“Now I’m a believer”
I was born Missoula, MT and moved around a lot. In hindsight, that gave me a great life skill: how to work with different people and understand different mindsets.
Initially, I was really into sports and wanted to be a gymnast or a stunt double. I don’t know that I’d say that I was musical, but I played flute and clarinet. When I was about ten years old, I was in a restaurant with my family and a lady kept staring at me. My mom was really uncomfortable by it. The woman came to our table and said, “I can tell your daughter will do great things in music, and I can teach her.” She gave my mom her information, and although we never connected with her, my mom saved the napkin. It’s so weird, because I never thought about going into the music industry. But in a sense, that woman’s words came true.
“Some people say I’ve done alright for a girl”
I had a bubbly personality and was very enthusiastic because of gymnastics. I would always throw myself in to everything I participated in. In High School, I had a French class with this girl who turned out to be the daughter of singer Melanie (one of only 3 female artists to perform at Woodstock.) We became really friendly, and when her mom went out on tour, I went along with them. Around this time, Melanie and her husband Peter Schekeryk were starting a record label – Lonestar Records in Clearwater, FL – and as it happens, I was graduating High School. Since I was staying local for college, they said to me, “we think you’d be really good at radio promotion” and threw a copy of GAVIN and R&R on my desk. Honestly, my only experience had been as customer service agent on the phone!
I started calling radio stations and got the hang of it really quickly. The record charted! They also asked me to get some interviews for Melanie. I got her 46 in a week, so I did her PR too. I went to college at night and worked all day with Melanie and Peter.
“I wanted to do more than just radio promotion”
After Lonestar, I started a company focusing on college radio promo and later expanded to be a label. I did this for 12 years and then connected with Tom Mazzetta, who would become a very important person in my life. I was based in Miami – he wasn’t. Together we launched South Beach Marketing and Promotion, which became one of the top Adult Contemporary radio promotion companies. We had so much success that we expanded into Australia.
I knew that I wanted to do more than just radio promotion, so I sort of side hustled by helping friends with marketing. From all the experience I’d cultivated, I created my current company, Music Promotion Inc, which connects marketing, branding and promotion for clients.
“There’s still time to change the road you’re on”
I speak to a lot of artists on the phone and if I am being honest, don’t end up working with all of them. One reason is often because their expectations are not realistic.
If you have a single you want to promote to radio, you should have an idea of what you want to accomplish. If you call someone like me and say, I need help, you need to know WHAT you need help with. It’s important to be a partner in this. You can’t just hand it off and not be an active participant. Artists need to learn what this business is all about. If a band, or an artist, has really tried to make a go of it before they contact me, they’re clearer as to what they want.
“All artists need an objective”
Some people say, “I don’t want a full campaign, I just want to get the music out there.” I always recommend Play MPE. Play MPE is great at blasting out songs to the audience you choose, real people who listen to the music. They can also let you know where you’re being played.
I’ve found there are three categories with people I work with: there are those who know what they’re doing, which is great. There are those who don’t know but are open minded and will listen to advice. And then there are those who THINK they know what they’re doing but actually do not.
Taking a song to radio is a cumulative effect, you’re building your brand, and you’re spending money to do so. An artist needs to be mindful that at this stage; there is no financial return on investment. When an artist asks me how soon they will start seeing a ROI, I know they have an unrealistic expectation of what radio can do for their career. I have an old school approach to marketing. For some artists, it is beneficial to work them regionally and make them a big fish in a small pond. Then, branch out from there. This way you create a story, and each region is a building block to going National.
“Just when I thought I finally learned my lesson well”
The promo business has changed a lot, but radio is still hanging in there. Community and college radio are still open to playing independent music, and many people listen to, and enjoy, terrestrial radio. Social media is really important, I always tell people I work with that you need to know your audience and which social channel best represents your followers. I think websites are under-utilized now. You should aways have a website with a great bio, because once you put something online it sticks around forever. And one thing no one seems to think about anymore is to have a store on your website selling your music. Even if you get very little in the way of sales, it’s important to have a way for people to buy your music that isn’t reliant on a DSP.
“Don’t be scared to test the waters”
It’s important to continue learning about business and marketing. This is such a competitive industry that if you understand the dynamics of it, you will have an edge. Make sure you understand branding, that you understand demographics, that you understand marketing…. I am a big fan of continuing education!
It’s ok to experiment and test the waters, don’t be scared to do that. Something that works for one artist may not work for another; you have to be flexible and not afraid to pivot. Relationships and networking are still important. If you have Play MPE send your single to radio, you get a whole list of programmers who are getting your music. Contact them! Thank them for playing your music. Shout them out on your socials! Ask if they want to hear more from you. Remember, stations play music that fits their audience, so if what you sent doesn’t work for that particular station, ask if you can send them your next single. Relationship building is so important! You’d be surprised how one contact – just one – could benefit you in the future.