The art of a good press agent

Now I talk a lot of smack about how music industry press agents are about as clueless about technology as it gets, but this time I am going to talk about the non-tech side. This time it’s all about attitude! For the most part women kick the living crap out of guys in this line of work. Not sure why. No, it’s not because they are these sweet little lambs. In fact most of them are rather ruthless! However, they do it without the ego many guys have about it. Let’s face it, the artists are the ones who are cool. Us journalists and the press agents we work with are not the rockstars. We are not cool, but for some reason some male press agents seem to think they are the rockstars. It’s that confusion that makes them suck.

Recently there was a press agent that was offended that I called him on the phone to square away some interviews. We had been going back and forth for days and so I went down the line and made a few phone calls to nail some things down with several press agents I deal with. This guy (who will remain nameless) got a major attitude about how no one does anything over the phone and I needed to get with the times. Funny, he was the last in a morning full of phone calls both made and received. He also still does HTML emails. Does he not know how “ten years ago” that is? Security experts the world over have been preaching against HTML emails and the danger they cause for well over a decade now. I think he is the one who needs to get with the times. The phone isn’t dead, he just seems to think he is the rockstar instead of the bands he is paid to be pushing. Because of this he gets no favors. I will only cover the bands of his I want to.

Not all male press agents are this way though. I have one I deal with that is about as down to earth as it gets. This guy will do anything and everything to get a band press. He will email me, call me, and is even a friend on Facebook (unlike the guy above), to make sure I am pushing his artists. I have told this guy that I find a band down right annoying and he replies with “Yeah, but will you do an interview anyways?” Now that’s a press agent! I have told him that bands don’t fit our format and he will send me cuts from the cd that he thinks prove that thought wrong. He never goes over the line and if I tell him there is just no way he will back off. The point is that he has zero ego about it. He always takes my calls and he always answers my emails. He is always ready to deal with something when I call. That’s called organization people. In this business, if you don’t have that you are dead! Because of this I will cover a band of his that I have zero interest in. It’s all about attitude.

So what makes a good press agent? Same thing that makes for a good music journalist. Someone who knows their place. Sometimes I have to tell myself to just shut the hell up and do my job. It’s not about me. It’s about the artists. Same goes for the press agents I deal with. They need to know that we are not the cool ones. The artists are. Ok, some press agents are cool artists too, but that’s a whole ‘nuther blog post. Funny thing is that the cool rockstar press agents are the ones with the least ego problems!

The truth is that none of these people are friends. If I no longer was a music industry person I would not exist to any of them. If they have no bands I care about, I have no reason to contact them either. Both sides have a job to do. I care about the bands and they are paid to care about the bands. Sometimes they honestly do like the bands but there is no way to know. Will I work with someone I have no respect for? Sure, but it sucks. I would rather work with someone that is easy to work with. Male or female. So the art of a good press agent is one who keeps the ego in check. Same rule applies to music journalists, so feel free to remind me of that if you think I need it.