Author: Sheena Metal
It's one of the oldest riddles in the history of music: If a
band rocks hard in the forest and there's no one there to hear
it...did it ever really happen? It's a fact: you may be the most
talented musician in the galaxy, but if no knows about you,
you'll probably never advance past playing to your one and only
fan in the mirror in your mom's garage.
Writing, recording and performing terrific music is half the
battle, but the other half may be even tougher than the
challenge of creating a #1 hit...the task of publicizing it.
Without publicity, your great opus might very well sit,
gathering dust on your closet floor with the other 999 copies
you had printed, cased and shrink-wrapped. Getting your
name/your band's name out there is quintessentially the most
crucial step to: gigs, management, fans, radio, label exposure
and rock 'n' roll stardom.
But what if your new found press is not-so-positive? Should you
turn away a chance to pimp your band to the masses if the
article is entitled, "Worst Bands In The History Of Sound" or
"CDs You Wouldn't Listen To If They Washed Up Next To You On A
Desert Island"? Is all press "good press"? Is it always a
positive move for your band if the average music lover reads
your name in print; even if the article's content is not exactly
what you'd frame for your dad on his birthday? In a word, "Hell
Yeah!"...Well, that was two words.
The following are a few tips that may help you to utilize both
the positive and the negative press that may come your way:
1.) Never Turn Down Press---If people are talking about you,
you're doing something right. Don't throw away free exposure by
becoming your own publicist and deciding who can say what about
you. Brittney Spears can afford to hire a PR genius to nix an
upcoming article on "Overweight Pop Stars Looking For A Comeback
After Two Kids." You, however, should tell your vocalist to
pooch out her gut, grab her babies and smile for the camera. The
only thing more important in the music business than who you
know is who knows you. So, remember, "bad press" is good and
"good press" is outstanding. 2.) Make Sure They Print Your
Name---The single most important key to success in entertainment
is the recognition of your name. A magazine may print, "The John
Smith Band sounds like a toilet flushing." Weeks later, most
people will only remember that they have heard the band name.
This is the beauty of press. Plus, even if rabid music listeners
now associate your band with potties, they will probably check
you out just to see if you're really that terrible. How many
songs/bands do you think are horrific yet, when they come on the
radio, you listen anyway? Name recognition is essential to the
success of your band. Whether they're praising or dissing,
everybody needs to be talking about you.
3.) Turn Bad Press Into Good---There's no way around it...bad
press happens. Even the hottest band in the world has just as
many hate sites as fan sites. But what reads to you as bad press
doesn't always have to translate as bad press in your press
package and mailers and on your web site. There are two easy
ways, to turn bad press into good. First, edit it. It's your
press after all and not every word can be bad. Simply omit the
parts that make you want to run screaming and leave the rest to
make up at least a decent review. Second, interpret the negative
as positive. No matter what's in the article, act like you think
it's a great thing. Turn criticism into irony, insults into
humor, and bad ratings into humility. Make it seem as if the
reviewer was on your side and don't let on that it upset you at
all. Again, in the long run, it will only matter that you got
the publicity nod in the first place.
4.) Complaining Only Makes Bad Press Worse---Bad press will come
and go, but your making an issue out of it will surely last
longer than the review itself. Press is only as current as its
latest issue and soon enough, what feels like the ruin of your
band will be replaced by the ruin of someone else's. But, repeat
mentions of it on your websites, My Space pages, etc. will keep
the negativity alive as long as you refuse to let it go. I
realize that your art is precious to you and that you're easily
hurt by bad press but continuing to ruminate on it, only serves
to keep the wound open way past the original issue date. The
energy you put into bad press should be focused onto getting
newer, better press for the band. You will remember the bad
press long after everyone else has forgotten about it so let it
go and move onto more positive things.
No one every said that the music business was going to be all
sugar and spice and everything nice, so it should come as no
surprise that you'll probably garner as much bad press as good.
Foster the positive publicity as much as you can and chalk up
the negativity to a small pothole on your road to success. It's
true that it doesn't matter what they say as long as they're
talking about you so be thankful for the free PR, take the high
road, and let the bad reviews roll by your band and into
oblivion where they belong. It's unrealistic to think that you
can get everyone to like your music, so make it your goal to get
everyone to remember your name.