital partner. It wasn't "able" or "reliable"...but something like that. I'm sure it will be mentioned in the review. Zing!

Author, blogger and New Yorker classical music writer Alex Ross has a new blog on the New Yorker website. Here's his description:

This blog, which takes its name from a part-song by the English Renaissance master John Dowland, will consist of short commentaries, addenda to New Yorker pieces, audio excerpts from recommended new CDs, links to novelties and oddities around the Internet, and the like. My old site, with its library of twentieth-century audio samples, will remain intact, and perhaps expand from time to time. Unquiet Thoughts won't be a blog of the reader-bombarding, twenty-posts-a-day kind, but I hope to provide enough fresh matter to warrant a few visits a week. I've imported two resources from the old site: a classical-blog listing and a page devoted to music critics and music sites. Other links can be found in the blogroll on the left column.

Unquiet Thoughts would be a clever enough name on its own, but as a sequel to a blog called The Rest is Noise?  Groan. The smartness slays me. I'm going to make some strawberry milk to soothe my blog-name(s)-envy.

(photo from here)


Strictly FYI, this is what classical music reads like to the rest of the music world. From BrooklynVegan re: the recent Hope Sandoval show:

LA Weekly spent a considerable portion of their Hope Sandoval cemetery show review talking about the NO-photo policy. Now I know why. Hope Sandoval didn't just deny photo passes. She didn't just post warning signs all over the venue (see above). She didn't just have someone give a stern, pre-show announcement. Hope basically had her own security detail on hand to blind and humiliate would-be-photographers (and anyone near them) with flashlights. During the second song, one of the security guys actually jumped into the crowd and rammed through a group of people to stop someone.

According to You've Cott Mail according to The Stage News, Sadler's Wells across (le) pond launched movie theater-style previews for upcoming productions last night at the Peacock Theater. From The Stage News:

Sadler's Wells director of marketing and communications Kingsley Jayasekera said: "At Sadler's Wells we're always looking for new ways to tell our audiences about what we have coming up. Cinemas do this very effectively to flag up forthcoming film releases, so why shouldn't theatre?"

I blogged about this here and endured some criticism from My Readers, including one shiny pearl of a comment that finished with, "Nothing is going to be able to stay the least bit sacred anymore, is it:((("

Nope:)))

When soccer moms in army-grade Hummers would double-park on New Canaan's already-narrow Elm Street, my mother would always mutter, or sometimes shout, "Some people think the rules don't apply to them."  She would declare a similar sentiment when we'd be in line for the movies and would hear a parent tell his or her child "just say you're 7" to get a cheaper movie ticket. Some people think the rules don't apply to them...and by all means teach your child to lie.

I sent out a press release last night with extremely specific instructions on how to access, download, and burn a review copy of an album, stating very clearly that physical review copies would only be available at a promotional rate. Of the 20 people who e mailed me back asking to be mailed physical review copies, only one asked what the promotional rate was and how he could order a copy. Lewis Lanese from Stereo Times, you are the reason there's a patch of hair still left on my head, and I thank you for that.

Sure, there was an entire paragraph explaining that physical copies would only be mailed at cost, but she can just send me a copy, right? Mailing one isn't a big deal. My favorite response to my calm and polite reply e mail asking if someone saw the download instructions was, "Yeah, I just didn't want to have to look for my password." SOCCER MOM IN THE HUMMER! Elm Street. New Canaan Playhouse. Amanda spins into Fembot self-destruct mode and blows up.

Beyond this strange sense of entitlement, I suspect a lot of people just don't read press releases. My favorite response last night was "Please send for review  -- John." I think he just saw the artist's name and hit reply. This could have been such-and-such artist recites the Gettysburg Address backwards and in Pig Latin and he would have responded the same way. But what of the content? What of my prose?

Last week, F. Paul Driscoll, editor-in-chief of Opera News, offered the following advice to publicists on this very blog:

The most effective way for any publicist to secure a story or profile in ANY magazine is to present a pitch that reflects a working knowledge of the magazine.  That starts with the magazine's readership.  Who are they?  Why do they buy the magazine? Clearly, our readers buy a magazine called OPERA NEWS expecting its editors to present opera as topic one, but that doesn't mean that every "opera story" is right for us...And  --  last but not least  --  it helps a pitch if the publicist has read at least one issue of the magazine and can identify just where in OPERA NEWS a potential story might fit best. 

Those same words of wisdom, I think, can be/should be applied to journalists. Not reading the press release I wrote, revised, sent to a copy editor, revised again, formatted and tested on three e mail accounts does not instill in me a great desire to bend over backwards for you. How about "Please send a copy for review...because I noticed in your release that only the deluxe edition of the album will be for sale in the US and would like to pitch a piece to my editor about the different ways classical music is being packaged and presented differently in the US vs. Europe."

Perhaps this is asking too much, and I'm not being sarcastic. Journalists are inundated, I realize, with press releases, so the e mail subject really may be all they have time to read. In that case, however, we need to think of a more efficient and effective ways to communicate with them. Everyone might win that way; I don't think any publicist would breast-beat over the demise of the 800-word press release. 

I did receive an e mail from a journalist in response to a different press release last week that simply read, "can't wait!". And that just made my whole day.

At 1:20pm today, The Guardian's piece on Dudamel's debut was at the top of the Google News stories. Please note how he beats out the economy, iPhones, Soulja Boy, some sports thing, breast cancer, a celebrity sex scandal, and a fatal deluge.

As often as possible, on Fridays I will post interviews with colleagues from the field who are far more knowledgeable than I am on various marketing and publicity topics. This week, we have F. Paul Driscoll, Editor-in-Chief of Opera News, on bewitching divas, the good, the bad, and the ugly of opera blogging, and the basics of how to pitch a glossy magazine.

F. Paul Driscoll has been Editor in Chief of OPERA NEWS since 2003.  He began contributing to the magazine in 1990 and joined the editorial staff as managing editor in 1998.  He was born in New York City and raised in Westchester.  His first live opera experience was Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera in 1969, with Renata Tebaldi, Cornell MacNeil and Sandor Konya.
Photo:© Kate Weiman

The current issue of Opera News is the eighth annual DIVA issue. Can you tell us your three best diva/divo stories, or do you not feature-and-tell?

I'll give you one diva story, which happened at my first diva encounter, about twenty-five years ago.  I was asked to interview Leontyne Price, who had been one of my idols since I was in high school.  We met at the appointed hour, she looked fabulous, I turned on the cassette recorder and ... nothing.  I couldn't think of a single question.  There was complete silence in the room, except for the little scritch, scritch, scritch sound of the cassette preserving dead air for posterity.  She smiled graciously.  I was still blank.  She raised her eyebrows.  I cleared my throat  --  very loudly  --  and said, "Uh ... Miss Price ... this is ... this is one of the greatest moments of my life ... uh, really."  Very smooth, right?  I wanted to die.  But I hadn't counted on the fact that Miss Price had probably encountered an idiot interviewer at least once or twice before.  She crossed her legs, leaned forward, looked me dead in the eye and said, "Mr. Driscoll, I do not know who has coached you to say such bewitching things, but you do it divinely.  Prrrrrrrrrrray continue!"  In other words, she put me completely at my ease by treating me like a professional  --   a real act of faith in her part on that particular morning --  and we had a great interview, thanks to her.  She's a very classy, generous lady  --  which most real divas are, in my experience.
 

What is the staff responsibility breakdown at Opera News and how has it changed since you've been there?

We have an editorial staff of eight, including our art director and our editorial production director.  Features are assigned by Brian Kellow, our features editor; each of the other editors  --  senior editor Louise Guinther, online editor Adam Wasserman, managing editor Oussama Zahr, assistant editor Tristan Kraft  -- has assigning or editing responsibility for at least one of the back-of-the book-departments.  

The biggest change at OPERA NEWS within the last decade has been the movement of more work in-house -- not only by-lined features and departments, but a great deal of pre-press and production work that used to be out-sourced is done here in the offices of OPERA NEWS by Greg Downer, our art director, and Elizabeth Diggans, our editorial production director.  We also have our website, www.operanews.com, to supply with content and maintain.  In other words, the workload has increased, but the size of the staff has not.


Do you ever use freelancers who don't specialize in opera/classical music? That is, a medical journalist or a fashion writer?

On occasion, we do use freelancers whose expertise is in area outside of classical music:  in our August 2009 issue, for example, we worked with Colleen Hill, a fashion historian, on a piece about how designers have tackled the challenges of costuming Violetta in La Traviata. That said, our readers expect us to speak on opera and classical music subjects with authority; therefore, most of the freelancers we engage are highly knowledgeable in those areas.  Relatively few are what I would call "specialists," however.  As you can tell from the author bios that accompany our features, we use writers who also work as architects, translators, performers and academics.


So...a glossy, printed magazine...about opera...in 2009. You knew the question was coming: how long before you go online-only, if ever, and do you think being web-only entity will alienate your current subscribers?

We currently have no plans to go online-only.  We are now in the process of re-designing operanews.com; we are scheduled to go live with the re-design in January 2010. Operanews.com is a great way to expand what we are able to offer our readers -- not only in terms of content, but in terms of flexibility.  But it's our intention to maintain the integrity of the printed publication.


How does the website promote the printed magazine and vice versa? Which is the bigger traffic driver to the other?

Right now, the cross-traffic flows from print to online, generally for content reasons.  We have online-only features -- audio surveys, for example -- that are promoted in the print edition, as well as interviews and performance, recording and video reviews that are online-only.

 
Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist, was the cover of Wired magazine last month. The tagline reads, "Killers. Hookers. The death of newspapers. Craig Newmark gets a lot of blame."  How has the popularity of opera bloggers changed opera journalism for better or worse? In August, the magazine published an 1800-word piece called, "Voice of Opposition" about blogger La Cieca/James Jorden. In the "Opera Navigator" section on the New York Times' website, the blog Opera Chic and Opera News are given equal treatment. Is the sky falling? What does all this mean??

I don't believe that bloggers have changed the face of journalism  --  opera or otherwise  --  as much as the shifting economics of the print media business model.  The costs of putting content on paper are high; traditionally, the revenue streams that supported those costs came from advertising dollars and from subscription and newsstand sales.  The formulas for monetizing online content are relatively new: it's anyone's guess as to how this process will evolve.  Opera blogs have made the discussion of opera more lively, to be sure:  the best bloggers are highly opinionated writers.  But there's a big step between having an opinion and being able to write criticism -- or deliver a well-reported, responsibly researched piece of journalism.  Not all opera blogs are created equal; some --  such as Opera Chic  --  are very well-written; some are not.  The "Opera Navigator" section on the NEW YORK TIMES website presents links to a number of different information sources about opera, which is a smart way for the TIMES to appeal to its broad readership base.


Do singers' blogs and Twitter feeds have journalistic value? Do you consider them competition for readers or useful tools to shed new light on the art form?

Singers's blogs and Twitter feeds offer a different perspective on the art form than journalism does.  Those blogs and Tweets are highly subjective, naturally.  I don't consider them competition for magazine readers.  But then again, I don't think most opera singers would consider me competition if I started to sing.


Most of the pieces in the print version of Opera News are 1500+ words. Do you find that holds appeal for freelance writers and readers alike or, in these ADD times, is everyone just looking for quick and short blurbs of information?

Our readers  --  and our writers  --  seem happier with longer pieces, but we try to vary the length of features; not every subject merits 2, 000 words.  The features in the course of the last six months of OPERA NEWS have ranged in length from 650 words to 3, 500 words.  Quick hits of information are great as Breaking News items on operanews.com or as entries in Opera Watch, but I believe our readers enjoy pieces that can examine an issue or a personality in some depth.


Often it's hard for me, as a publicist, to know in advance what effect press hits are going to have on my artists' careers; does NPR sell CDs or simply raise an artist's profile, does a good New York Times review matter, does a bad New York Times review matter? Each issue of Opera News always has a great balance of rising and established stars. How do you think coverage in the magazine can affect a singer's career at different points in the career?

My observation is that coverage in OPERA NEWS can help to get an artist attention, but it is the sustained quality of an artist's work that has the biggest effect on an artist's career.  It's our responsibility as editors to give our readers the right amount of information about an artist at the right time. For example, the "Sound Bites" section of the magazine has been proven to be a highly effective way to give artists who weren't ready for a major OPERA NEWS feature an appearance within our pages:  Anna Netrebko, Natalie Dessay, Joyce DiDonato, Elina Garanca, René Pape, John Relyea, Jonas Kaufmann, Lawrence Brownlee and Philippe Jordan were all "Sound Bites" subjects before they became front-rank opera-house stars.  
 
 
What is the most effective way for publicists to secure a story or a profile in Opera News?

The most effective way for any publicist to secure a story or profile in ANY magazine is to present a pitch that reflects a working knowledge of the magazine.  That starts with the magazine's readership.  Who are they?  Why do they buy the magazine? Clearly, our readers buy a magazine called OPERA NEWS expecting its editors to present opera as topic one, but that doesn't mean that every "opera story" is right for us.  For example, most publicists don't realize is that our coverage of opera is national or that our readership is national.  (Did you know that more than ten percent of our subscribers live in California?)  You'd be surprised at the number of pitches we get that are clearly "local news," better suited to a local newspaper than a national magazine.  (A world premiere at the Met or Lyric Opera of Chicago or Santa Fe Opera stands a pretty fair chance of being national news; a new production of a standard repertory work at a small local company, however worthy, is not.)  An effective pitch also takes into account our publication schedule: we are a monthly magazine, and work far in advance.  You'd be surprised at the number of pitches we get touting an event that's happening in ten days.  And  --  last but not least  --  it helps a pitch if the publicist has read at least one issue of the magazine and can identify just where in OPERA NEWS a potential story might fit best.  Not every story is a cover story.


What does the "F" in F. Paul stand for? If you answer "F You", you'll be my hero.

Today, it stands for Fractious.  Most days it stands for Francis.

Via fellow ArtsJournal blogger CultureGrrl via The Onion, this attendance-boosting initiative from the Metropolitan Museum of Art:

NEW YORK--Hoping to boost attendance and broaden its base of supporters, the Metropolitan Museum of Art launched a new initiative this week that allows patrons, for the first time ever, to prod and scratch at the classic paintings in its revered collection.

"Though it contains more than two million pieces and represents a profound legacy of artistic achievement, most people remain completely indifferent to our museum," Met director Thomas P. Campbell said. "So we decided to try something a little different and give visitors a chance to experience our timeless works of art up close and personal."

Added Campbell, "Please, bring the whole family and smudge up our paintings as much as you want."

And the response?

Gerard Schmidt, a retired banker who lives near the Met, said he had never much cared for museums until he was given the chance to manhandle one of Monet's Water Lilies.

"At first it just looked like a picture of a bunch of lily pads, but then I started scraping at it with my pocket knife and the whole painting just sort of spoke to me," Schmidt said. "For the first time, I finally understand what Monet was trying to get across in her work."

A new trend?

And the cash-strapped Boston Symphony Orchestra has created a special "Jam Night" during which audience members can come up onstage to play along with the orchestra, improvise lyrics, or just twirl around waving colored scarves.

I totally heart this e card, even though I'll be in LA the following weekend for David's movie and will miss the sale. And I do love a sale.

Good fonts, good colors, excellent use of cleavage:

If anyone from LA Opera is reading, SAVE ME A BODICE!

From PC World dot com today:

As of December 1, the Federal Trade Commission is going to require bloggers, and prominent tweeters and Facebook types to disclose any paid endorsements to their followers, online friends and readers. These new rules have the potential to change everyone's online habits.

The blog rules are fairly straightforward: if you're being paid to write about a product in a discreet way (which reminds me: my, my, MY, this glass of BOLTHOUSE FARMS SINCE 1915 ANTIOXIDANT RICH GREEN GOODNESS FRUIT SMOOTHIE is just delicious and so good for me!) you'll have to disclose that information to readers. The article says that most bloggers already do this, often right at the beginning of a post they're being paid to write.

The social networking aspect of all this, though, is much more interesting. You know you've made it, Twitter, when the Federal Trade Commission is all up in your grill.

CNET's Caroline McCarthy uses an interesting scenario to illustrate this: a celebrity receives a bunch of free nights from a hotel, and then becomes a fan of that hotel on Facebook. There would have to be disclosure by the celebrity on Facebook that they have received a gift from that hotel.

That sounds reasonable enough, but what about the rest of us? Say for example, you work for Microsoft and become a fan of the company on Facebook or tweet about how much you love Windows 7. Now, what if you have not made it clear on your Facebook and Twitter profiles that you work for Microsoft? Some of your Facebook friends or Twitter followers might see your posts, and--knowing that you're an expert in technology, but not necessarily that you work for Microsoft--take your Windows 7 endorsement at face value. You still might love Windows 7, but you haven't made it clear that you're receiving financial compensation as a Microsoft employee. Under the new FTC guidelines, you may have just crossed the line.

Bottom Line: If you are going to tweet about how awesome your employer is, make sure everybody knows you work there.

Hey, FTC! My clients are awesome and they pay me to say that.

Poking fun at typos isn't quite fair since we all make them. I recently got sassy with an auto spellcheck feature on my html mailer program, for example, and sent out a press release with "Trovatore" spelled "Travatore" about five times. Nothing like sending out that first release for a new client and falling flat on one's face. That's how it's done, folks! That is how it's done.

I would be neglecting my blogger duties, however, if I did not share this pearl of marketing prowess with you. Here's what APAP, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, sent out advertising their January conference on Friday:

Bill T. Jones, legendary [insert description of his talents] will bring his unique perspectives, on what we do not know, to the Friday opening plenary. I would love to write a press release that way: "The King's Singers [insert description of their talents] will be coming to your city this October." Or a whole bio: "Acclaimed for his commanding stage presence and inventive artistry, American bass-baritone Eric Owens has carved a unique place in the contemporary opera world as both a champion of new music and a powerful interpreter of classic works.  [insert descriptions of his past roles and awards]." Think of how much time the APAP approach would save!

Apologies in advance if this post is idiotic.

The remake of Fame is to be held accountable, you see, because I am convinced that in the one hundred and seven minutes I sat watching it in the Ziegfeld theater tonight, I actually became less intelligent. I asked my sister if we could leave halfway through, and she insisted, "I'm not leaving before The Song." The most amazing part, though, is that after we suffered through the thing in all its plotless, driveling, anesthetized glory, THEY DIDN'T EVEN SING THE SONG. THERE WAS NO DANCING ON THE CAR. "Fame" played DURING THE CREDITS! Sigh. "Lame! What a misguid-ed endeavor. I want to know who's to blame. Forget-it, forget-it forget-it forget-it..."

As usual, our friend classical music is portrayed as The Dragon Guarding the Castle of True Self-Expression. The only way one character can get her parents to an intimate but funky club (which turns out to be Webster Hall??) is by telling them they're going to a "classical jazz" concert. Once her parents are safely in the audience, she casts aside her good-girl classical piano-playing image and sings Rap. You can tell she's now a Rap Singer and not a Classical Musician because she has traded in her pink-on-pink polo and sweater combination for big hoop earrings and a checkered "top". Another cool young thing is artistically stifled by being asked to play Bach in his piano lesson. THANKFULLY there's an upright and a sound system in the cafeteria so everyone can jam and be themselves at lunchtime.

Two interesting things, though, in this desert: One, there's a scene in which the two repressed classical music kids and one self-declared rapper-slash-actor are in a meeting with Lauryn Hill's A&R guy. I would throw up a "spoiler alert" here, but really I don't think anyone should see this movie. So, they're in their second meeting, and apparently the higher-ups at the label weren't interested in the guys' music, but they do think the classical pianist-turned-singer's talent is "one in a million" or whatever. Now to the point: this A&R guy says to her, "We're working on a lot of 360 deals right now, partnering with Live Nation and Clear Channel." That's the first time I've heard 360 deals referenced anywhere outside of the music industry, although I know there's been a lot of mainstream media coverage. This was an especially good Times piece on the subject a couple years ago:

Commonly known as "multiple rights" or "360" deals, the new pacts emerged in an early iteration with the deal that Robbie Williams, the British pop singer signed with EMI in 2002. They are now used by all the major record labels and even a few independents. Madonna has been the most prominent artist to sign on (her recent $120 million deal with the concert promoter Live Nation allows it to share in her future earnings), but the majority of these new deals are made with unknown acts.

It's not possible to tabulate the number of acts working under 360 deals, but worldwide, record labels share in the earnings with such diverse acts as Lordi, a Finnish metal band which has its own soft drink and credit card, and Camila, a Mexican pop trio that has been drawing big crowds to its concerts. In the United States, Interscope Records benefits from the marketing spinoffs from the Pussycat Dolls, including a Dolls-theme nightclub in Las Vegas.

The second interesting thing is that this movie took itself very, very seriously, whereas similar but more successful versions of the same idea--like the TV show Glee or the High School Musical movies--have a thick layer of self-awareness and self-mockery. The movies Center Stage and Step Up also took themselves seriously and were also far less commercially successful than Glee and certainly than the High School Musical franchise. I think Newsies, swoon, took itself seriously when it first came out, but now it reads like it's making fun of itself. Also, it can be argued that Newsies is a kind of cult film, whereas Glee and High School Musical have mainstream appeal.

And finally, there is no way that the High School for the Performing Arts would be able to do a student production of Chicago in New York City when the musical is still on Broadway. There are rules about these things. Fact. Check.

ArtsJournal editor Douglas McLennan has been working overtime on the National Summit on Arts Journalism. The presentations are today and they are cleverly being live-streamed on the interweb. There are few things funnier than Summits on the Future of Anything after which press clippings are mailed out, so I'm glad the carpet matches the drapes, as it were, of this enterprise. Speakers include Doug, natch, Executive Producer of NPR Music Anya Grundmann, Director and CEO of the Indianapolis Museum of Art  (and more importantly, Dartmouth College alumnus) Maxwell Anderson, and Seth Schiesel from the New York Times, who I strangely enough read all the time even though I've never owned a video game system.

You can read more about the summit here and watch the proceedings below, now:


Live video by Ustream

Alternatively/Additionally, you can follow the live web-chat here:

You may have heard somewhere that Gustavo Dudamel takes over as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic next week. There have been a couple small news items on the subject. It seems like only yesterday that he and Hilary were performing Mozart for The Pope's 80th birthday. They grow up so fast, don't they?

Much as it kills me softly to give the man more press, there was an interesting post over at Sequenza21 earlier this week about how Gustavo Dudamel is talked about in LA Philharmonic press releases. Here is the release excerpt from Sequenza21:

On September 24, 2009, the LA Phil launched a microsite celebrating the arrival of incoming Music Director Gustavo Dudamel. Introducing audiences worldwide to Gustavo in new and engaging ways, the comprehensive microsite, located at http://www.laphil.com/gustavo, features videos such as Gustavo's first rehearsal with the YOLA Expo Center Youth Orchestra, the LA Phil's video tribute "Welcome Gustavo," and the press conferences unveiling Gustavo's inaugural season and appointment as 11th Music Director of the LA Phil.  Visitors can also take a multimedia journey through Gustavo's life with tiling photographs, video and biographical text.  The latest Gustavo-related news and newly recorded audio and video content will be added to the microsite as Gustavo's exciting inaugural season progresses.

No sooner do I tell the world (and by "the world" I mean "you three readers, hi there - xoxo") about my millions-making idea for Wii Conductor does my client Eric send me this from today's Boston Globe:

When Paul Henry Smith and the Fauxharmonic Orchestra set up to perform, the sounds made are like no other symphony orchestra. There is no chorus of string instruments tuning, no scooting of chairs, no fluttering of the pages of musical scores. Rather there are just two imperceptible clicks as Smith turns on two computers - a MacPro for the woodwinds and an IMac for everything else.

But the instrumental sounds and full 100-voice choir that Smith then coaxes from the machines, using a Nintendo Wii controller as his conductor's baton, sound surprisingly acoustic, live, and real. Smith is quick to point out that the effect does not yet equal the experience of, say, a night at Symphony Hall, but the advancing technology of digital orchestras is rapidly getting closer.

I've mentioned how amused I get by Google Alerts in this zone before, but this is an especially good one:

Such a multi-tasker, that David Lang.