The 21st century has seen a lot of changes to how music works in the real world, mainly through changes in the virtual world. The first point of contact is now online – for artists, for fans, for the music, for news, for communication.
Any independent band who releases a new single or announces an upcoming gig can rely on existing fans to amplify their noise, but those audiences can also exist in a vacuum, unknown outside of their mass. There’s a point in an artist’s career where amplification, if it is to reach new ears to sustain itself, should consider the traditional channels of media outlets, publicity and promotion.
The best people who work in publicity have the knowledge, the network, the cheek, the confidence and the belief to make bigger things open up for their clients.
Sabrina Sheehan is one of Ireland’s most experienced music publicists, having worked for promoters MCD for 12 years before starting up her own operation, Mission PR, a few years ago. She remembers the work without the internet to help.
“I used to announce shows by fax and making direct calls to radio presenters,” she says of her early days in publicity.
Sheehan caught the bug in college in UCD when she studied English and Sociology. The Ents officer gave a welcome speech during her first week on campus and she signed up to the Ents office. It was there she laid the groundwork for what was to come as a career: promotion of music and events of all sizes, from the UCD bar up to its Freshers’ and Rag Balls.
From college campus to Croke Park
A postgrad in Public Relations and work experience with MCD lead to the start of those 12 years in the promoter game, that went from small events of a few hundred up to 10,000 and up to 135,000 people, from the The Strokes at Temple Bar Music Centre in 2001 to Oxegen, open-air gigs at Croke Park, Marlay Park, Phoenix Park, 3Arena and Slane among others. Sheehan maintains that whatever the size of the crowd, the core job remained the same.
“I stick to my essentials,” she says. “Work hard, make sure the right people know it’s on and hopefully sell tickets.”
The transition from venues to festivals and stadiums does bring extra work, such as advance media trips, conferences, media rooms, film and photography approval, and liasing with tour managers, so organisation is key.
“You have to be super-organised, a master at multitasking, passionate about securing media coverage and driven. Drive is probably the most important component of PR because there are so many media knockbacks day to day.”
Setting up Mission PR
Sheehan always had a plan to set out her own stall, which is how Mission PR came about in 2012, during the recession.
“Perfect timing,” says Sheehan. “My rule was that I had to have it set up by the time I hit 35. I respond well to deadlines, It was also crucially important for me to reclaim some of my nights, summers and weekends for family time with my kids.”
Mission PR built on Sheehan’s gig-promotion abilities to expand to wider music promotion along with entertainment and culture. Mission’s recent and current work include New Year’s Festival Dublin, Once The Musical, Sea Sessions Festival, The Bowery venue in Rathmines, the Irish Youth Music Awards and Dublin Gallery Weekend.
A publicist’s typical tasks includes writing press releases, consultancy, servicing music to radio and online, co-ordinating media appearances and promo days, photocalls, strategic planning, pitching for coverage and following up on all of the above.
Music success
Mission has had success in the promotion of Irish artists to radio, working with labels, bands and managers to break them to a wider audience. Sheehan says that breaking an independent band is "absolutely achievable" in a world where major-label acts seem to dominate the narrative, pointing to the success of Ryan Sheridan and Roisin O as examples.
“Many of our earlier artists were completely independent and wanted to get noticed by labels and agents, so it’s a very sweet feeling of when hard work pays off, when shows sell out and when artists get signed by a major label and agents.”
Mission plugged Hozier’s first two singles for Rubyworks, the first two independent singles from Walking On Cars before they were signed to Universal Music, and recently, the self-released singles from Picture This, who are now also signed to Warner Music. Recent music clients include The Blizzards, Raglans, Wyvern Lingo and Otherkin.
With Dublin station TXFM no longer broadcasting, the lack of outlets for more alternative music creates its own problems for breaking bands.
“For certain artists, there just isn’t a radio outlet for their specific genre any more so it will be harder for them to be heard and to be discovered by new audiences,” says Sheehan. “PR professional have to find new ways to create space for those type of acts to break through.”
Music motivation
Sheehan says she keeps Mission's music roster tight and selects artists to work with based on a simple idea.
“We have to believe that a track that we are plugging at radio is strong enough to achieve airplay, or that band that we are working with have the potential to go national or international, or that a music event has the potential to sell out. That is where it starts. There has to be passion.”
Sheehan looks for commitment and strategy in her clients too.
“We also need to know that the artist or their management are ready and have a fully comprehensive plan in place, including targets and goals filled with timelines, tours, appearances, are active on social media and are fully prepped for all kinds of media activity. One element of promotion is not enough, the magic is when it all comes together and we are happy to play our part.”
Sheehan says the thrill of the chase and success in securing publicity keeps her motivated. She thinks that there is always room for independent artists to amplify their music on their own terms.
“More and more bands are releasing independently and achieving results in terms of airplay and sync. It is possible for bands to have control, to find their own radio plugger, to be represented by a manager and music sync professional, to bring together all the parts of their own label. The opportunity is there to build their own killer promotional team.”
