The July issue of Music Connection explores the wonderful world of Public Relations. It’s filled with insights and advice from a variety of sources, including PR pros and artists. Occasionally, however, a source may respond late and not make it to print. That’s what happened with Kat Parsons, who was performing in Seoul, South Korea.

Kat is one of the few independent artists to ever make the cover of Music Connection. She garnered that honor because she’s an indie phenom who achieved amazing success. She also had great advice for other artists trying to make it in a tough industry.

Kat indicated that she had mixed feelings about publicists, but was willing to talk about her experience. When her comments were finally received, it was obvious that they should be shared. As such, here are her responses to my queries:

1. Did you do any sort of PR work on your own?

Kat: Yes. I reached out to print media, digital media, etc., and tried to follow up with everything. I think I was a little obsessed with getting straight A’s and leaving no stone unturned. I got some great results and, other times, I didn’t get through.

2. What motivated you to hire a PR company?

Kat: I had just recorded my album and was putting together my team.  While I have confidence in my ability, I figured a PR company with years of experience would know what works and what doesn’t and would direct the effort better. Primarily, I was looking for a marketing plan and the best way to spend my resources.

3. Did you have any specific goals in mind?

Kat: To work smart, use resources wisely and figure out the best ways to reach people. I’ve been lucky and accomplished a lot of things I’m proud of, but I pictured them as a patchwork with none of them connecting and contributing to the whole. I wanted to find a way to connect all the patches and make a quilt.

4. How long did you retain a publicist?

Kat: 5 months.

5. What did you learn from the experience?

Kat: I learned that so much is out of my control!

6. Did you achieve the results you expected?

Kat: I’m not sure…. The PR company definitely raised my profile, but it was a learning experience for me. I thought there might be a formula or some recipe for how to reach the most people in the most effective way and that a publicist would enlighten me. However, it seems there is no formula for anything related to the music industry.

7. Would you do anything differently next time?

Kat: Yes. I think my expectations would fit the situation better.

8. What advice would you give artists who are thinking about hiring a PR company?

Kat: Working with a PR company is tricky b/c there are no guaranteed results. That is really hard to swallow when you are spending a ton of $… but what else do you have money for?  It was worth it for me to give my album a real chance. Besides, there are only so many hours in a day and I cannot do everything effectively.

9. Would you hire a PR pro again?

Kat: I would definitely consider doing it again.

To find out more about Kat Parsons, go to www.katparsons.com

—Bernard Baur

Tags: Bernard Baur's Blog, blog

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 6th, 2010 at 6:14 pm and is filed under Bernard Baur's Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.