By: Kendall Weishaupt
The field of public relations is needed in almost every industry.
I want to explore the industry of music public relations.
What if I worked as a public relations professional for Universal Music Group? This is a global organization that deals with every genre of music. Working in public relations for this group would mean balancing many clients and projects at the same time.
The idea of working for multiple clients or music artists is exciting. A large part of the job would be public relations campaigns for upcoming albums. It would have to start with researching the audience and the listeners. When do they listen? How do they listen? What time of year will a new album be most significant?
Once the research is done, it’s time to communicate with the artist about their vision for the overall mood of the album. What will it sound like? What will the artwork and promotional material look like? After that, a brand kit and media kit would need to be made. Then, as the public relations professional, it would be my job to start getting interviews with talk shows, magazines and news outlets.
After a campaign is rolled out, it’s time to watch it unfold and measure the public’s perception. I would analyze the feedback and be ready to handle any type of crisis.
Music is an event-driven industry, so I hope as a public relations professional in that field I would also be able to utilize event planning skills. Events such as album listening parties and show opportunities would be promotions I would plan. In addition, I could help organize what a tour would look like.
Planning a tour and booking venues is not something I, as a public relations professional, would be doing. However, there is much more that goes into planning a tour. I would help plan the promotional and creative side, which would entail another campaign of how to announce and promote the tour.
There may not always be an album, show or tour to constantly promote, so the basics of the job would come down to image management and crisis communication. What are the public and the media saying about my client? Is the brand or image of my client where they want it to be? Do I have to step in?
Working in any public relations field will always be exciting, stressful and busy. Working in the music industry would be a dream. I hope for my busy days to consist of music related tasks.