Music publicity / PR (Public Relations) is a very useful promotional tool for all sizes and genres of music artists. Larger artists typically hire a publicist, but most smaller artists are not able to afford hiring one quite yet. Despite the lack of professional help, music artists are able to be their own publicist with a little time, effort, willingness to learn, and persistence. We talked more about publicity and its importance in a recent article, but today we dive straight to the source, absorbing invaluable advice from marketing and communications maven, Jaime Sloane.
Jaime Sloane is the Global Communications Manager at Ultra Worldwide, the company behind Ultra Music Festival, as well as founder of her own PR company, JSloane Creative. She independently promotes artists and labels like Space Yacht, Popgang Records, HNTR, and more. She holds a Bachelor’s in Journalism from UF, and can also be found writing for Miami New Times and Westword.
Before joining the Ultra team, Jaime worked as the West Coast PR Manager for Rephlektor Ink where she spearheaded campaigns for artists such as Louis The Child, Flosstradamus, NGHTMRE, and Seven Lions, as well as labels including Ultra Music, Anjunabeats, and Circus Records, and music festivals like Moonrise and Phoenix Lights.
Here are some things she taught us in an exclusive interview. Catch the highlights in this article, or watch the full interview on YouTube.
Advice on Music Publicity / PR for Artists from Jaime Sloane
Resources and tips on how to be your own publicist
Being your own publicist really comes down to your own persistence and willingness to learn and try new things that may not be easy. Jaime talks about some great resources on where to learn PR skills, ranging from free videos to paid courses. YouTube and Google University are of course go-to’s, but if you’re looking to dive deeper, she suggests enrolling in a full course. Jaime herself wrote materials for a course at Point Blank Music School. But there are also many others you can find online, for free and for varying prices.
Some more technical tips she dropped in regards to being your own publicist are:
- Make sure everything is spelled well and the grammar is correct
- Only reach out to people that cover your genre
- Make a list of blogs within your genre
- Find blogs by reading and going down a rabbit hole on Twitter and Instagram
- Google stalk the writer that you want to pitch to
- Reach out via social media or email
- Submithub
- Don’t annoy people
“I don’t want to say it’s common sense, but don’t annoy people. If people are not answering you, then maybe they don’t want to be reached out, or maybe they don’t like [the music], or maybe they have a death in the family, like you don’t know what’s going on.”
Jaime Sloane
Make genuine connections
She continues, talking about a very crucial part of public relations- making genuine connections. Jaime drops an invaluable tip: “Instead of being like, ‘hey, can you do this for me?’ You want to make sure that people feel that they’re being engaged with and that you’re speaking to them as humans. You’re not just asking them to do things.” A way that she does this is by seeing what the writers are up to on social media, and chatting with them about that.
Jaime also describes the reality of it. “[Have] no expectations. If you’re really doing this for yourself, I would just be happy if somebody responds to you.” She tells us that it takes awhile to make genuine connections so don’t get discouraged. Jaime Sloane also suggests starting with small outlets, and not expecting to get on the bigger outlets if you’re just starting out. She says, “If you’re a small artist, don’t expect to get on a big outlet, unless you have spent money for someone who is connected to those outlets.”
Have something that sets you apart
Jaime Sloane talks a lot throughout the interview about the importance of your story, brand, and having something that sets you apart as an artist.
“You want to set yourself apart, besides from the music.”
Jaime Sloane
She gives an example of an artist she works with: ASW, who struggles with bipolar disorder. He volunteers for a nonprofit called Crisis Text Line, where people can call or text when they feel suicidal, and the volunteers help bring them to a state of calm. His music also has a goal of bringing people to a state of calm. On top of that, he livestreams deejaying and raising money for organizations. Though he’s still a new artist developing his catalogue and career, he had a great story to tell and to do big things with.
She describes the importance of having something to set you apart, especially when it comes to getting covered by blogs. “Be reasonable about your reach and clout, because going back to what we were saying about pitching. If the music is great, cool. But, if there’s nothing interesting to set this artist apart, and they haven’t done anything, most writers are not going to really give it a time of day because their inboxes are filled with artists.”
PR is not for everyone
Though it is an incredibly useful tool, Jaime let us know that “It’s not always worth it to do PR, especially if you’re just releasing one single and there’s no story, and it is not really that interesting.” In that case, Jaime suggests putting your money into ads or other things. But on the flipside, “If you can try to dig deep, I think that it is worth it to check [PR] out.”
There are alternative options
Jaime also stresses some alternative options for those that can’t afford a publicist or help with digital marketing, and don’t want to do it themselves.
“Hire someone for cheap to do your digital marketing. They might not be an expert, but they probably know a little more than you if you don’t want to teach yourself.”
Jaime Sloane
This also goes for students, family, and even fans that may be willing to do it for free (or in exchange for something other than money), that may not know much but are willing to learn and grind for you. Don’t underestimate the willingness and drive that fans have to help their favorite artists.
Check out the video interview for even more valuable information on publicity and the music industry
Connect with Jaime Sloane
Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Website
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