Interview: Eric Walden – Founder of AGR Publicity

Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life are very pleased to bring you an interview with the Founder of AGR (Awfully Good Records) Publicity.

1. Hello Eric. Thanks for taking the time to speak with us. Can you tell us a little about your personal history within the music scene?

Sure! I’ve been obsessed with music for as long as I can remember. Once I started going to shows you could always find me by the barricade. I started talking to photographers and Soundcheck411 gave me a chance to start writing reviews and interviews.

After a few years, I started a similar site called By the Barricade and that morphed into Awfully Good Records. The label became a place where we could give financial backing to local bands. It’s been a crazy couple of years and we’re super excited to announce the new addition AGR Publicity.

2. AGR has been a force within the label division for some time. Why launch a publicity division?

Our main job as a label is providing support however we could. Now that we’ve launched AGR Publicity the team can become laser-focused on connecting awesome bands with people that like great music.

The change will allow us to help more bands at once as a smaller part of their team. Having the same people on board lets us see each publicity campaign through a few different lenses. The team’s made up of label reps, managers, writers, and everything in between. We’re excited to put all that expense towards publicity exclusively.

3. What’s the mission statement?

“Express yourself and be heard.”

4. What can AGR Publicity offer to bands? Be them established or up and comers?

We connect aggressive bands with like-minded outlets (like GBHBL). Press, online and in print, has some great long-term advantages for both new and established artists. For example, getting an article placed in Rolling Stone can be used to help build credibility for years.

Our team focuses on digital strategy, media outreach, consulting, and event support. It’s a great way for newer bands to just get connected. This way they won’t have to spend years building relationships and scavenging the internet for contacts.

5. How important is it to have good relationships with magazines/online publications?

For us, it’s our job and supper important. For artists, press relationships are more of a mixed bag. Take your inbox for example. You’re probably a lot more likely to open an email from a friend or store you like than a stranger. When I was working for By the Barricade we would get about 100 new emails daily. The trick is standing out in inboxes and we’re glad we stuck out in yours.

6. How do you handle negativity from said publications? Is the old adage ‘any press is good press’ still relevant?

Outlets might pass on a feature request and sometimes reviews aren’t flattering. It just makes the ‘yes’ moments feel that much better. Scott Waldman, a friend of mine, said it best. Something like “All press is good press unless it hurts you financially.”

Sometimes negative headlines have a positive impact on an artists’ career but we do our best to steer clear of those. Almost all of the articles we’ve gotten for artists are from writers that either like the music or love to support. We’re super thankful for the chance to work with kind journalists and artists.

7. I imagine it’s quite a demanding job. Do you enjoy it and what about it specifically do you enjoy?

I’m EXTREMELY lucky to be working with the AGR team. The music industry is so close-knit that jobs like this don’t happen often. There are obviously tough and bad days but overall, I’m super thankful.

My favorite part is seeing a big project come together. Some albums we’ve worked on took more than a year to put together. It’s always exciting to finally let the cat out of the bag and see people’s reactions.

8. What’s the plan for AGR in 2020? Any big scoops?

We’re super excited to start working with dozens of new bands this year. The team is putting all of our efforts into getting AGR Publicity up to full speed so there won’t be any new releases form Awfully Good Records this year.

Thanks so much for taking the time to talk. We really appreciate the support and hope we’ll have more awesome news to share with the GBHBL soon.