Industry Focus
Ariel Hyatt: Making a Name for Yourself and For Every Artist
By Alex Teitz
FEMMUSIC.com
Ariel Hyatt is what a publicist should be. She is hard working, dedicated, and a marvel to know. Ariel Hyatt has worked in the industry from the CD store, to venue booking to working with publicists for summer festivals and stadium tours. In 1996 she founded Ariel Publicity Artist Relations and Booking. In a couple of years she has formed a strong staff, and has offices both in New York and in Colorado. FEMMUSIC is honored to have caught up with Ariel as the first in an ongoing series on Industry Professionals.
FEMMUSIC: What role does a publicist play in an artist's or band's development?
Ariel Hyatt: A publicist can play an integral part in a band's career. (I am speaking from the standpoint of independent artists that are releasing their own CDs or releasing CDs that are on small labels. The following does not really apply to bands that are signed to majors because there is usually an A&R person and several departments making the decisions that I make for bands who rely almost entirely on my company as their only support). That aside: If that band chooses the right one, a publicist is responsible for making the band look great on paper and herdecisions can really influence how thepress and public view a band.
A publicist is responsible for making a story out of the band - recording their history and capturing what is
interesting about them on paper. In many cases a writer will read only the bio of a band before ever hearing their
CD and they need to, based on what they read, decide if the CD is worth listening to.
A publicist can also be responsible for the band's photo and a great photo is what separates the stand-outs
from the masses. A photo editor at a newspaper almost never hears the bands and they make editorial
decisions based solely on the look of the photo. Getting these photo placements can really affect the band's
visibility and over time great publicity helps get the band into the mind of the public.
There is a statistic that says the average person needs to see something 7 times before it registers in his brain.
That is why the saying "All publicity is good publicity" is really accurate. The truth of the matter is: a person will
not really register what it is they read about a band - they will probably only register the name of the band. It is a
publicist's job to get the bands name printed in as many places as possible - calendar listings, preview sections,
or full articles - all help. That is why bands signed to major labels with full time marketers have a better chance of
"making it" because with a bigger budget they can insure that the band gets seen/heard over and over again in
advertising, on the radio, on TV, in movies, commercials, at record stores - all of this helps to create an
awareness of any band.
FEMMUSIC: When should a band/artist be looking for a publicist?
AH: I think the best time to hire a publicist is after a band is well known in their regional/home market and they
are beginning to tour. If a band can afford to hire a publicist to advance their dates from the first time they leave
their home market, that would be ideal because it takes the press some time to get fully enrolled.
FEMMUSIC: What skills did you have to learn to become a publicist?
AH: I believe people are either natural publicists or not. We all have friends who fit the "publicist" description -
always talking, always suggesting ideas like where to buy the best things, and always enthusiastically endorsing
new movies or a restaurant they read or heard about. However, possessing the following skills wouldn't hurt:
Communication skills - a publicist has to be a strong communicator that can get the point across succinctly and
clearly without forgetting the details.
Pitching skills - a publicist has to learn how to pitch a story / idea / band to a writer. Also if you're not a natural
born schmoozer - forget about trying to pursue a job as a publicist - it's all about the talk.
Coping skills - a publicist has to put up with a lot of rejection. A lot of times writers are not going to be interested
in the band and can sometimes be short on the phone and downright rude. You have to learn how to not take it
personally and keep your courage up to call the same writers over and over again.
Organizational skills - paying attention to dates and times, keeping promises and being punctual with your
mailings and releases is what separates a great publicist from a mediocre one.
FEMMUSIC: What challenges did you have to overcome in building Ariel Publicity?
AH: Trying to stand out as a company and making our artists stand out in an industry glutted with countless
bands was quite a challenge. I tried to overcome these by designing a look that was fun and memorable and I
had all of our company stationery and business cards printed in fluorescent orange. I also tried to do something
original and special with each individual band's package to spark the interest of the press who receive tons of
press kits per week.
Building a reputation in a country as huge as ours was the biggest challenge. I had to prove to writers that our
bands were worth listening to, our facts were accurate, our bands would be coming back through their towns
more than once and our information was getting to the press in a timely manner.
FEMMUSIC: Do you think being a woman helped or hindered you in this business?
AH: Most publicists are women. I don't think that it hurt or hindered me either way. Most booking agents (which I
also am) are men. In that area I think it was a bit of a struggle. Most club owners are men and I know that I had
to work really hard to make my company stand out as a reliable booking agency.
FEMMUSIC: What role has the internet played for venues, bands, publicists, and the industry in the past five
years?
AH: The internet plays a major role in my business. We are getting more hits to our website and more e-mails
than ever before. Also, writers are beginning to use e-mail a lot more than they used to in the past.
Almost every band I know now has a website and the bands that know how to navigate the internet and get
themselves to stand out on it are the ones that are more visible in everybody's eyes and minds. It is also a great
place to sell CDs, T-shirts and any merchandise to make some extra money.
I think the internet has definitely helped venues that have sites because they can post their schedules for
everyone to see. If someone forgot to pick up the local paper they can get all the information they need by
checking their local club's website.
Most publicists I know struggle to get writers to check out their sites, but writers usually prefer it if I send them
hard copies of everything. If they lose the band bio or they want additional articles and information they often
resort to my site or the band's site to find more information. Most newspapers will not download images from the
internet because they claim they can't get the quality that they require to print. But having a presence on the net
absolutely helps publicists.
FEMMUSIC: What has been your best experience since you've started Ariel Publicity?
AH: There have been so many it is hard to say. There are the obvious ones - like when my bands play Red
Rocks and I stand on stage in utter disbelief at what 9,500 people in that beautiful venue look like. Then there
are the more subtle ones like when I call a writer and they know who we are and they pay us a compliment or
promise us they will listen to our CDs and then follow through on that promise. It is also always an amazing
experience when a new artist calls up and says that they heard about our work and they want us represent to
them.
FEMMUSIC: How do you think the industry has responded to independent artists (like Ani DiFranco)?
AH: Funny you should ask, Ani is one of my inspirations - not only because she stands for true independence
and has never compromised her art or herself in any way that I know, but also because she has the goods and
the attitude to back up her fierce independence.
The day I received the Spin magazine in the mail with her on the cover I started to cry. It stood for something
that was unbelievable - that you can play by your own rules and you can and will succeed. In that piece, the
interviewer asked her why she never signed to a major label or sold her record company and she said (I am
paraphrasing) "It took me 6 years to build my house and my house isn't for sale."
I think the industry has fought her every step of the way and she only got as far as she did by persevering and
by working extremely hard. I think now many people in the industry are in awe of what she has accomplished
through insurmountable odds and I am so happy that she continues to stick to her guns.
I think in theory the industry supports independent artists but in practice unless you are aligned with a major
label it is very difficult to get your band noticed.
FEMMUSIC: What advice would you give to an artist or band just starting out?
AH: You have a talent and something very driving within you is saying go forth and create music. This is
incredible, and I commend any artist or band who decides to try to make themselves a career in this industry.
Trying to make a living making music is not for the meek. If you are not willing to work very hard and have a lot of
doors slammed in your face don't try to make a go at this. The term "music business" is a complete oxymoron
and if you can accept this and plow forward taking risks and not taking no for an answer things will begin to
happen.
Booking yourself sucks - it is hard and at the beginning it feels like you may never get a gig - keep trying. There
are a lot of egos in this business and club owners, music writers, record store owners may not always embrace
you with open arms - so what, keep going. If you can brush yourself off and keep going every time you feel like
things may not be going your way you will go far. You will find good people with integrity who will keep their word
and who will be helpful to you if you treat and respect them just like mom said - the way you would like to be
treated.
It will happen if you persevere.
FEMMUSIC: What changes do you see for the music industry in the next five to ten years?
AH: It is so hard to predict. It has changed radically in the 5 years since I started working in it. The fact that the
major labels are disappearing will make it easier for those people who are innovative, and resilient.
Also the industry has always worked in patterns - ska music has made three comebacks over the years and it will
come back again just like pop music is raging right now.
I think getting dialed into the internet and setting up a network of distribution and awareness in the internet
community will vastly increase your chances of surviving these weird times and forging ahead in the future. This
is definitely a great place to start.