Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
This band has no press
Discography
Publicists' main job is to organize the press campaign around somebody's album. You want to make sure that album reviews and feature articles come out in the press about the same time as the album's release. So there is a lot of organization required.
Of course, a large part of it is convincing the press to write a review or a feature in the first place. So you're half persuader, half organizer. You have to generate a buzz, but you have to be very calculated about how and when you do it.
What's an average day like?
On an average day, the first thing I'll do is check my email to see if any press people need anything immediately, which is often the case. Someone will need an album overnighted to them, or someone needs to do an interview right now. After I do that, I just go down my list of writers to see who I'm working with. I'll usually give a different person priority for the day and see what I can do with them.
To be a good publicist, you have to have an amazing memory. You have to remember what writers are responsive to what kinds of music. You have to know what music sections are in what magazines, and then be able to think if any of your bands would fit in any given section.
Then, once you get a writer interested in an artist, you want to convince them to do the biggest possible article.
How do you do that?
Well, that's where you have to be creative and see the angles that maybe the press doesn't see. If there is a big trend emerging, like electronic music for example, you might suggest that instead of simply writing a review of your electronic band, they should write a big article on electronic music in general and showcase your band in it.
It's always trying to find that angle that will turn a little story into a big story. That's the first thing you think about with a new album - what's the big picture behind this?
So what else happens on an average day?
At least a couple times a week you'll accompany one of your artists to a photo shoot to make sure that there aren't any problems. Often times magazines will try to get artists, especially female artists, to do things they don't want to do. For example, recently a men's magazine wanted one of my artists to get in a hot tub with a bunch of men, with bubbles, and a lollipop in her mouth. That just wasn't the image we were going for. So we had to find a compromise.
So you act as the representative of the artist, as the liason between the artist and the magazine
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Mary Bowlin
On May 31, 1982 Mary Bowlin was born in the small town of Kennesaw, Ga. From a young age she dreamt big, and new that one day her publicity and writing dreams would come true. At the age of three her family moved to Acworth, Ga. Growing up she loved to write short stories about musicians. When she was seventeen she began gaining an interest in artists that where unknown. In an effort to become knowledgeable, she continued to do research and eventually began sending her articles and stories to Circus Magazine ( a dark magazine for punk music). After repeatedly sending her stories in and never getting any acknowledgement ,she decided to take a stab in the dark and send a story in to Interscope Records. Shortly after sending it in and much to her disbelief she received a call from Fred Durst (lead singer of Limp Bizkit), asking her to write and send in more articles for him.
After writing many articles for him, Fred took her under his wing, and began teaching her the ropes of what is involved in the music industry. As time progressed he began asking for her help on his upcoming projects. He invited her down one 4th of July to meet his friends and family members, and from then on her dreams became a reality.
Shortly after her stint in Jacksonville, she flew to Los Angles at the request of the VP of Interscope Records and soon after began working on various projects in interaction with The Firm. While doing so she was invited to work with various Big names in the industry including: Puddle of Mud, Linkin Park, Staind, Cold, and Jared Leto on 30 Seconds to Mars.
From that day on she earned a good hand and began following her dreams. Mary was VIP at various shows and met and became friends with a lot artists that she had came across.
In the middle of 2003 she became restless. She felt a calling as a publicist, and left everything behind and ventured out on her own. In March of 2004, her dreams came true. She opened her own PR company called J&M Entertainment, LLC and gained big clients from the get go including Bizzy Bone and the rest of the Bone Thugs N Harmony family, Turk (from the Hot Boyz) and Glass Joe.
When asked about her success Mary stated I was blessed enough to be able to start my career at a young age, with possibilities that many would kill for. Ive worked with and have been mentored by so many great people I now get to return the favors they have given to me.
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