While the music is obviously an important component of the music industry (some would even say essential), what really keeps the industry running is people. Each person involved has a specific and important job.
To highlight some of the most important and highly coveted jobs in the music industry and find out just what it takes to get that dream job, as part of an ongoing series Tone Deaf will be speaking to some of the music industry’s biggest and brightest.
Most recently, Tone Deaf caught up with Emily Kelly, one of the great minds behind Deathproof PR, one of the Australian music industry’s most trusted PR outlets. Emily shared on the past, present, and future of Deathproof PR, Aussie music, and of course, her job, a contender for the best in Australian music.
Coming Into The Fold
The label we were both working at was hemorrhaging bands and staff. It had just been bought by another company and things were generally looking pretty grim. It was time for both of us to move on to something new. No one else was really doing heavy music PR and we were really good at it.
Basically, we had a little bit of money, a lot of ideas, and fuck all to lose. Deathproof celebrated its fourth birthday in May. Bec and I both oversee every single facet of the business from planning and development, client and media liaison, to execution and reporting. Suffice it to say we drink a lot of coffee.
Early Beginnings
Before Deathproof, were doing pretty similar jobs at other Australian record labels. That said, the music media landscape is totally unrecognisable compared to what we were dealing with back then.
There was an abundance of opportunities for bands, everybody had healthier budgets, and media were generally more equipped to handle the production of great content in-house. Those days are so far gone it’s not even funny.
Sometimes we reminisce fondly about the amount of page space that used to be available to our artists, or that time when commercial radio gave ‘Australian guitar music’ a look-in. Like sentimental octogenarians stroking pictures of lovers past, we yearn for those days sometimes. Things were simpler then.
Highlights Of A Day In The Life
I fancy those moments that we get to listen to new music and sniff out local acts that might have potential. I also really enjoy social media and (trying really hard to) keep on top of tech developments that might be relevant to us.
I love trawling media and seeing what content is working for them and finding great writers is also really exciting. I like trying to think of ways to approach PR differently.
PR doesn’t just require stamina, impressive phone manner, and solid contacts anymore. It requires a lot of creativity. It’s ballbusting work, but it can be more rewarding now than it ever was in that regard. I also get to work with my best mates every day so that’s pretty nice.
Insider Tips
Honestly, I wouldn’t really recommend this line of work to someone else. Not running your own PR company anyway. PR is a headfuck. There’s no linear transaction in our business model. People do not pay money and then receive a nice feature article in Rolling Stone.
It’s not that simple. Our clients pay for us to do our very best, to be well connected, bust chops, be creative, resourceful, and persistent, but that doesn’t always end in the results you’re after.
Sometimes all the hardest work and best intentions yield lacklustre results. It’s the reality of any PR company, though it’s rarely something that’s discussed.
It can be heartbreaking when great music doesn’t connect to the media or audience the way you had hoped, even though there’s so much music and competition out there that the odds of new artists breaking through are increasingly small.
Don’t work in PR. Go work in a field where people pay you and you deliver a finished product, and then you shake hands and say “good day”.
Essential Qualities
The key is knowing your media and also knowing where to draw the line. Knowing which journos will enjoy which bands and when to stop punishing because it’s about to become really, really counterproductive.
I once read a publicist humblebrag that she “doesn’t take no for an answer” and I just can’t subscribe to that attitude. I don’t believe it works.
The Ideal Publicist
If you’re the kind of person that listens to a new band and falls in love with it, and sends a link to all your mates, and then volunteers to write about the band for a blog, and then checks in to see if your mates listened yet, and then hits the band up on Twitter to share the love, and then buys all their merch, and then looks for other bands that sound similar, and then plays the band to all your mates again, and then goes up the front at a gig and unabashedly fanboys out, and then posts about the gig on Facebook, then you might make a good publicist.
PRs also need to have the ability to walk into a crowded room at a gig or industry event and not get so overwhelmed that you have a little spew in your mouth, as well as be able to tear through a spreadsheet of contacts, delivery dates, assets, and ticketing links for eight hours straight.
And yes that sounds like a contradictory statement. You also need to be able to type really fast. That helps.
Proudest Moments
There is a very special kind of pride that stems from the successful execution of a particularly gnarly on-ground promotional schedule with a high profile artist.
The amount of logistical factors involved in pulling off a day of promo with a band (scheduling, booking rooms, organising transport, traffic, parking, food, etc), not to mention the interpersonal skills needed to deal with egos and tired TMs, make it a very precarious and stressful part of the job.
Proud moments often occur when you get through it all, the artist and TM are still smiling and you’ve got some killer promotional content for your media and client.
As fun as it is working with the big guns, seeing a new artist progress from small time to a relatively well known entity is very, very rewarding.
We’ve had the opportunity to continue working with a bunch of artists from the old days (Bring Me The Horizon, City and Colour, and Frank Turner to name a couple) as well as working from early on with some of the best Aussie acts going around (Ecca Vandal, The Bennies, Clowns).
Whether we are directly involved in their current success or not, it feels good knowing we got to help out along the way.
Lessons Learnt
First and foremost, never compare your wage to any other industry equivalent because that shit DOESN’T COUNT. Those dudes doing PR for Kraft Spreadable Tasty Cheese are probs rolling in cash, but they didn’t get to eat vegetarian laksa with Billy Corgan while trading relationship woes and cooking tips. At least, I don’t think they did.
Secondly, don’t take it to heart. Because music is our one true love and because our business is quite literally our small, vulnerable babything, it’s easy to take business personally. That’s very dangerous. Bad idea.
Alternate History
If I wasn’t doing this, I’d be working in a communications role for the local council and sending press releases about broken water mains. Also, crying myself to sleep.
The Future
As Steve Earle said in 2012 at the BIGSOUND conference in Brisbane, “Anyone who says they know the future of this industry… is a goddamn liar.” I’m optimistic about the future, though. I think people’s willingness to pay for content via new platforms like Spotify and Netflix is encouraging.
People were overjoyed when the opportunity to steal music for free arose 15 years ago, but most people are aware of the consequences of that behaviour now and I think they’ll come around to understanding the importance of paying for it in some way. It probably won’t be the way we’re accustomed to, but they’ll pay. Oh, they’ll pay….
There is life in music festivals too, no doubt. But not the all-powerful Lollapalooza extravaganzas, and instead in the Golden Plains format. There’s life in this rabies-infested dog yet!
If you’re interested in becoming a music industry professional, visit www.aim.edu.au to explore the huge range of music industry courses they have to offer.
