Is PR Still Relevant?
The digital landscape has changed and with that so has PR, so is it still important or in fact relevant?
It is more accessible than ever before to release music. While that facilitates the joy of putting what you’ve created out into the world - it also means there’s an added challenge of making your music stand out in a sea of sound. Couple this with the fact that there seems to be fewer and fewer blogs and publications, and the difficulties increase twofold. But don’t worry, it’s not all doom and gloom. It just means we have to think a little differently.
So to answer the question - Is PR still relevant? The answer is yes! It is an extremely important part of the bigger picture. While we have the capabilities of doing our own social media and being seen and heard on Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and other platforms, PR has many benefits. This includes:
Being seen as relevant
Having your story told by others in the way that you want
Giving weight behind festival and grant applications
Creating a holistic approach
Let’s take a look at all of these in a bit more detail.
BEING RELEVANT: Think about it this way, if your favourite publication, radio show or industry leader posted about a new artist, saying how amazing they are would you be enticed into listening to that artist to see what all the fuss is about? Chances are yes! While people are still consuming a lot of their news and media through social media platforms it can help in having a publication write about you. This allows you to share the post on your platforms as well as the publication posting on theirs. Always try to tie in a post on the publication’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. Having someone else post about you helps to create legitimacy. This is also known as social proofing.
HAVING YOUR STORY TOLD: As artists, we like to create stories and have those stories told. PR allows you to have your story told in the way that you want, rather than it being entirely left up to interpretation. This gives you the opportunity to paint the whole picture, allowing your audience and a wider audience to get to know you more.
GIVING WEIGHT BEHIND FESTIVAL & GRANT APPLICATIONS: When you’re applying to play a large festival or a grant they will look at the whole picture - not just your socials! It’s important to have “clout” and one way to get this is to make sure you have some recent articles posted about you, a strong social media presence and plays on various streaming platforms.
CREATING A HOLISTIC APPROACH: Having a strong social media presence and a solid PR strategy works hand in hand. Think of it as a cycle, they all feed into each other, helping you gain further streams, tickets sold and downloads! Don’t let there be a gap in your circle! You’ll be more likely to get support from Spotify, festivals, radio and other artists if you have a holistic approach to releasing your music.
It can be fun putting all the pieces to your circle (or puzzle) together, but sometimes you just want to focus on the music side. Not everyone loves to think strategy, we know! But it is super important - you could shadow drop your music into the abyss or work on creating chatter that matters around your release and we are always here to help!
