The Unspoken Power of PR: How It Leads to Artist Growth
In the music industry, talent alone often proves not enough to succeed. Emerging artists have to face the added challenge of making themselves and their work stand out among a sea of emerging artists releasing new music into the market.
Public relations (PR) provides an indispensable means through which an artist can shape and maintain a public image. For new artists, PR is not just promotion, but it's about creating their narrative in the first place. I think that the goal of any PR campaign for an artistic talent has to do with their crafted narrative, which is how most artists market themselves in this industry. Usually, one can reach a target audience with their own narrative while displaying their distinguishing talent to establish an artistic brand.
Ask any PR professional, and they will tell you that the backbone of any successful PR campaign is the notion of branding. To emerging artists, their brand reflects themselves through their music, their personality, values, and pretty much everything that makes the artist different from others. The PR team works with them very closely to predominantly aid in defining this brand and having it possess an organic appeal that blends well with the target audience.
Another important part of a PR campaign is media exposure. The right publications and interviews with popular podcasts can do a lot for the visibility of artists. But then again, it's not all about quantity, but rather quality. One decent feature in a good music magazine can be more effective than tens of lesser mentions anywhere else. That one feature can cement an artist as credible and worth noticing, thus giving further opportunities.
As most know, in this digital era, social media has turned out to be a game-changing and powerful tool for upcoming artists. It directly reaches out and connects with fans, shares the journey, and builds a community. PR teams will often manage such sites to ensure that the online presence of the artist is aligned with their brand.
Keep in mind, even some of the best plans can go wrong. One controversial tweet or some misunderstood lyric can put an emerging artist in the middle of a PR crisis. This is when a good PR team can make all the difference. In this case, PR professionals will work to address the problem as quickly as possible, keep control of the message, and minimize any potential harm to save the artist's brand and career.
Most don’t understand how PR skills are imperative to the success of an emerging artist. Most think it’s just about selling music, but it's actually more about creating a story, a brand, and building a relationship with one's target audience. For any new artist who seeks to leave their mark, they must understand PR is not optional.