We sat down with Brenda and Giovanna of Lucid Publicity to hear all about their careers within music publishing.
Were you always interested in being a publicist or did you stumble across this career path?
B: I started my career in Music and Entertainment as a blogger, so I always knew I wanted to be that person who was able to give a platform to upcoming artists. I didn’t exactly know what PR was then but loads of people told me I’d be good at it mainly because I can naturally network well and building organic relationships. I looked it up and went on to study PR at uni for three years, while also joining Link Up TV as a writer. When I graduated, I ended up in retail for a little bit but I knew it wasn’t where I wanted to be so I literally had to create my own opportunities where I could, starting with my brand Girls In Power. Funnily enough, I worked in Tech PR for a few years gaining agency experience till it hit me that “it’s now or never”, so I made the jump by moving over to the music industry..
G: I definitely stumbled across this career path. I 100% knew I wanted to be in the music industry I just didn’t know where I pictured myself. I have a lot of friends in the music industry and was always good at connecting the dots very early on. I’m not sure who it was exactly (shoutout to whoever it was) but someone mentioned I’d be a great publicist, so I done a little research and ended up studying PR and Communications at uni. Instantly I knew being in the music industry as a publicist was the right thing for me.
We find it super interesting that both of you knew you wanted to be in music from early but not necessarily PR until much later. What does a typical day in the life at work look like for you?
G: Honestly every single day is different, one day I’m on back to back zoom calls the next day I’m glued to my screen sending emails, some days I’m on shoots and other days it’s a mix of all three.
B: No day is ever the same! I know a lot of people tend to say that but even when you essentially plan your day, it never runs how you think it will. But, I quite like that sometimes, I like the thrill of it all. I could have a day of back to back meetings – best known now as Zoom calls now – or it could be juggling emails with internal bits like campaign planning, creating pitch decks and brainstorming sessions. Other fun bits include shoot days and looking after my artist(s) on set, but one thing you can’t run away from is all the admin and reporting! I love a Google sheet or two anyway so it’s all good.
Our team personally admire you both, not only because of the amazing campaigns you've worked on but because of how authentic they feel. What's your favourite campaign you've ever worked on and why?
G: This is really hard, I’m going to pick three because they were all my faves for different reasons.
Backroad Gee because it was nice being on the team at such an early stage and seeing a foundation being laid. I remember securing a feature in The I newspaper and when it came out Backroad Gee was so excited. I don’t remember his exact words but it was definitely along the lines of “Mum I’m in the newspaper and it’s not for anything negative” which was heart-warming to hear.
MORGAN because she was the first female artist that I took on. I listened to the songs that were going to be on her debut Ep and instantly fell in love. It just so happened that she had an all-female team which made working with MORGAN effortless everything from arranging interviews to drafting press releases was very structured. Plus MORGAN is an absolute babe and her work rate is undeniable.
Prettyboy DO because I had Brenda working with me on this one and we literally locked in a bunch of editorials in the shortest timeframe possible. Also let me just say this DO and his team are the nicest people ever so it was the dreamiest of teams.
B: I can’t pick just one neither!
When I first joined Lucid, Gio pulled me on the campaign for Prettyboy DO that was running at the time and it was amazing to see how campaign ideas come alive. It was my first time meeting Gio, Prettyboy DO himself is a pleasure to work with and his team is a complete vibe so it makes the process a lot easier. He flew out to London again for a week in November so we had to pull together some key features, which came together really well. We locked in some great opps which we’re excited to see go live, especially the collaboration between GUAP and 1Figures. That was special because we planned a whole social activation where we gave upcoming creators the chance to submit work in order to win the opportunity to style Prettyboy DO, chosen by himself.
Other faves include post roll out for Mellow Grime artist KwolleM, simply because his ‘c2c’ tape is amazing and I really respect him as an artist package wise. He was my first campaign that I led solely on my own and the team was happy which is always a plus. We wrapped up 2020 with an interview piece for METAL Magazine which went live on New Year’s Eve – that I was really proud of!
Finally, Gabzy because that campaign was very strong! The tape was released around Christmas and to be completely honest, I was really nervous about the pick up as it was the last working day before Christmas! It did extremely well press wise before and after the two week festive gap and I’ve just locked in a great brand partnership to wrap up the campaign, but I won’t give that way – you’ll have to wait and see what it is!
Cheeky exclusive Gabzy information for Women Connect? We love that!
Do you have any do's and dont's for artists wanting to approach you/your team to work together?
G: I’m very vocal about this one, I honestly don’t mind people sending me music in my DM’s but you’re always guaranteed not to receive a response if you don’t introduce yourself first.
B: Please please, no DMs. I just feel like my Instagram is my personal space and I also have my email in my profile available - I genuinely switch off a little bit when I get pitches in there. Also, I feel as if your approach is everything, so think about how you introduce yourself because manners and first impressions are key.
Lastly, we'd love to know what the best piece of advice you've ever received is?
B: “Don’t let a ‘no’ stop you” it never does and it never will..
G: “Never let the fear of failure stop you from trying”
Massive thanks to Gio & Brenda for taking the time to share their stories and gems with us! Check out more from Lucid Publicity HERE.
Lots of love,
WC x
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