The Helpline - Star-Maker Machinery

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The Helpline is a special issue of Bandcamp Notes devoted to answering your most burning music-related queries. Browse past issues here. Got a question? Drop a comment and we (might) get back to you.

Today, we gather a few people from across the music industry to help a small label weighing the value of PR when it comes to taking their artists to the next level.

Hello! I run a small indie label and have up until now done everything myself to get the word out, all DIY. We’ve done okay on a smaller scale, but I have a few records coming out this year that I really believe in and want to get in front of as many people as possible. My question is: When is it worth the money to hire outside PR help and how do I measure that? I definitely want to make sure I’m doing right by my artists by not wasting money on something that isn’t going to make a difference, but I also don’t want to miss an opportunity to take them to the next level. Thank you!

–Ready for the Next Level

The ​big ​question is what it ​means ​to ​you to get your ​records ​in front ​of ​more people. ​Is the ​goal to sell records? To stream? To ​increase ​ticket ​sales? ​Press is ​unlikely ​to have a direct/immediate impact, and hiring a ​publicist ​will not ​guarantee ​results. But press ​can ​help ​build ​the artist along ​with other ​elements like touring ​(!), radio, socials, etc. It’s a ​lot ​of work ​for ​you. ​If ​you ​tell ​a ​publicist ​”I ​want ​NPR,” ​they’ll likely ​send ​music to ​hundreds of NPR contributors. But ​if ​you say “Here are ​the five NPR ​contributors ​that should ​write about ​this album and here’s why,” you’re ​making ​it easier for ​them. Nobody can do that except for you and the artist. ​It’s ​important ​to identify artists ​in the same ​world, what they did ​that you think ​helped ​them to grow, ​and who they worked ​with. ​So it’s not ​as ​simple as ​hiring a ​publicist or not, ​it’s ​about giving them the tools ​to ​create the specific ​impact you ​want to make. ​Short answer: ​Yes, it ​can help, but no, it will not ​blow your band up.

–Senior person at large independent label

When thinking about hiring PR for a musician or album campaign in place of keeping the effort in-house, we always start by plugging a PR estimate into a P&L to demonstrate to an artist or manager (and ourselves) how that cost impacts the budget and what income we’ll need to recuperate it. If we were looking at recuperating, for example, a $6k PR bill strictly against the current big box streaming royalty rate, we would need 2.5 million streams.

Though we can track some sales conversions from press and social media surrounding press, it remains a little opaque how exactly press moves the broader sales metrics. Press saturation, especially if some of that placement is higher profile, can create wider search visibility but this won’t necessarily drive a sale. That said, it’s all the more obvious that press is just one piece of a “successful” puzzle.

Publicists should have good relationships with press, as it’s their line of work, but they are also often working many releases at once. So, know that the publicist you hire is committed. And know that if you are paying a smaller fee, it might be to a publicist just finding their legs in “the business.” Honestly, that can go a long way if they love the music and are motivated. Still, none of this guarantees press.

Press can make an artist feel good (or bad, depending on the response). I don’t want to discount that validation, but it’s so important to align press expectations with an artist, if that is truly fundamental to the campaign. Sometimes hiring press is a way to shift the accountability to another entity, a professional entity. And yes, you should expect the publicist you hire to act professionally, and meet every mark set, but know that you can take a toll on your bottom line and the relationship with your artist if the results aren’t as meaningful or momentous as you hoped they would be.

–Senior person at midsized independent label

If you ​have a marketing budget ​for ​a release, ​allocate ​it towards college/non-commercial radio. ​Play the long game in PR ​and try to develop your ​own ​relationships with writers and blogs over time. Yes, having ​a few ​critical takes ​from ​voices in your lane can be helpful, especially for getting a ​show booked ​or ​pleasing other ​curators (DSPs, ​stores, etc.), ​however ​it is not ​the ONLY ​lever to get you ​to ​whatever level ​you ​are ​chasing. ​It is not 2005. A blog review ​isn’t going ​to ​make your record ​sell ​out. ​

Folks ​in radio ​are perhaps ​the most passionate music ​people I know, ​and they talk ​about ​music ​with their peers all ​the time. ​You can run a ​radio campaign ​with ​Play MPE independently or ​work with a ​radio ​plugger ​(Tiger Bomb, ​Terrorbird, Shine On, Planetary, etc.) that has existing ​relationships with stations. Then you can keep an ​eye ​out for coverage by ​Googling your artist/release, ​following tagged posts ​on Instagram, ​and following spins on ​Spinitron, ​Soundcharts, Apple Music ​(Spins), etc.

In parallel, you can ​develop your ​own ​personalized press ​emails, ​targeting any ​writers ​left covering music that ​resonates with you. For ​starters, target 25–50 outlets, first focusing on regional ​and genre-based curators for ​an ​artist, ​and then including home-run ​hitters (national and international) ​for ​awareness that builds ​over ​time. For both PR ​and ​radio, give writers and DJs their own ​Bandcamp ​code for ​your release ​as well. It’s ​a nice ​touch.

Success on a record for us is just getting back to $0. Additional expenses can make that more difficult if they do not help push the record forward. I would evaluate PR success specifically by securing a few placements and ensuring the artist is portrayed in a way they approve of. And if we can secure coverage from an outlet/writer that an artist really likes, is close to home, or sees their peers/heroes in, those are always wins too!

Bonus: A ​developing recommendation to look ​into (which ​works ​better for ​established ​fanbases) would be to ​tap ​into IRL guerilla marketing campaigns that call on fans ​to ​take an action or get ​access ​to some tangible thing or ​place in support ​of your record. Kudos to ​feeble ​little horse, ​bloody ​knuckles, and ​Saddle Creek on the slick ​work with ​new LP ​bitknot.

–Head of large DIY label

Hi there,

I also run a small DIY label. A couple years back, I found myself at a similar crossroads. I started working with a dedicated PR person at the beginning of 2024 and I can tell you that I’ve seen steady and measurable growth since working with him. Where we’ve had some smaller successes previously, working with our PR guy has regularly gotten us features on Bandcamp Daily, write ups in many blogs from smaller ones to bigger ones like Stereogum, and also some play on independent radio like KEXP. There’s been some indirect benefits as well. Simply put, without having to spend as much time emailing around myself, I’ve been able to allocate the time I have for the label to things like building out our social media, booking shows, etc., which has in turn made our label have a bigger impression overall.

I will also say this though, at our scale with our budget, paying for a PR person is no guarantee of success for artists. I’ve been disappointed occasionally, not with the quality of my PR person’s work, but with the small-splash reception of releases I have anticipated to be huge. At times it almost feels random which releases end up getting picked up by the greater industry, even with a PR guy giving the best and earnest pitches. Though I’ve seen more success over all, none of my artists have yet to “blow up” exactly. I would say working with PR has given me some more momentum, hype, and overall awareness for the label and artists on it, but it has also put me further in the hole financially for this passion-project of a label. I’ll also add that paying for PR will not make up for a lack of strategy. Definitely make sure you got a solid plan for rolling it out early and then PR can only help! Just some things to keep in mind as you consider your options.

To answer your question of when is it worth it to start paying for PR, only you can make that decision. It’s worth it for me, at least for now.

–Head of small DIY label