{"id":311,"date":"2009-08-10T15:55:43","date_gmt":"2009-08-10T15:55:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/wp\/?p=311"},"modified":"2009-08-10T15:55:43","modified_gmt":"2009-08-10T15:55:43","slug":"glenn_petry_21c_media_group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/2009\/08\/glenn_petry_21c_media_group\/","title":{"rendered":"Glenn Petry, 21C Media Group"},"content":{"rendered":"

Because 1. no one wants to read about The Life and Times of Amanda Ameer every day and 2. because there are many, many people out there who know more about publicity and marketing than I do, every week I try and post an interview with someone else in the field. Usually, I do this on Fridays, but that clearly didn’t happen last week. Or the week before.  But TODAY we have a continuation of the critically-acclaimed (for realz – a few critics e mailed and said they liked it) Life’s a Pitch <\/i>feature Better Know a Publicist<\/i>. See the Interviews column to your right for the other publicist interviews. Now here’s Glenn Petry from 21C Media Group<\/a> on Publicity 101. <\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

Glenn Petry has worked in the music scene – both promoting and
\nperforming – for more than 15 years. He co-founded 21C Media Group in
\nJanuary 2000 and has been the Director of Public Relations since its
\ninception. He developed his interest in promoting classical music while
\ntouring the US with the experimental rock band Drunken Boat, after
\nwhich he became a consultant to the classical music industry for a
\ndozen years. Working with both record labels (such as Deutsche
\nGrammophon, Decca and Philips) and artists (such as Cecilia Bartoli,
\nRen\u00e9e Fleming, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Gil Shaham, Orpheus Chamber
\nOrchestra and many others), he expanded the reach of classical artists
\nbeyond the specialist press into the mainstream media.<\/i><\/p>\n

On
\nthe marketing side, Mr. Petry pioneered new ways to present classical
\nmusic to the public (from CD packaging to music videos) and forged
\ninnovative partnerships that created synergistic successes on behalf of
\nclassical music, while maintaining his deep involvement in many other
\nmusical genres, including jazz, reggae, electronica and world music.<\/i><\/p>\n

What is the purpose of a press release? And what, in your opinion, is the most important aspect of a press release? How does that element accomplish the purpose?<\/b><\/p>\n

The purpose of a press release is to provide information that is of essential interest to its readers. In our case this means vital and accurate information about upcoming performances, new recording releases and any artistic activity that resonates with the reader and piques his or her interest.<\/p>\n

Similarly, what is the most important aspect of an artist biography? How long should a bio be, ideally? Should it include press quotes? Why or why not?<\/b><\/p>\n

An artist’s biography should tell the story of the artist as interestingly and briefly as possible. Paragraphs listing the various venues where an artist has performed become unnecessary when the artist is well established. Quotes can be helpful if they bring color to the artist’s story; they can add both credibility and eloquence to an artist’s reputation.<\/p>\n


How far in advance of a CD release or concert do you send\/e mail press releases? How many times do you usually follow-up journalists after sending the release?<\/b><\/p>\n

We typically send out initial information about 6 weeks before a concert, tour or recording release (sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on the size and complexity of the project), and then we follow up with one or two ‘reminder’ or ‘tune-in’ press releases in the lead-up to the event. As far as following up with individual journalists goes, this is done very much on a case by case basis, again depending on the journalist or outlet being pitched.<\/p>\n

In 2009, what do you consider successful coverage for a client’s concert? How has the definition of “coverage” changed since you started working in PR? For example, do artist’s personal blogs\/websites\/Twitter feeds count as media coverage?<\/b><\/p>\n

The definition of success has unquestionably changed in the last 15 or so years since we began working in the classical music industry. There is less ‘expert coverage’ overall, and more importance is placed on “buzz”, general awareness, and word on the street; organic, everything-counts multimedia coverage – including discussion on blogs and social media networks – is vital to the success of any concert today.
<\/b><\/p>\n


\nWho owns the problem of selling tickets and CDs? Is it a publicist’s
\njob to secure press that will have a direct impact on sales, or does
\nsome press accomplish something beyond or different from sales? Should
\nmarketing – ticket sales, ad copy, poster design – be kept separate
\nfrom publicity, or do efforts often overlap?<\/p>\n

<\/b>While marketing
\ndepartments are traditionally responsible for promoting and achieving
\nticket sales, the blurring of boundaries between marketing and
\npromotion, reflecting all the changes in music promotion discussed
\nabove, makes the overlap – and the cooperation – between marketing and
\npublicity departments much greater. We started 21C Media Group in 2000
\nanticipating the evolving and dovetailing roles of marketing and PR in
\nthe promotion of classical music; we sought to create a hub and a
\nmeeting point for record companies, performance venues, management
\norganizations and promoters (all areas in which our team members have
\nworked and gained insight and experience) to work together to solve the
\nnew challenges that come inevitably with a changing and dynamic market.
\nBecause we have all worked in these sales-driven areas of the industry,
\nwe are keenly aware of the complex and increasingly intertwining and
\nsymbiotic relationship between the marketing and publicity aspects of
\nan artist’s career.<\/p>\n

When in their careers should artists hire a publicist?<\/p>\n

<\/b>There
\nare two good reasons to hire a publicist. The first is to gain access
\nto the media. The other is to manage a hungry media. With respect to
\nthe first: when an artist is ready to speak to the public, when they
\nwant to communicate about their art or beyond their art, then is the
\ntime to think about hiring a publicist. There are also more practical
\nconsiderations: do you have enough bookings to both afford and warrant
\nprofessional PR guidance?<\/p>\n

With regard to the second reason for
\nhiring a publicist: artists (both reserved and gregarious) who achieve
\na certain level of success – or possibly notoriety – will find
\nthemselves in such demand by the media that they need professional help
\nin managing the attention, requiring an experienced publicist to vet,
\nfilter, prioritize and schedule their media activities.<\/p>\n

If an artist doesn’t have a publicist, what is the best advice you can offer them for
self-promotion?<\/p>\n

<\/b>Be
\nvery scrupulous with the materials you create (eg. bio, press releases,
\nclippings, EPKs), making sure that they convey an accurate and
\nstreamlined message about your artistry, and that they reflect the
\nlevel of your professionalism as an artist.<\/p>\n

How do you choose clients? Is there a set criteria in your company, or do you decide
on a case-by-case basis?<\/b><\/p>\n

This
\nties in greatly with the previous question about when an artist should
\nhire a publicist. Timing plays a big part in these decisions. We do not
\nhave set criteria for determining which clients we choose to add to our
\nroster. However, we do require that the artist or project under
\nconsideration has an overall, organic fit with our own artistic
\npassions, and that we can embark on a project with a firm sense that we
\nwill be successful.<\/p>\n

Do clients on your roster know who the other clients on the roster are? Do they
care?<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes: when clients care, they do know.<\/p>\n

Should publicists run Facebook pages, blogs, Twitter accounts, MySpace pages for
their clients, or is that essentially the 2009-equivalent of answering interview
questions for them?<\/p>\n

<\/b>The
\nsimple answer is no, if we are talking about a publicist masquerading
\nas the artist. More and more artists are great bloggers and tweeters in
\ntheir own words, and they deserve and earn renown for those additional
\ngifts. That being said, there are certain elements of social networking
\npages that can be appropriately maintained by a publicist:
\nspecifically, updating calendars and photos and announcing events.<\/p>\n

If you weren’t a classical music publicist, what would you be?<\/p>\n

<\/b>A fisherman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Because 1. no one wants to read about The Life and Times of Amanda Ameer every day and 2. because there are many, many people out there who know more about publicity and marketing than I do, every week I try and post an interview with someone else in the field. Usually, I do this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-311","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-interviews","7":"category-main","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/lifesapitch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}