CRAZY PUG MUSIC

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In this little segment we want to get to know more about the people behind the company 🙂 What makes them love and do what they do, so without further ado guys lets get to know Jodie of Crazy Pug Music that little bit better 🙂

Jodie, loving your webpage btw, so tell me where did you get the inspiration to open a PR Company?

I’ve always been interested in Music PR doing little bits for friends and things but Crazy Pug actually was set up pretty quickly after I booked my first show as a promoter and needed a name to use for it! It’s evolved a lot since then but that was the catalyst for it being set up I think 13 years ago now!

 

 

I love the name Crazy Pug Music, mainly because I suppose I’m a bit of a doggy person (he says having a Mastiff and a Cocalier Poo hahaha)  So, yes a very cool name for a company, now my question is, was it your pug that inspired the name?

Absolutely! Crazy Pug Music is named after my now geriatric Pug Mr Frank – always Mr Frank, never just Frank. He was a puppy when I set it up and was a lunatic so that’s where the name came from. It’s his face on my logo actually and he will quite often get himself involved in zoom meetings with clients and the odd social media post. He’s very much part of the company. He’s 14 now. I actually have another 10 year old Pug called Lexi and a Staffador as well. I love dogs almost as much as I love music.

That is so cool, and to get to 14 fair play he’s definitely getting his vitamins 🙂 I love it when people are as passionate about their work as they are their pets… excuse me, family 🙂 

Just getting back to the music, otherwise if we talk about dogs id be here all day hahahaha! On the website you talk about being involved in music for two decades, that’s impressive! Can you give us a flavour of where your journey started, and any key moments in time 😊?

 

I’ve been interested in music since I was about 9, but it was in my early teens I started to get more interested in the business side of it and journalism. I wanted to write for Smash Hits back then, I looked up to Alex Kadis and her fun way of writing and wanted to do that. I started writing for a fanzine when I was 16/17 and used to find new upcoming pop bands to interview, that turned into a website called Launchpad that featured new bands and artists, I was also working in a record shop called Trax at the time and saw an ad in the back of Music Week about a PR, Promotion and Marketing course specifically about the Music Industry. The managers there encouraged me to go on it and I think they might have actually contributed half the money for it and that was the moment that I knew my interests and skills were in that area. There were some really incredible people teaching that course and a lot of the things I learnt then I still implement in campaigns today.

 

That course was a key moment but there have been some others. I’ll try not to waffle too much, but Launchpad caught the eye of a guy called Paul Adam who was head of A&R for I think RCA at the time and also known for Popstars – The Rivals he called me to chat to me about an interview for a job so that was really exciting. I was super young at the time though and not ready to do it.

 

Touring with Westlife was also a really amazing moment for me, I was working with a boyband who supported them and being at Wembley arena watching them up on stage was a really special moment.

 

More recently having bands I’m working with played on Radio 1 and Planet Rock is just incredible. Being a part of the excitement of a new band having their first bits of coverage is the best feeling doing a job like this.

Holy Moly Smash Hits! My sister loved that magazine with their boyband posters hahaha that’s excellent you could say that you’ve been preparing for your own PR Company almost all your life 🙂 and with so much experience getting to work with a boyband that supported one of the biggest boybands of all time, that’s pretty impressive 🙂

That leads me so eloquently to the next question, What is your most memorable experience in the music industry?

That’s a really tough question.

I’ve had so many memorable moments!

I always wanted to be stood side stage at a big(ish) venue watching a band I was working with playing to a full house of people singing their songs back to them. I had that experience working with New Device and that is something I will always remember as a big moment and an emotional one!

 

I think there’s nothing like your first for so many things and to be stood stage side is a dream for many! Ok no more MR nice guy here come the tough question, you have some amazing bands that you work with; Neptune Rain, Zac and the New Men, Mikey Ball and the Company & Everyone Lies to name just a few (They are all amazing bands) but here’s the question, who’s been the most fun band to work the PR for and why?

I’ve been really lucky in that because I only work with bands I like I’ve not worked with anyone that hasn’t been fun!

New Device were the first band to give me a chance to properly ‘work’ in music and I have so much to thank them for with the opportunities that opened for me and the experience and knowledge I gained through working with them. I had so much fun on tour with those guys, I know they’re currently writing and I’ve heard some bits so I can’t wait to see what that’s like when it’s ready.

 

Neptune Rain were the ones who got me out of semi-retirement and re-ignited my passion for PR and I loved working with them. They’re all incredibly talented musicians and amazing humans and they gave me my first ever play on Radio 1 so they will always be important to me. They deserve so much success. It was working with them that enabled me to actually do Crazy Pug and music things full time and not just as a side line.

 

Everyone Lies we currently manage as a company so we have a lot of fun with them at shows and working together, they are so driven, humble and hilarious that every moment we spend with them we laugh. Plus they’re super talented.

 

I’ve not long started working with Mikey Ball & The Company so I can’t comment on how fun they are cos we’ve not actually met in person but from the conversations we’ve had and the WhatsApp messages I know when I do get to have a proper ‘press’ day it’s going to be a lot of fun!

 

Nice answer! So have another tough one, hahaha which band has been the most awkward to work PR for and why?

I’ve actually not had anyone awkward at all to do PR for. I’m lucky. I have heard some horror stories though from friends and colleagues in the industry and it always seems to be the ‘teams’ behind the artists that make things awkward and not the artists.

I’ve dealt with awkward artists in other ways but not from a PR point of view.

 

Long may the awesome attitudes continue, yes the artists themselves just want to perform in front of an audience 🙂 let me ask you, If there is an artist reading this right now, and they were looking for a PR Company to assist them, what words of wisdom would you pass on to them (What should they look for)?

Honesty! That’s the biggest thing I would mention. If someone says they can ‘guarantee’ you radio play on a big station like Radio 1 then they’re lying. Plays on the big hitters are never guaranteed if you’re a brand new artist. It can always be pitched to them but never a play guarantee.

Do your research! Check out the other artists that they have worked with and make sure they have had success with artists similar to you.

Don’t be sucked in by people who say ‘We have a database of 50 million contacts we will send your music to’ – I’m exaggerating on the numbers but those type of companies will not be targeting genre specific outlets, they will just be sending you EVERYWHERE and likely cold without having set up any sort of relationship with the outlet. That will mean their success rate is minimal. Make sure you are going to someone who not only does the research and makes sure you’re relevant but also has that good relationship with the outlets they service to. You need someone who has that reputation for sending great music consistently that people look forward to hearing from.

I read something in a book once that said ‘Hiring a publicist should be like hiring another member of your band because that is what you’re doing. Everyone on your team has to be on the same page for you to advance so employ someone you like who likes your music and shares in your long and short term goals’. That is what you should bear in mind when you speak to someone about PR. Don’t forget these people are the ones who will be potentially putting you in front of some of the most important people in your career as you start they’re ‘selling’ you so they need to believe in you!

Fantastic and informative answer! And if they were interested in Crazy Pug Music becoming their PR choice, what do you offer them in the service?

We can offer full PR campaigns covering Press, Radio and a small amount of Playlisting or each outlet on it’s own if that is what you need.

We offer this for singles and albums and can also do this as part of a campaign to promote a tour if thats something you’re looking for as well.

We specialise in alt/rock/pop-punk acts and anything in between. Although we do have experience through our freelance work in other genres, but those are the ones that get the best results.

 

Excellent!!! Here we go the Penultimate question ! Where would you like to see Crazy Pug Music in 5 years’ time?

I’d really like to be in a position where some of the bands I’m working with now have grown to a much bigger level and taken me along with them. I’d like us to be one of the go-to agencies for emerging artists and continue to grow our reputation for being a well respected and honest company to work with.

 

 

Absolutely fantastic, everyone at SLE RADIO & MEDIA hope sincerely that you achieve your goals, and I feel with your tenacity, professionalism and love for music and the artists you take under your wing, I cant see why Crazy Pug Music wont exceed your expectations!

Thanks for taking the time out to answer the questions bud, now before we end the convo is there anything you want to say to the readers, artists, band members?

You’re welcome, thanks for asking me!

Just thanks for reading and I hope that some of the advice helps those artists just starting out pick the right place for PR or encourage them that hiring someone to do it for them is a good investment. Stations like SLE are a fabulous outlet for new music so the fact that they have come here and no doubt submitted music to you already is showing they’re taking steps in the right direction.

 Jodie Brough = #Legend of Crazy Pug Music!

Head over to CRAZY PUG MUSIC and checkout what they can do for you and your band. PS let them know you saw them here on SLERADIO.COM!