What is PR? Tessa Kerans gives us the low down on the juggling act of working in publicity within music.

Tessa Kerans is a pretty wild character.  With experience in spades and the most friendly face you’ve ever seen, she is not only brilliant at her job but wades through the bullshit and gives it to you straight.  We sat down to chat with Tessa for a better idea of exactly what a publicist does and what she reckons could do with a shake up in the industry.

1. What would you say PR is?

PR can mean a lot of different things in different industries! For me and in the context of music I would say it’s about introducing bands to new audiences and helping build those relationships between the artist and their listeners. For me its easy because I’m already a fan of the bands that I work with so it basically legitimises my fangirling.

I do this as well as supporting the artists from a label/management role – working with them on a day to day basis doing everything from tour logistics to liaising with festivals and venues and making sure everything runs smoothly (I once had to wear/smuggle 11kgs of merch on a plane to get it down to Melbourne in time for a gig) It’s a very varied role.

2. What are the top three hardest things about PR?

1. Cutting through the noise – there are so many great artists out there deserving of time and attention and when you are fighting to get your artist heard, or recognised or content when everyone else is out there doing the same thing it can be incredibly difficult.
2. Not taking it personally – When you believe passionately about an artist and they get knocked back for content or you don’t even get a response that can be really hard.
3. Persistance – Being in PR is all about relationships, with the industry changing so constantly it can be hard to stay informed and to get out there, be ballsy, make connections and fight for your artists.

3. Who do you work for and why?

I work for a company called Six Boroughs Media and a label called Stop Start Music – I love working for them because the people that I work with are incredibly experienced, have come from major label backgrounds and have now started their own businesses, that affords them the time and energy to commit to and support the artists they work with.

We have personal relationships with our bands and care and listen to their visions and what they want.

4. What are the skills that you have that you think make you good at your job?

I am high energy, so I always need to be doing something, working on a project or being stimulated and in music it’s not just a 9-5 job and there is always something on which keeps it interesting. I’m also incredibly social and thrive on meeting new people.

5. What would you like to be doing more of and what would make that happen?

Right now I’ve only worked in Australia so in the future I’d love to work overseas, learn from other label, managers and publicists and work towards building a bigger network.

If PR is something you’d be keen on then check out Tessa on Music People.