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Being a region rich in film-making talent, Bristol and Bath is a great place to be if you want to avoid that painfully amateurish cheap filming style that tends to blight new bands who decide to take on the job themselves and shoot lots of moody (i.e. unintelligible) footage on a shaky handhelds, a method which frequently does more harm than good. Still, doing it properly is pretty much guaranteed to cost you a wedge so, before anything else, think carefully about whether it's actually worth it; promo clips are a great memento, but the value of sitting round a screen with your mates, pointing out the shots which capture you at your most pensively cool, is obviously limited. If you've got some wonga to spunk, though, you'd do a lot worse than these... STEWART MACKAY ASSOCIATES SUBVISION LTD VISUAL ENGINE ::: MEDIA Although admittedly we can sometimes be a right pain in the posterior, us journos can only even begin to contemplate helping you out if we know what you're doing. Well written and presented press releases and CDs in the post are the obvious initial steps to take to gain attention, although even then, with the flurry of stuff that plops onto the average music hack's mat, this may not work straight away. Be patient, try and think of fresh approaches that won't come across as naff or overzealous - if your music is strong enough someone will eventually heed it. Especially if it's accompanied by a press release which actually makes sense and includes all the pertinent details (see below). And, if you want to publicise a gig, you let your friendly media types know about it IN GOOD TIME. Firing off your faeces in a jiffy bag in response to bad reviews, on the other hand, is not the best strategy of endearment. It helps to have an understanding of the reviewer's role as an observer who happens to write about what they think about music for the (theoretical) enjoyment of a readership. So the message is to both leave us alone, AND get in touch. Understand? Checklist That perfect press package in full. 1. Write a good press release. Keep it short and to the point. Anything over a single side of double-spaced A4 including copious explanations of what equipment you use and how you've been profoundly inspired by obscure 1960s B-sides will almost certainly put even the most dutiful hack to sleep. Ideally, it should include all the facts - name of band (youd be amazed!), contact details, website address, gig dates, venues, times, prices etc - together with enough intriguing information to make someone want to pick up the phone and find out what the fuss is all about. Print all the facts at the top really clearly so that they're easy to spot. The superlatives and hilarious band biogs can be left towards the end. Quotes from reviews (if you have 'em) are also a handy attention-grabber. 2. Enclose a demo, preferably on CD. No amount of words will ever quite put across what you actually do with sound. A well-recorded demo (see studio section) will do more to grab a journo's attention than anything else. Make sure you put the best track at the start, though. The first fifteen seconds are crucial. 3. Bung in a photograph, if possible. Black and white pics tend to look better but make sure you get the contrast right. Imagine what your photo's going to look like if it does get printed in a magazine or newspaper - you need to think about what it says about you, so frame it carefully and steer clear of the standard up-against-a-wall or four-moody-bastards-staring-out-to-sea cliches. Humour and originality never did anyone any harm. Scout around for interesting locations and work closely with your photographer on coming up with fresh ideas - and get them to provide a contact sheet so you choose the best shots to send in. Once your image is selected take it to a machine printing lab and run off plenty of copies. Places to try include Photobition (0117 941 1101), Redcliffe Studios (0117 985 5566), or Avoncolour (0117 963 3456). Keep the negatives! 4. Do your research. Choose which publications, radio stations and TV companies you send your stuff to carefully. You'll obviously want to get as many people interested in what you do as possible but there's little point sending your publicity material to the wrong places. No matter how much you might wish it, a specialist hip-hop magazine isn't going to be interested in the new Bob Dylan. If you're playing away from home, try the various regional equivalents of Venue: Time Out (London), The Leeds Guide, The North Guide (Newcastle to Carlisle), City Life (Manchester) and The List (Edinburgh/Glasgow). NME requires at least two week's listings notice, and other useful national mags include Logo (very good for new bands), DJ Magazine (0207 3311148), and Kerrang! (020 7436 1515). The Internet is obviously an ever-increasing influence in music media terms, with countless sites established and new ones springing up all the time. Have a scoot around and draw up a hit list - you're more likely to get 'net coverage, in all honesty, and any reviews you get are likely to be more honest as web reviewers are often doin' it for the love. 5. Get your information to the media in good time. All magazines and newspapers have deadlines (and will tell you when they are if you ask) and so it's pointless sending out information about a gig if that gig happens to be taking place on the day your media contacts are going to receive your press pack. The longer run-up you give journalists, the more likely they are to write about you. Or to give you more than a basic listing. VENUE BATH EVENING CHRONICLE BRISTOL EVENING POST BRISTOL LIVE MUSIC CHOKE DECODE MAGAZINE BRISTOL UNCOVERED WESTERN DAILY PRESS |
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