Online Lecture: The Music Exchange: Independent Music and Public Relations
Online Lecture: The Music Exchange: Independent Music and Public Relations
23.03.2022
University of Leeds / online
The internet has both simplified and complicated distribution for independent musicians. On the one hand, getting music out there is easier and cheaper than ever; on the other, getting heard is arguably much more difficult. Gaining attention and appreciation for music involves navigating complex new sets of intermediaries such as streaming platforms, music aggregators, and distributors. Music publicity, or PR (public relations), is an important part of this contemporary ‘attention economy’. But it is still regarded with suspicion by many independent musicians, and stands in a complex relation to art and commerce.
This event will explore the day-to-day realities of this space: how independent artists, labels, and publicists work together (or not!) to develop coherent identities, and the ways in which music journalists and other intermediaries engage with music PR in their day-to-day work. It will also highlight critical questions pertinent to this under-researched area of the music industries. How might acknowledging the important role of music PR shift our perspective away from a Romantic, individualised conception of music-making, and towards greater understanding of the collaborative, convergent nature of contemporary popular music production? How does an emphasis on promotion and brand-building complicate the contemporary cultural politics of independent music? What does the centrality of PR today tell us about process of building artistic reputations and sustainable careers within popular and independent music?
These questions will be explored during a panel discussion with four local independent music professionals, bringing a range of experience in and around music PR: Liv Willars (One Beat PR), Harry Ridgway (Hanglands), Thea Hudson-Davies (The Leaf Label), and music writer Tayyab Amin (Pitchfork, The Guardian). The discussion will be chaired and introduced by Dr Ellis Jones, Lecturer in Music and Management at the School of Music.
The event is free to attend, open to all, and should prove beneficial to researchers and students with an interest in popular music and the broader cultural industries, and to local musicians and music industry professionals.
This event is the first in The Music Exchange (TMX) – a new research series by the University of Leeds’ School of Music. The aim of the series to foster the development of new partnerships with non-academic groups and organisations. Using staff research interests as a springboard, TMX seeks to develop conversations that bring together interconnected voices, bridging the gap between research and industry. This event will run simultaneously, in-person at the Clothworkers’ Centenary Concert Hall Foyer, and online, via interactive webinar.
More information and registration here.