As your profile starts to grow, so will the media requests. Things will expand from one-sided blog reviews, oftentimes summing up the most vital pointers about your release, to personalized interviews and feature requests.
We’ve gone through our share of interviews – be it as interviewees or some of us as artists, as part of promo tours and such. And while interviews undoubtedly offer a wide range of possibilities, they should be handled with care. Even if the medium is small, things can spread and grow.
That’s why you should lay equal thought and prep in each interview situation, no matter how the identifiable outcome of a given situation might be. To help you gain an open and attentive mind, we created some do’s and dont’s of dealing with these types of situations.
Let’s start with research…
Do some homework
Get to know the medium you are engaging with.
This doesn’t mean you have to read through each and every article or click through most interviews on a given site. Just make sure you scan over at least one comparable format from the medium you are sitting down with.
You’ll get a feeling for the direction and the overall tone of voice, limiting the possibility of unwelcome surprises.
You can also bring up your prep during the interview – possibly just through a side-comment that you read this-or-that article – see what happens. More often than not, the interviewee will feel and appreciated in his or her work, and you it will influence the flow of your own interview situation.
Do some homework, read up.
Offer material
Make sure your interviewee receives all vital information prior to engaging in the interview. This means one-sheet, including bio, music and streaming milestones.
Try to keep it within the range of a single page. Even though you experience your own, personal endeavor as the most unique imaginable, chances are high your opposite finds it quite ordinary.
You see, every artist or management team tries to bolster up a given story. Try to be factual about things revolving around a project, and don’t highlight unnecessary topics.
If the things you do are genuinely interesting, there’s no need to brag.
Answer your own W’s
Who, what, where, when, how, why – if you briefly sum up these short and simple questions prior to any interview, more likely than not, you’re good to go.
These are the absolute basics of media work, and by clarifying them for yourself, you’ll be able to
fast forward to the juicy part: Individual questions that go beyond the mere facts that are always stated.
If you’re a complete newcomer, these questions will definitely be asked. Sometimes a media rep has read up on your work via a one-pager you sent, or – and that’s rare – has done his or her own research.
If you’re taking part in showcase events, you’ll definitely want to build on these facts, maybe even get past them fast to showcase your individual tone of voice.
Be appreciative
The media-end of things is a vital part of the music game.
And it has become harder than ever to maintain quality media output, considering the immense increase of content out there.
So, no matter how small the outlet or how minute the outcome of a given interaction may be appreciative.
Media reps have their own careers and journeys. The intern may someday end up as media owner or something close to it, and good impressions last. Show respect at every level of the communicative food chain.
Be the kind of artist people want to talk to, and they will move mountains to spread your message.