(Niagara Falls, ON) – First, let me say that this isn’t an interview with Vancouver’s Dear Rouge. It is not a show review nor a CD review of their debut album Black to Gold, released just over a month ago. Instead, this is a story in regards to what happened to me this week while dealing with the publicist for Dear Rouge that lead to disappointment for me and left me scratching my head with unanswered questions.
I have been a music journalist since the early 90’s. My inability to sing or to play an instrument has kept me from pursuing the music field as a performer. Because I love to write, I love music and love photography I got into music journalism which started around 1991 while I was obtaining my college diploma in journalism-print.
Over the years I freelanced as a music writer and photographer for a few publications. I interviewed many great musicians and photographed some great shows and festivals. My “high” was, and still is, capturing a great moment on stage or snagging an interview with someone I enjoy listening to or idolize and being able to talk to them and write about them.
Around 2002, I put music journalism to a rest for what I planned to be a short time. The short time turned into over 10 years. A few years ago I decided I wanted to get back into music journalism and recapture that spark I once had. So I bought my first DSLR and slowly started easing back into what I once had.
Things have changed since I last did music journalism. With the internet exploding, there is not a whole lot of print anymore other than the bigger publications. Earlier this year I decided I wanted to start my own online music magazine and see where it leads to.
On February 5, 2015 I published my first article on MusicLifeMagazine.net and haven’t looked back. With the help of some wonderful contributers from around the world, my magazine has grown to almost 20,000 visitors per month worldwide (and growing) in just 3 months! Over the course of the last few months we have covered some great shows and interviewed a lot of great musicians, both established and up-and-coming.
Any artist, or artist publicist, we have approached to feature in Music Life Magazine have all been very co-operative and willing to have us promote them in some way – whether it was photographing a show or doing an interview for a feature story. Any person in the industry knows that having any sort of publicity is a great thing, especially if you’re new or have a new CD or video to promote.
This brings me to February, near the beginning of this online publication. I found out the husband and wife band of Drew and Danielle McTaggart, better known as Dear Rouge, were scheduled to play the Sanctuary in Ridgeway, Ontario, Canada in March.
A great band who, at the time, was about to release their debut album and go on tour.
It was near the end of February when I sent off an email to an address I found on Dear Rouge‘s website to request an interview with Dear Rouge and also to request a photo pass for the show. It wasn’t long before I got a reply from a publicist at Red Umbrella PR saying I could do an interview, requested my interview questions and said a photo pass will be requested to the band’s management.
Within a day or so of all this we find out the Dear Rouge show had been postponed until May 7. The publicist contacts me to ask if we can “revisit this interview closer to the May date”. I said this would be fine and that I would contact her again towards the end of April.
Well, last week was “towards the end of April” and the May 7th show in Ridgeway is still on. So on April 29th I contact the publicist once again to request an interview and photo pass. Since February, Dear Rouge released their debut album and will be a part of Canadian Music Week beginning this week. They have some shows coming up, including some summer festivals.
For ANY band this is the perfect time to get promotion – with a new CD freshly released and an upcoming tour. Right?
On Friday, May 1, I get a reply from the publicist stating that she passed my questions on to the manager and band but they are requesting I do an phone interview instead. She asked me if this was possible and what times I would be available for a phone interview. I reply right back stating that I do work full-time hours at a job I have (this magazine is a side thing for me) and to also let her know a close family member is very sick and hospitalized, waiting for surgery and that my time was currently very limited.
So I suggested in doing an interview at the venue on Thursday. I told her I would only need about 10 minutes of their time. Simple?
I don’t get a reply until Monday, May 4. The publicist emails me once again asking if I can do a “quick phoner” with Dear Rouge. It was a reply with an earlier email, not the one I sent on Friday. The next day I reply back asking if she received my email from Friday and once again told her my current situation and requested (for a third time) a photo pass for Thursday’s show and asked if I could do the interview at the venue. I also said that if the interview at the venue was not possible then I will be willing to do a “quick phoner” and said I would be available Wednesday morning or anytime Thursday or Friday of this week. I even said if this week is not good then we can arrange for sometime next week.
I get a reply later in the day, Tuesday May 5, saying she never got my email from Friday and went on to say: “Regrettably, we’re going to have to take a pass on the interview this time around; the scheduling for the band is quite tight right now and they’re tied up for much of this week for CMW. I’ll absolutely keep Music Life Magazine in mind the next time they are in town.”
Okay, so if she did not get my email on Friday and reaches out to me on Monday asking me to do a phone interview. Why suddenly is it not feasible by the next day when I agree to it and gave her several options of when I am available, like she asked of me? She makes no mention of doing an interview at the venue and says NOTHING about a photo pass to at least cover the show on Thursday (I had put in 3 requests for a photo pass).
Alright, so the band will be busy BUT isn’t the point of touring to go out and promote your band and your music, especially if you just released your debut album? Isn’t NOW the time while it’s fresh and you’re on the road and want to attract fans – old and new?
CMW or not, doesn’t a band want to get as much attention and publicity as possible? What if there is no next time? What if they don’t “come back to town”?
Drew and Danielle McTaggart, if you’re reading this I want to let you know how disappointment I am in the way this turned out. I really wanted to interview Dear Rouge and cover your show for my publication. I had high hopes of promoting your band since February and was excited that I was going to do an interview and see you perform. Or so I thought and was led to believe. But unfortunately you guys are too busy for me and your publicist isn’t interested in letting us promote you for your debut album and tour while it’s fresh.
It’s unfortunate that your publicist picks and chooses who gets to promote your band. Did you guys personally turn me down or is it just something the publicist said to me? Not sure. What if I said I was from Rolling Stone Magazine?
All I know right now is that while you’re in Ridgeway Thursday night playing your show, I’ll be at home finding someone who wants promotion and is willing to talk to me.
Good luck with your band and debut album.
P.S. – Drew and Danielle, if you’re willing to talk to me I will be more than happy to sit down with you! No hard feelings, just disappointed.
joel@MusicLifeMagazine.net
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