Generating Buzz: Music Industry Promotion and Publicity

As a mainstream public relations practitioner and communicator, I receive quite a few inquisitive looks, misinterpretations and negative comments when I begin discussing the topic of public relations within the music industry. Most people who are uninvolved with the inner workings of the recording industry are completely unaware of how records and concert tickets are sold and promoted, much less how artists and recording labels actually generate their revenue. The general public is often guilty of assuming that music naturally sells itself and positive artist publicity simply "falls from the sky." Entertainment industry public relations practitioners and recording industry professionals, however, know that the previous assumption could be nothing further from the truth. 

In the past, the recording industry did rely heavily upon sheer album sales and marketing-based promotion to support their growing revenue streams. This, of course, was long before the highly competitive, digital music market had emerged, and music was still solely distributed by local, homegrown record stores and corporate retailers. In today's overpopulated, every-man-for-himself music market, basic marketing and advertising methods will simply not generate enough album and tour sales to support the recording industry's shrinking digital profit margin. 

The truth be told, talent simply isn't the measure of success anymore. With all of the opportunities for exposure and publicity that digital distribution and the Internet has afforded the music industry, it has also become somewhat of a double-edged sword, rendering a very limited music market overrun with innumerable, self-made hopefuls garnering for the same portion of the market as the legendary music icons. In most cases, the only way to "stand out of the crowd" is to generate enough "buzz" surrounding the artist and their music through innovative public relations methods and grass-roots efforts. 

Through the use of the Internet and social media, public relations practitioners and publicists have more weapons in their "exposure arsenals" than ever before. Although many artists have successfully handled their own public relations and marketing efforts, most large-market recording labels have learned to rely on the power of exposure and third-party endorsements garnered by experienced, entertainment industry public relations firms. With the evident decrease in album sales, recording labels have no choice but to turn to the avenues of media relations and social media marketing. 

However, not all media relations and public relations efforts are created equal. The key concepts that lead to success within music industry public relations, for example, are quite different when compared to techniques used within mainstream public relations work. Effective media relations within the music industry are dependent upon a keen knowledge of the inner-workings of music industry publications and news outlets. Public relations practitioners must be familiar with journalists covering music industry beats to determine whether or not their particular client or story is suited for that respective journalists' news assignment and expertise.

The real secret to generating music industry buzz is learning to harness the influence of social media by engaging influential bloggers and fans. By reaching out to professional music industry bloggers, freelance bloggers and fan sites, public relations professionals can garner coveted third-party endorsements through album and concert reviews, as well as engage loyal fans that will generate album buzz through word-of-mouth marketing. With an engaged fan base and loyal social media following, music industry buzz can be generated surrounding a new album release within a matter of mere days.   

With the right buzz, recording labels can quickly build a loyal fan base, generate positive publicity surrounding an artist or album release and, last but not least, increase record, concert and merchandise sales significantly. As a result, it seems clear to me that public relations-rooted promotion is the obvious choice for a struggling music and recording industry. The recording industry should harness the power of both traditional and new media to their benefit, not their eventual deficit. It is for these reasons that I strongly advocate an industry-wide shift from marketing-based promotional and publicity methods to promotional techniques that are strongly rooted within the public relations discipline.