Rocket Hub

I had a great time at the Rocket Hub event at Full Sail University. 

Music Publicists

My most recent class at Full Sail University has been teaching me about the importance of artist managers. Artist managers handle the business side of whatever industry they happen to be working in. For example, artist managers can work in fields such as music, literature, or film. In class, we recently watched a video featuring Marc Oswald, the music manager of many successful artists such as Gretchen Wilson and Cowboy Troy.

I love this concept of music management given by Oswald. You can see from the video that public relations is included as one of the spokes of the wheel. For the purpose of this blog post, I thought it would be interesting to explore the duties of public relations practitioners in the music industry, or music publicists. Any good public relations practitioner knows that his or her duty is to act as liaison between their client and the media or press. Specifically, music publicists take care of media relations for a music group or musician and must work directly with the artist’s management to uphold their image.


Just like the music manager, the publicist must wear many hats since they handle all areas of the artist’s public image. For example, a music publicist might oversee an interview with a talk show host or media representative. Prior to the interview they make sure that the topics to be covered are appropriate. Additionally, they may work with marketing to make sure that the messages communicated are an asset with the artist’s image.


Today, the role of music publicist is changing. Like with many careers, the Internet has greatly affected the way that public relations practitioners in all fields work. Social media, especially, has greatly changed a publicist’s duties. Artists can now talk directly to their fans and the media through social media channels. For example, every time Lady Gaga tweets to one of her 25,240,891 followers, she is sending a message to both them and the press.

Many people would think that this might make a music publicist’s job easier, but often times it can turn into a public relations disaster when artists fail to contact their publicist prior to posting. When a post does go awry music publicists usually face their biggest challenges. Damage control then becomes their highest priority. Whether a music publicist is writing a press release for an artist’s newest concert tour or cleaning up scandal, they must work directly with the artist's management in order to maintain their overall image in a favorable way. 

eReaders

Since attending Full Sail University I’ve become very familiar with ebooks. The majority of our class textbooks come in this format, and after my eyes lost focus from reading on my MacBook, I decided it was time to invest in an ereader. 

By now, I’m sure the majority of you have heard of ereaders. As a matter of fact, the latest study from Pew Internet states that 29% of people in the United States own either a tablet or ereader. Tablets have dominated the industry for a while now, but Business Week predicts that ereader sales will triple by 2016. So far this year there have been 25 million ereaders sold, and any reading enthusiast will tell you why. 

As an avid reader and Apple lover, an iPad is high on my wish list, but at the same time being able to read outdoors is a huge must for me. The LCD screen featured on tablets doesn’t allow you to read outside as easily, but the e-ink display found on ereaders gives the look of an actual book, and makes it just as easy to read in direct sunlight. In addition most are smaller and lighter than many books, making it easy to hold and take from one place to another. To me the biggest perks are the battery life and price. My Kindle Touch has a two-month battery life, making it easy, convenient and stress free. Furthermore, the basic Kindle model costs only $79, which was a huge plus to a poor college student like myself. 

Over the years I’ve collected a huge number of books, but just as the iPod meant the death CDs, many predict that the same will be true for paperbacks. Paperback book sales have dropped by 25%. With the expected rise of ereader sales, and the lower cost of ebooks, I can’t say that I disagree. If you’ve visited your local library lately you may be shocked to find that many are offering the option to rent ebooks as well. Do you think the fact that libraries are supporting the trend adds credibility to it? Do you have an ereader? 

Photo courtesy of: http://keithjinternet.wordpress.com/2010/09/07/ipad-vs-nook-vs-kindle/