Musical America Blogs

By: Edna Landau

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of leading a Lunch and Learn seminar at the Juilliard School. This weekly series, curated by Courtney Blackwell Burton, the director of the school’s Office of Career Services, covers a variety of topics of importance to the students as they progress in their career preparation. During the Q & A session, composer Nathan Prillaman asked the following: “Many of us are involved in multiple genres of music, whether as performers, composers, producers or administrators. How should we go about branding, marketing and developing these different facets of our careers? Should we keep them under separate names with separate support systems, or should we integrate them? If the latter, how should we go about it?”

I visited Mr. Prillaman’s website to see how he was currently dealing with this quandary. His home page shared some basic biographical information which revealed the range of his activities (including the fact that he was writing a musical), but I particularly liked two sentences that I found on an inside page: “Nathan Prillaman is a composer and producer based in New York City. Trained at Juilliard and Yale, his music lives in the club, the concert hall, and everywhere in between.” I felt that they would have been very welcome on his home page as an intro to his bio. He has a tab called “Works” with all of his compositions and a Media tab which offers both audio and video samples of his works. The setup feels totally right to me at this stage of Mr. Prillaman’s career and it is evident that his production expertise has evolved naturally from presentations of his work.

The situation becomes more complicated when a young performer who aspires to achieve recognition in one genre wants to simultaneously embark on another area of performance. I encountered this in my work with pianist Jeffrey Kahane, who began receiving unsolicited conducting offers in 1988, five years after winning First Prize in the Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition and seven years after capturing a top prize in the Van Cliburn Piano Competition. My instincts were to continue to capitalize on the momentum that was building and leading to more and more prestigious invitations as a pianist and to gradually pursue opportunities that would strengthen his confidence and expertise as a conductor. I felt that the time would come when his primary reputation would simply be as a superb musician, and that opportunities to both play and conduct would abound. Happily, this proved to be true as Mr. Kahane is a regular soloist and guest conductor with leading orchestras and is in his 17^th season as Music Director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

Every once in a while, an artist displays multiple talents at an early age and has the good fortune to develop them fairly equally without sacrificing his or her psychological well-being or causing any conflict in the development of their career. I was reminded of this about ten days ago when I read a New York Times review of a concert by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra which marked the 50^th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. It included a specially commissioned work by the 19-year-old composer Conrad Tao, “The World Is Very Different Now”, which received a warm reception. (Conrad had appeared twice as pianist with the Dallas Symphony and they asked to hear some of his compositions, which greatly impressed them.) My first introduction to Conrad was when Yocheved Kaplinsky, his teacher at The Juilliard School, urged me to attend his performance of the Prokofiev Third Piano Concerto with The Juilliard Orchestra, the result of his having won the school’s Concerto Competition. I was totally blown away by his remarkable artistry and technical accomplishment at the tender age of twelve. She told me in passing that he was also an accomplished violinist and composer. I signed him to IMG Artists shortly thereafter but his career management has been handled very ably to this day by Charles Letourneau. I spoke to Charles and Conrad during the past week and both spoke of the evolution of his career as an organic process. Conrad had been playing violin and piano, as well as composing, since the age of four or five so it seemed logical to continue in that vein. He studied composition with Christopher Theofanidis and received the first of eight consecutive ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards at the age of nine. It was agreed that the primary focus of his promotion and career development should be on piano, but when a demo tape of a recital from the Verbier Festival that included a piano sonata by Conrad was disseminated among presenters, word spread quickly that this exceptional pianist was also a gifted composer.

After performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in the first half of a concert with the Orchestra of the Americas in Florida in 2009 and the Mendelssohn g minor concerto in the second half, Conrad realized how much work would be involved in maintaining both disciplines to a satisfactory level and he decided to forego violin professionally. In 2011, he enrolled in the joint program offered by Juilliard and Columbia University, where he is currently pursuing a major in Ethnic Studies. The launch of his first full-length album for EMI (“Voyages”), which includes two of his own compositions, coincided with a highly imaginative and favorably received three-day festival of new music (UNPLAY) that Conrad curated and introduced on his 19^th birthday. Conrad told me that this curatorial role was a natural extension of his ongoing exploration of ways to create a unique, live experience in his concert programs. While he agrees, from a branding perspective, that it may be advisable to compartmentalize the multiple skills of an artist in their younger years and even to continue to highlight their different strands of mature activity with separate website pages, he has always felt that in his case, they all fed one another. They were also part of his own exploration of his role as a musician. He feels a keen responsibility to use his gifts to make a contribution to the world and cited an interview with David Lang in The Wall Street Journal in which he spoke of the need for classical musicians to be good citizens. At this level of dedication and seriousness of purpose, it seems to matter little how an artist should focus their branding. We live in a time when the world is happy to embrace multi-talented individuals for who they are and for the inspiration they can add to their lives. The artist (together with any representative they may have) should do the best possible job of presenting themself to the public in all the ways that matter to them and leave it to the rest of us to enjoy the full range of their multifaceted artistry.

©Edna Landau 2013

By: Edna Landau

In my most recent blog post, I addressed the question of how to find a publicist for a special project. The reality is, however, that many young musicians are not in a position to pay a publicist even for an individual project. For this reason, I am dedicating this column to DIY publicity. The information herein has been gained from speaking to valued colleagues, a number of whom regularly dedicate considerable time to counseling young musicians on this topic, whether during visits to music schools and conservatories or as part of their business activities.

I have often wondered how much attention a journalist will pay to a recording or project that has been brought to their attention by the artist directly, rather than a publicist. The result of my investigation was heartening. While a pitch from a publicist may catch the writer’s eye more immediately, it is the content of the pitch which really matters the most. James Inverne,  former editor of Gramophone magazine and currently Co-Managing Director of Inverne Price Music Consultancy, told me that although he thought of himself as a highly approachable editor while at Gramophone, he rarely had time to do his homework on artists who approached him out of the blue. It helped, therefore, when they had a publicist whose artistic standards he trusted as it was a good indicator of their potential. It also helped if the artist was with a good record label or was championed by a known artist. However, of paramount importance was whether the artist seemed clear in their own mind as to who they were artistically and whether they were able to present themselves in a way that would make an editor care about them. He elaborated on that by saying that “there is thinking to be done before there is pitching to be done.” If an artist doesn’t have a manager or publicist, it helps if they have an adviser with whom they can have strategic and artistic discussions prior to mounting any sort of publicity campaign.

In the course of my work on this column, I was introduced by Rebecca Davis to Sarah Baird Knight of DOTDOTDOTMUSIC, who truly touched me with her dedication to educating young people about promoting their activities through building their identity, with an eye towards maximizing their potential for eventual press coverage. She and her business partner, Steven Swartz, visited Princeton University this past summer to speak to percussion students and composers at So Percussion’s Summer Institute. As part of their business, they offer in depth one-on-one consultations with artists in which they explore everything from building an effective website to navigating social media and communicating appropriately with the press. They believe that there is considerable homework to be done by any artist seeking publicity, such as establishing a presence on Facebook and Twitter and participating actively in “the many water cooler conversations that happen there daily,” as well as generously sharing interesting and helpful information with others. Ms. Knight concurs with James Inverne that a critical activity is “launching entrepreneurial projects that articulate one’s artistic identity and passion”. An equally important step is to regularly “collect interested parties of all stripes into a mailing list”. The larger the fan base you can attract and build and the clearer your artistic identity, the greater the chance that you can also attract press attention. She cautions, however, that one should never add a press person to one’s mailing list without first gaining their permission.  A good way to do this when writing to someone in the media is to mention your upcoming event with a link to further information about it, and to ask whether you might stay in touch with them about yourself or your ensemble. This might be a bit less “threatening” than to ask outright whether you might add them to your mailing list.

Amanda Sweet of Bucklesweet Media underscored to me the importance of knowing something about individual writers and what they like to cover. If you’ve read something by them that you really liked, it can’t hurt to mention that when you approach them. Nancy Shear suggested to me that an attention-getting e-mail might include a statement about a particular connection that the artist might have to works they are performing or recording — for example, if the work has folk-based themes and the artist has a strong connection to that culture or country, or if their teacher studied with or knew the composer.

I have always felt that the biggest obstacle for an artist trying to approach the press directly is obtaining their contact information. Ms. Knight suggested that artists make Google their best friend. A Google search of artists making music similar to theirs will yield information about where they have received coverage. They might gain information also from searching the artist’s e-mail address or Twitter handle. Once they have targeted a group of press outlets, they might well find an e-mail address on the masthead of the publication. Even info@email addresses should be noted and used. She also drew my attention to the following very useful Twitter directory:  http://mcmvanbree.com/dutchperspective/twitter/people.htm. Artists should be sure not to overlook blogs and online publications. An excellent resource for this is The Big List of Classical Music Blogs.

I haven’t yet addressed the mechanics of preparing press releases and calendar listings for dissemination to the press. Happily, many schools currently offer their students classes and seminars which address this topic. Angela Myles Beeching’s excellent book Beyond Talent is a wonderful source of information (pages 183-197). Examples can also be found on Google by entering “writing a successful (or great, or effective) press release.”

Gail Wein of Classical Music Communications was kind enough to draw my attention to two new websites which artists might consider in their DIY approaches: New York Classical Review and Classical Voice North America. New York Classical Review was founded by critic and writer Lawrence A. Johnson. It joins earlier results of his efforts including The Classical Review and websites covering the arts in Boston, Chicago and South Florida. In an e-mail to me, Mr. Johnson indicated that they are happy to receive information about any professional classical concerts of interest. However, he pointed out that with the large volume of cultural offerings in New York each day, their coverage will be less comprehensive on the newest website than in other cities. They will naturally cover high-profile events but are also interested in presentations in smaller venues and programs that are offbeat in nature. Information should be sent to ljohnson@theclassicalreview.com.

Classical Voice North America was launched by The Music Critics Association of North America.  It is a “new web journal of music criticism and commentary written by its members and occasional guest contributors. “ According to Barbara Jepson, president of the MCANA and a frequent writer for the Wall Street Journal’s Leisure & Arts, as well as other national publications, “it was created to provide increased coverage of classical music at a time when it has been reduced or eliminated in traditional print outlets.” I asked Ms. Jepson whether there was a vehicle for performing artists without publicists to submit ideas for coverage by CVNA.  She said that it was fine to send e-mails or press releases to their local critics who might contribute to the website or to CVNA.editor@gmail.com. She suggested that submissions should focus on events of national interest, such as a concert tour rather than a single engagement, or an event that might involve unusual repertoire or new scholarship, or that might tie in with a national trend. It is not impossible that a single concert might be covered, especially if the program included the premiere of a new work written by a widely recognized composer or one who has begun to attract significant attention. Further guidelines can be found in the “Contact the Editors” section of CVNA’s website. It should also be noted that CVNA is interested in hearing from performers who can write articulately about issues that are important to them, or discuss some aspect of music that they are performing that would be of interest to a classical music audience.

At my request, Ms. Jepson offered a few words of advice to artists approaching the press on their own. She suggested that if you make an initial contact and do not hear anything back after a few weeks, it is fine to send a follow-up e-mail. Writers are deluged with releases and also are frequently working under deadlines. However, if there is no response after the second approach, she suggests that you try someone else. In such an instance, she emphasized that the artist should never take it personally if they do not receive a response. It doesn’t mean that their project isn’t worthy. It just means that the publication or website has decided for whatever reason not to follow through at that time. She added that it’s not realistic to expect that critics will give personal feedback on a recording or performance unless they formally do so in a review. Overall, she suggested that “the best thing a performer can do to attract press attention is to learn to think like a music journalist. What’s new? What represents a trend? What’s a different viewpoint from the prevailing orthodoxy?” This advice seems eminently logical and succinctly to the point for anyone developing an independent publicity strategy.

© Edna Landau 2013

By: Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

Having written an article in Musical America’s 2011 Directory entitled Getting Noticed in the 21^st Century, I am often approached by young artists who are contemplating a variety of projects such as recordings or special concerts and who want to know how to get noticed for them. In my early years as an artist manager, it was common for publicists to build the majority of their business around clients who paid a year-round retainer. Times have changed and it would appear that virtually all of today’s most active publicists are open to taking on individual projects. However, they definitely have criteria for determining which to accept. It is my hope that this blog post will help to enlighten artists regarding how to maximize their chances for teaming up with an effective public relations representative and what the financial parameters of such an investment might be.

In speaking with various colleagues of mine in the public relations arena, I was not surprised to hear all of them say that the most important criteria for them in accepting a project are newsworthiness and quality. This would only seem logical, since it is the job of a publicist to attract as much attention as possible to an artist’s activities and in these times, that may be no small feat. There is considerably less coverage of new album releases than there was five to ten years ago and also less airplay. There are fewer arts critics on staff and consequently less performances being reviewed.  A concert performed by a relatively unknown artist which offers an interesting program (unusual repertoire or juxtaposition of repertoire, a newly discovered, original or commissioned work), and which might take place in an unusual venue, stands a greater chance of attracting coverage than one that consists of what would be considered “standard repertoire”, offered for no other reason than to make a debut in a particular city. A concert with a story behind it, such as an artist overcoming a hurdle in their life or returning to their home town to perform with the youth orchestra, is also more likely to attract attention.  A publicist may be far more inclined to take on a record release project if there is some touring around it that offers some of the same repertoire. Visits to individual markets on tour create more of a story and offer a broader context for coverage of the artist and their new release.  The publicists I spoke to also stressed the importance of a personal connection with the artist seeking to engage their services, meaning that they want to sense the artist’s passion for the project and feel that they can feel equally passionate about it. Rebecca Davis told me that her goal is to always work for clients who she hopes she can make people care about.

It would seem that the typical time span for an individual project might be anywhere from four to six months. Most publicists want to have at least two months before the concert or record release to lay the groundwork for coverage and two to three months afterward to follow up and prepare a proper report for the client. The average fee per month seems to range from $1500 to $3000.

If an artist is far enough along in their career to benefit from and be able to afford a publicist’s ongoing services, working together initially on a project might be an excellent way to assess the potential chemistry and effectiveness of such a collaboration. Often an artist will discover that the publicist has valuable advice to offer, ranging from using their social media contacts more effectively to finding the perfect concert attire. Amanda Sweet, President of Bucklesweet Media, told me that when she took on the New West Guitar Group, they had no manager. She gave them advice about how to promote themselves, how to seek a recording partner, and how to reach out to presenters, especially universities. Veteran publicist Jay K. Hoffman told me that he works closely with an artist on strategically enhancing the potential interest in their project. He called it “finding a format to make an event one of a kind”. If an artist approaches him about an all-Bach concert, he might suggest that they present it at 8:00 but follow it up with a short “after concert” of totally different repertoire at 10:30, providing they have the stamina for it!

I asked a number of the people I spoke to whether artists could hope to achieve coverage for their projects on their own, without the assistance of a publicist. Not one of them said no, although they cautioned that it involved a lot of persistence and very hard work. Some were kind enough to give me pointers which I will share very soon in a follow-up column on this subject.

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2013