Summer
Harman has worked as a publicist in the music industry business for
more than 20 years creating and implementing publicity campaigns for
corporate accounts and artists as both an independent publicist and
as a record label executive. She currently owns and operates
Summer Harman Public Relations, a public relations, media marketing
and artist development service based in Nashville, Tennessee. Previously,
she was the head of publicity for Broken Bow Records from 2004-2006
and prior to that head of publicity for DreamWorks Records from 2000-2004.Artists
she created and implemented media campaigns for included Toby Keith,
Jimmy Wayne, Darryl Worley, Jessica Andrews, Tracy Lawrence, Randy
Travis, Jeff Foxworthy, Ray Benson with Asleep At The Wheel, Emerson
Drive, Tori Baxley, Dan Colehour, Scotty Emerick, Hanna-McEuen, Danielle
Peck and Michelle Poe, Jason Aldean, Craig Morgan, Megan Mullins,
Lila McCann, Joe Diffie, Sherrie Austin and Chad Brock.
Q: What
do you consider your first music industry job and how were you hired?
A:
My first music industry job was with a Los Angeles based PR/Advertising
firm The Gary Group. Dick Gary was opening a Nashville office
headed by Debbie Banks and they hired me as a receptionist/part-time
publicist, which was a wonderful opportunity for me. I was eventually
promoted to a full-time publicist handling PR for Exile, Eddie Rabbit
and Country Fest.
Q: Why did you decide to pursue a career as
a publicist?
A: I studied the music industry at Belmont and MTSU earning
a degree in Mass Communications: emphasis in Public Relations/Advertising
with Minors in English and Psychology. Since my favorite courses
were in Public Relations, I was attracted to publicity opportunities
that came into my life. Growing up around performing artists, musicians
and others who worked in the music industry, it came naturally for
me to work in that area. Publicity was a comfortable and fun fit for
me. I
Q: In general, describe the process of launching
a musical act from an unknown act to a successful recording artist.
Is it a team effort, and who are the key players?
A: I believe that
there are many different paths that artists take from being unknown
acts to being successful recording artists, but no matter what path
one takes, it has to be built on a strong foundation made from surrounding
themselves with a team of people who believe in that artist and their
music and all give 100% of their efforts to meet the objectives and
goals for that artist’s music career. The artist’s immediate
team of key players (which varies on the artists and their needs)
includes his/her manager, record label (all departments from A&R,
Creative, Publicity, Radio Promotions to Sales & Marketing and
Legal Affairs), booking agent, publicist, road manager and band members.
There are many other key players that supplement this core team including
songwriters, publishers, radio, television, print journalists and
key industry leaders who all help to launch a musical act from an
unknown to a successful recording artist.
Q: You were the
publicist for several unknown acts that became stars on major labels.
What made them successful and what specific events were you involved
in that helped launch their careers.
A: I have been blessed with many
opportunities to work with some amazingly talented artists and music
industry veterans. I’ve been a part of many teams that worked diligently
to create, plan and implement unique marketing plans to launch the
music careers of unknown acts that went on to become major recording
stars. Some plans were created to launch unknown acts from the very
beginning of their music careers and other plans were created to re-launch
artists taking them to a higher level of success with their music
careers. Looking back over the years, I feel fortunate and thankful
that I was a part of some highly successful teams that helped launch
artists and their music careers. I’ve worked from both an independent
and in-house point of view to create and implement publicity plans
for many artists. The key to what made them successful was that
each member of the team brought their specialized expertise to the
table with respect and value for each member and worked together to
supplement each division, which made the teams and the plans even
stronger. This focused team energy to meet objectives and goals for
the artists helped make each artist’s launch the most successful it
could be. I am honored to have worked with so many talented
artists and songwriters over the past 25 years including Skip Ewing,
John Anderson, Eddie Rabbitt, Toby Keith, Darryl Worley, Jessica Andrews,
Jimmy Wayne, Marty Stuart, Tanya Tucker, Patty Loveless, Exile, Clint
Black, Garth Brooks, Suzy Bogguss, David Frizzell, Wayne Warner, Craig
Morgan and Jason Aldean among numerous others all of which have enriched
my life with their music and friendships.
Q: What are
some of the current projects you are working on?
A: One current project
I handled publicity for was a joint project with the Dave Thomas Foundation
for Adoption in conjunction with recording artist Wayne Warner. It’s
a project that brought Wayne Warner, who has adopted children, together
with the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption to help raise awareness
for adoption via a nation-wide publicity campaign where the foundation
used a song written by Wayne Warner as their campaign theme for the
year. It has been so rewarding to work for such a wonderful
cause and bring attention to an amazing organization through the music.
I am also working with one of my all-time favorite country singers
David Frizzell on an exciting upcoming project, which I will share
more with you in the near future!
Q: What is your general advice
to undiscovered acts trying to "make it”?
A: The best advice I can
offer to acts trying to “make it” in the music business is keep the
music the focus, stay true to your heart and develop your own style,
surround yourself with honest, hard-working people who believe in
you and your music and make sure to take time to enjoy every single
minute of the journey along the way.
Q: How has the Nashville
industry changed since you first started working in it?
A: Oh my goodness,
this is going to show my age! I have witnessed huge growth and
change in the industry. Let’s put it this way, I wrote my first
press release on a legal pad and typed the final version on a typewriter
(that White-Out sure came in handy). I began by mailing out
press releases to my mailing list (folding, licking and stamping every
single one of them). I love modern technology! Now, it is amazing
how much you can get done in one day with computers and the Internet.
Q:
What do you consider your major accomplishments as a publicist?
A:
I’m thankful that I have been a part of some successful teams over
the years planning and implementing publicity plans for artists including
from both an independent and record label in-house publicist.
There are so many levels of accomplishments in publicity for artists
and those accomplishments are shared with their publicists as they
experience them together through the years helping to build their
music careers. In my opinion, what may seem like simple accomplishments
to some people, are actually major accomplishments in the overall
picture. Every accomplishment has value on many various levels. I
have worked with many artists to attain major accomplishments as a
publicist representing them. For example, some artists may not think
that they have anything to talk about in the beginning, therefore,
it’s a major accomplishment to help an artist realize that they are
unique individuals that have a story to tell that is extremely interesting
to others. Another type of major accomplishment that I have experienced
with artists has been the joy of seeing a new artist overcome their
nervousness about doing interviews in the beginning and watching them
grow to being comfortable sharing their story in interviews whether
they are at lunch interviewing with a journalist for a newspaper or
magazine, on a set taping an on-camera interview or doing a great
“live” interview somewhere. Other major accomplishments as a
publicist have included securing local, regional and national television
appearances for artists whether it be on a local talk show to support
their tour dates, an appearance on a national morning or late-night
talk show, a presenter or performance spot on various awards shows
or TV specials.
Q: What are some of your major disappointments
as a publicist?
A: The only major disappointment as a publicist that
I’ve observed is that there are times when publicity appears to be
viewed, from a budget standpoint, as dispensable when in actuality,
publicity is just as important as any other component of an artist’s
music career and should be valued as such.
Q: What are some of
the challenges you face when working with an independent artist or
record label versus a major label?
A: There is always the challenge
of budgeting for publicity needs, which varies at each record label
and for each artist. There are times when a record label may pay for
independent publicity for a new artist for a certain amount on time
when there is a need to establish recognition for the new artist in
the marketplace to support future sales success. There are times when
it is a shared cost between the record label and the management team
depending on the focus of the artist’s needs. There are other times
when management budgets for independent publicity for an artist especially
to support the artist’s touring needs. I have seen many various
scenarios and worked from both points of views as a publicist for
artists. I’ve worked as a major record label publicist, creating
and implementing publicity/marketing plans to support specific artists’
project releases. This involves timing reviews, features and appearances
on a targeted timeline to best support and focus single and album
releases during a specific window of opportunity to promote the best
record sales possible for each release. On the other hand, I
have also represented artists from an independent point of view where
it is the focus to consistently plan and implement publicity/marketing
plans to support an artist and their music career on a continuous
daily basis to support their music and touring schedule.
Q:
Where did you grow up and what were some of your early musical influences?
A: I was born in Norman, Oklahoma, but grew up in Nashville, Tennessee.
Since my Dad is one of the top drummers in the world and my mom was
a singer, I was exposed to music at a very early age. My early musical
influences included all genres of music. I was influenced by
a wide variety of singers and musicians. At home, I would listen to
my dad’s favorite music in the background which included big band
jazz, Buddy Rich, Perry Como, and Frank Sinatra to many of the country
greats he recorded with throughout the years including Patsy Cline,
Tammy Wynette, Ray Price and Willie Nelson to name a few. As
a child, my mom and I would dance and listen to her favorite music
she grew up listening to including The Platters, Elvis Presley and
Everly Brothers to our shared favorite singers including Tina Turner,
Billy Ocean, Phil Collins, and Lionel Richie. I’ve been influenced
by so many different forms of music throughout my life that it makes
it difficult to only name a few. I seem to always gravitate back to
my core favorites, which include: Country, R&B and Pop.
My favorite singers are: Patsy Cline, Trisha Yearwood, Sade, Tracy
Chapman, Anita Baker, Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, and Tony
Bennett.
Q: How do you see the Internet impacting the music industry?
A:
There is no doubt that that the Internet has definitely impacted the
music industry in a huge way. I believe in the beginning years of
the Internet, it caught a lot of industry people by surprise at how
quickly it would impact the music industry. It created a major concern
for artists and record labels when it comes to free downloading of
recorded material. Over the years, I believe that we have progressively
evolved to take advantage of digital technology as more and more industry
people have become more educated and understand the Internet and are
able to use it to their advantage to make the impact on the music
industry a more positive one now. There are still many pending issues
and concerns about content ownership and licensing rights, but more
people are aware of the issues and working to protect the rights of
the people who create the works. I believe that the music industry
is continually working on a shift from physical to virtual distribution
that is beneficial to all involved.
Q: How do you see the Internet
impacting your job as a publicist?
A: The Internet has impacted my
job as a publicist in many positive ways. It provided a way of reaching
millions of people in a fraction of the time it took before. The Internet
opened up so many new avenues and vehicles to disseminate information
about the artists. It is a great research tool to gather many
more opportunities for artists to talk about their music and inform
Internet surfers about their projects. The Internet has also been
a huge asset for cross promoting artists and finding niche-marketing
outlets for them worldwide. I find the Internet to be an integral
part for supplementary fringe marketing.
Q: You are mainly known
as a publicist. What are some of the other “hats” you wear in the
industry?
A: Other “hats” I wear include artist development, image
styling, media coaching, photography assisting, commercial advertising
as well as the “treasured” artist swag holding and housecleaning (for
those special, at-home interviews).
Q: What is your worst pet
peeve?
A: Rude and selfish people.
Q: What is your favorite saying?
A: “Choose to make every day the best it can be!”
Q: What are
your hobbies?
A: My hobbies include boating, golf, painting,
listening to music, volunteering at United Cerebral Palsy sports night
bowling and playing cards, listening to stories from older family
members about the changes they have seen through their years and enjoying
the inner peacefulness I feel sitting on the back porch listening
to the birds sing and watching the trees sway with the wind.
Q: What is most important to you in life?
A: What are most important
to me in life are God, Family and Friends. With those three, anything
is possible!
