Tips on obtaining press passes to cover events?
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Any tips for obtaining press passes to cover events?Thank you!
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ASK!
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Let them know what you're going to write about and how you're going to promote it :-)
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fake moustache, you on friend's shoulders, dad's trenchcoat
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I'd agree with Jason here, they will want to see some good promotional content in return for a pass so just let them know why giving you one would be worth it for them. Also, I find it's useful to strike up a friendship with PR contacts and post things for them without expecting anything in return for a while, then the whole process of asking for something becomes much easier.
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Conversely, I agree with Brandon here. Tomfoolery is severely underutilized.
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If anyone is going to start demanding "good promotional content" in return for a press pass, then balls to them. You are not supposed to be a member of staff. Tell them who you are and where you're from and let them decide. But if anyone starts demanding shit in return for you attending a show then walk away from them immediately.
Otherwise, though, I agree entirely with boxmusique. Do stuff for people before you ever ask for anything from them, and you will be in a good position - very sensible advice indeed. People will always want to help out someone who has done a good deed for them in the past. Or at least if they don't then they are arseholes who you can happily strike from your Christmas card list without a second thought.
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+1 on the tomfoolery though. If you can sneak in with a fake moustache and a trench coat then you win at EVERYTHING!
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I agree with Toad, if you have to post shits in return for a press pass on your blog than don't do it. But do build some sort of relationship with people.I also say make sure your blog has some sort of focus, and clearly states where in the world you are blogging from. I generally get invited to a lot of shows by PR/band people because my blog is clearly Canadian and near Toronto.If you want to do festivals, make sure your blog fits into the festival you are applying for before applying for media passes and such.Never hurts to ask as long as you have previous posts about the band or other bands from the PR person :) and yes tell them what you're going to do with the event, like review, photos, etc.
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thank you everyone! I appreciate your responses
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from a label's perspective, there are no hard and fast rules. if you live in a big city, our guest lists fill up pretty quickly. so there simply might not be any room.but for smaller towns, we can generally get you on a band's list or the house list if you just ask nicely. obviously, there is a bit of subjectiveness in that we'll check out your site / blog and look at the quality of the writing, but generally this isn't very hard. and once you're in, it gets more automatic.my email is easy to find and i can direct you to the right publicist if you wanna see any of our bands.(and Toad - there is an implied exchange of value here but it's really up to the band on the stage to compel you to write something up, right?!?)
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Getting on guest lists for local gigs doesn't seem too difficult (if you have the right contacts). However, I'm not sure how you'd go about getting into the big festivals, would they let a humble blogger in for free? I'm not sure even the most extravagant fake moustache could swing that...
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Adam, I wasn't implying that it's going to impress anyone to use press passes to just go to free shows all the time and never write anything up.
But I have had people be quite demanding about what they were going to get out of me and when, so I just told them to piss off and paid my way in. That sounds like a hangover from the days of payola and it's not something I would suggest anyone ever put up with.
But just so you don't think I don't feel your pain, I just emailed a freelance journo to ask if he would be interested in receiving Song, by Toad Records promos for possible review. His response? 'Sounds good - do you have any vinyl?'
If the internet had a 'punch' button, he would be nursing a bloody nose this very moment, the chancing fucking bastard. Yes, that's right, my record label exists solely for the purpose of puffing up your personal vinyl collection with shit you don't have to pay for and will presumably sell on fucking eBay if it turns out you don't like it. Cheeky little fucker.
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I think there should be balance.
1. some bloggers really do go to event a lot. It costs money and one really has to go to a lot of events to be able to write meaningful review. (I personally hate large venue, you might catch disease or something. but these are the exact type of thing blogger has to write for review in order to get new readers. small underground performances, are for specialized blog, small knowledgable readers. This one is more about interview)
2. band press manager do expect something.
3. band needs to make money after all. Good music doesn't fall from the sky.
I think there should be gentleman agreement between label and bloggers.
For large relevant event that blogger need to get in, and probably too costly to attend, groveling for free entry should be expected. If regular bloggers can pay for these type of event, they wouldn't be blogging.
But blogger probably need to pay for smaller event and make effort to know the people who has to manage event. (most smaller label has one or two people who manage this, so you have to know them)
There aren't that many local bloggers that can go to event and write consistent review. There aren't that many labels either. I guess everybody has to know everybody and learn what good habit for the scene should be.
for new bloggers, suppress the urge to get freebie tickets. write several event reviews first. gotta have some sense of the scene & process first instead of merely attending entertainment event. You'll have less guilt and know how to balance thing better.
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squashed, when you aren't spewing conspiracy-theorist mentalism you really can be quite sensible, y'know?
;-)
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hey. it;s my best feature.
anybody has a link with all show/performance date on it?
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I posted a topic very close to this a few months ago. The trick really is to ask. The fact that I'm a photographer also really helps my case, but the more you ask, the more likely you will get a biter.
Stay professional and personalize your responses, don't just send a mass email out.
Also start small and work up. Once you have a larger base of reviews you can start getting bigger fish.
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I feel it's only appropriate to side with @brandon and @culturebully on this one. A mustache, maybe even a turbin or trench coat are very good ways of signifying to labels that you're a SERIOUS blogger, and undoubtedly worth a guest list spot.
If that doesn't work. I've also found that sending gift baskets (fruit/muffins) is another great way to "encourage" a publicist.
The whole "selling yourself" for tickets is crap. If you want to write about a show because you like that band--it's no different than streaming one of their Mp3s. Just my two donuts. -
Promising a review to a publicist who puts you on the guestlist isn't selling yourself. You're the one who wants to check out the show, so wouldn't you likely want to review it anyway? Just pick shows that you think/know will be good. Selling yourself is when getting into the show for free affects the content of your review.
I do loads of concert reviews on Silence Killer and I have been guestlisted for nearly all of them. My advice is, start with a publicist that already sends you promo emails. What I do is search for "Vancouver" in my Gmail, and then I look through the tour listings that PR people have sent me. Then I hit reply on the shows that I want to check out, and I say "Hey, I'd like to review the Vancouver show for Silence Killer. Can you put me on the guestlist?" Often they'll even give me a +1 so I can bring a friend, and sometimes they'll ask if I'd like to interview the artist.
If you live in a city that has any music scene whatsoever, start doing some concert reviews! Might as well get in for free and save some $$ (and treat your friends), since you probably don't get paid to write your music blog. We all love live music, so go for it.
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I'll be covering my first event next month, and that was only because a friend's friend was involved in the marketing side. Make friends who have event-friends!
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