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| Hint: Have a band you'd like to see interviewed? Tell us. | | Mike Cubillos (Publicist) - 05.30.07 | First, I just wanted to say thanks to Mike Cubillos for taking time out of his day for taking time and answering these questions for me! Mike runs Earshot Media which does publicity for bands like Sherwood, The Graduate, and All Time Low.
Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Mike Cubillos and I run an independent music publicity company called Earshot Media.
Can you tell us some of your job responsibilities at Earshot?
I run the day-to-day operations of Earshot Media and oversee the publicity campaigns for all of our artists which currently includes such acts as Amber Pacific, The Graduate, Sherwood, Daphne Loves Derby, All Time Low and more. I work closely with record labels, band managers, writers, editors, TV bookers, etc to promote our artists through the media via such things as interviews, cd reviews, live reviews, show previews, tv appearances or featured placement on various music and lifestyle websites.
How did you start Earshot Media?
In '98 while I was working in-house at a major label called Mercury Records, PolyGram, the label's parent company, announced they were merging with Seagrams (who owned Universal Music). The merger resulted in hundreds of layoffs on both coasts (and internationally) so myself (and pretty much the entire west coast office of Mercury) were among the casualties. It was at that point that I opted to start up Earshot rather than go back to the grind of working at a major label again. I've never looked back..
What were you doing before you started Earshot?
As I mentioned above, I worked at Mercy Records and prior to that I was at a label called Way Cool/MCA (a small label started by the guy who did indie radio promotion for the Offspring etc). Before that I worked at another mini-major label known as Zoo Entertainment/BMG (their roster included Tool, Matthew Sweet, Killing Joke and more.)
Did you go to college to prepare for this job?
I did. I attended Cal State University Northridge (CSUN) where I obtained a BA in Radio-TV-Film, with an area of emphasis in Media Management.
If a band wanted to work with you, what would they have to do?
At this point I pretty much work exclusively with bands that are signed to either an indie or major label, but that said, if I felt strongly about an unsigned artist's music and felt that we could help them in some way, I wouldn’t hesitate to work with them.
Do you contact bands to see if they want to hire you?
Labels, bands and managers are the ones who usually contact me first.
How long do you get to work with a band?
There really is no set rule for this. Typically an indie publicist is hired to work a given project for at least three months, but of course this is usually extended. We often work multiple releases for our artists, but there are times when we might end up working only one record for a band. For example, sometimes I get too busy to take on certain projects or maybe we'll work a band's indie label release and then they end up getting signed to a major label, which means that their new label's in- house publicist will most likely work their next record. Of course, the best-case scenario is when a band makes the leap from an indie to a major and they are they are able keep you us on board to work alongside the new label. This has happened with such projects as The All-American Rejects, Avenged Sevenfold, A Thorn For Every Heart and Reel Big Fish to name a few.
What are some ups and downs working in your field?
The ups: Not having to wear a suit and tie to work. Working from my home office. Getting to work with bands, labels, managers, writers that I respect and admire. Making a living doing something that I love. It's extremely gratifying to turn people on to talented bands that might not otherwise get the exposure they deserve.
The downs: There aren't many but one big one is having to deal with the bad attitudes of some of the people in the music business. For the most part, people are super cool but there are a few nasty characters out there.
What is a typical day for you like?
I'm usually in my "office" (which is located just above my garage behind my house) by 8:30am. First thing I do is check my email and put out any fires that may have come up overnight. At about 10am Jose who works with me shows up and by then the morning is in full swing. On any given day we are hitting up the national magazines about our bands or we're targeting the dailies/weeklies/zines and college papers in the cities in which our bands are touring, to try to secure press around their local dates. We are always busy coordinating interviews with writers and tour managers or sending out press releases and email blasts, compiling mailing lists for press mailings, updating our database, mailing out press kits and so much more.
How do you juggle getting publicity for the many bands on your roster?
It's difficult and sometimes exhausting, but I've been doing this for so many years that I've just gotten used to the crazy workload. If you aren't a multi-tasker then this business probably isn't for you.
Do the contract for each band differ? Like how much publicity you get for each band or is it pretty much the same?
Earshot is usually hired on to launch full-scale publicity campaigns but in some cases, we may be hired on solely to work online or tour press or to create and distribute a press release. Whatever the project, whether it's a major artist with name recognition or a smaller developing act on a tiny indie, we work them all as if they were our # 1 priority.
Can you give some advice to people who would also like to start a publicity company?
In my mind, the best way is to first intern or work for a label or an indie publicity firm. Be a sponge. Make relationships with editors and writers and other publicists. You first need to invest some time into working for someone else to gain the experience and cultivate the relationships that you are going to need to be an effective publicist. Once you have that foundation, there's no stopping anybody from being a successful indie publicist.
What were some of your favorite bands to work with?
I know its sounds lame but I love all the band's I've worked with. Reel Big Fish have been with me for almost ten years so I'd definitely say them and then of course I'd want to mention bands like Over It, The All-American Rejects, Valient Thorr, Sherwood, Avenged Sevefold, Set Your Goals...The list goes on...and of course, getting to work projects like Taste of Chaos and the Take Action Tour has been tremendously gratifying because all of the people involved with those tours are amazing.
What are some of your favorite bands/books/movies/TV shows/etc.?
Some of my favorite bands of all time: The Pixies, The Clash, The Ramones, The Specials, X, U2, The Cure, Elvis Costello, Velvet Underground. I know I'm leaving out tons. Aside from all of the bands we work with =) some other bands I'm currently digging are: Mew, Bloc Party, Kings of Leon, Peter Bjorn and John, The Hold Steady and a whole lot more...
While I haven’t had much time to read any books lately (I mostly read music mags like Punk Rock Confidential, AP, Chord, Wonka Vision, AMP, Substream etc and of course all the music sites and webzines) I would like to pick up a copy of Punk Rock Dad by Jim Lindberg of Pennywise. As a father of 5 1/2 year old twins who makes his living in the music business, I think I'll be able to relate.
Any last words?
Thanks to you and every other web and print zine out there that supports new music! I have nothing but love and respect for all of you.
Thanks Mike!
Thanks! |
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Displaying posts 1 - 15 of 18. |
11:47 AM on 05/31/07 | The Rational Voice of AP.net I agree. I've worked with Mike on several occasions and think he's great. | | |
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12:22 PM on 05/31/07 | I as well agree that Mike is a pleasure to work with. Been working with him for probably 3+ years now and I must say one of the best publicists out there. And it's great to be able to build a relationship with a publicist. It seems like every 6 months a label has a new one leaving or coming in. There has been so many times the new publicist comes in and boom, your relationship with that label is done. | | |
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01:39 PM on 05/31/07 | I've been working with Mike Cubillos in some capacity for the past six years, but amazingly, we've never spoken on the phone, nor have I ever seen a picture of him (until this interview). Shows you how much you can accomplish just via email. Mike is easily one of my favorite publicists to work with in this industry. | | |
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01:42 PM on 05/31/07 | Yeah, top notch dude...good interview! | | |
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01:55 PM on 05/31/07 | As a fellow publicist for the indie PR company Moxie Star, I have to say that Mike was cool to work with on the Take Action Tour :) | | |
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02:01 PM on 05/31/07 | Yeah, Earshot is cool, but Moxie Star pretty much rulez too!! | | |
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03:17 PM on 05/31/07 | Interviews/Small Band Round Up Originally Posted by Steve Henderson Yeah, top notch dude...good interview! |
thanks! | | |
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05:13 PM on 05/31/07 | I've always wondered what a day in the life of Mike would be like. Sweet. | | |
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08:20 PM on 05/31/07 | Mike is the best...thanks dude. your a gem for our band | | |
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09:34 PM on 06/01/07 | Everyone loves a publicist!! good dude. | | |
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09:52 AM on 06/02/07 | That's a good fella right there | | |
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