THE CURMUDGEON: Vol. 6 – For Musicians (and Other Artists) Trying to Get Covered in the Press Arts Music The Curmudgeon by Basil Considine - January 9, 2024 A close-up of Albrecht Dürer's Melancolia (1514). Perhaps you know me as a composer and opera director; in this case, I am writing because I'm also a classical music critic. Are you an early-career artist trying to get me (or someone like me) to see your recital? My first recommendation is
THE CURMUDGEON: Vol. 5 – The Five Sins of Publicity Photos Arts Dance Music Opera The Curmudgeon Theatre Visual Arts by Amy Donahue - July 15, 2017July 15, 2017 Photo by Markus Spiske. It happens to us all the time: someone submits a press kit or request for reviews, we're intrigued and thinking about possibilities – and find that the photos are just unsuitable for publication purposes. There are many different ways that this can happen, so here's a list
THE CURMUDGEON: Vol. 4 – Lack of BCC Arts Dance Music Opera The Curmudgeon Theatre Visual Arts by Hanne Appelbaum - July 8, 2017July 8, 2017 Dear Sir/Madam, I have emailed you this message with all the other recipients' email addresses in the To and/or CC fields. You will now receive lots of responses intended for me from everyone else on this list whose email client defaults to Reply All. You're welcome for the spamming! ~Your Solicitor There's a scene in
THE CURMUDGEON: Vol. 3 – Photos and the Visual Arts Arts Dance Music Opera The Curmudgeon Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - July 7, 2017July 8, 2017 The above blank image is like a student copying Kandinsky's white canvas for a class assignment: it says nothing. This is usually not what is desired. Dear Visual Artist PR Person, Thank you for your recent email. While you certainly used a great number of words to describe art created in an
THE CURMUDGEON: Vol. 2 – Who is in this show? Arts Dance Music Opera The Curmudgeon Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - July 6, 2017July 6, 2017 Dear Press Release Writer, Nice minimalist press release! You had full contact info and all the details there about when and where the performance will take place – good start! However, it says nothing about who's in it or who wrote it. In fact, the only name at all included in the
THE CURMUDGEON: Vol. 1 – How Should We Contact You? Arts Dance Music Opera The Curmudgeon Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - July 5, 2017July 19, 2017 Dear _____ Company, Lovely press release with a note to request tickets through the contact form on your website (Strike 1). I can't help notice that you sent this from a do-not-reply address (Strike 2) and that your website does not have a clearly labeled contact form (Strike 3) or any