Tell us a little about yourself and your experience.
Hi! My name is Jesea Lee and I live in Cleveland, Ohio. I am the head publicist at High Road Publicity which is owned by Eric Rushing of Artery. Previously, I was the publicist for Tragic Hero Records, Sun Pedal Recordings, platinum producer Jim Wirt, and did a little A&R work for Crushtone Studios.
What drove you to choose your career path?
I've been playing in bands for over 15 years , so I've been heavily involved in the music scene for the majority of my life. Publicity just made sense for me since I love promoting and I'm a bit of a chatty Kathy.
How did you go about getting your job? What kind of education and experience did you need?
I was friends with the business manager at Tragic Hero and he gave me a shot as an intern because he had observed me working hard at promoting shows and the different bands I was in. I also took some music business courses, but honestly the hands on experience was a million times more helpful.
What do you actually spend the majority of your time doing?
EMAILING. I'm either writing or reading an email at any given time of the day. When I'm making dinner at 7pm? Yep, I'm probably answering a review request while flipping my salmon. Aside from that, I'm writing press releases, listening to potential new clients and having conference calls with my bosses, bands and/or their managers.
What misconceptions do people often have about your job?
One of the biggest misconceptions is probably that it's really easy. Most people don't understand how stressful being a publicist can be especially when it's your main passion and source of income. Work is pretty much on my mind 24/7.
What are your average work hours?
I usually wake up around 6:30 am to start answering anything that came in during the night and try to make a game plan for my day. After that, I try to hit the gym and then I work the rest of the day until roughly 6 or 7 pm. I work with bands and press outlets all over the world so a lot of my clients are not working on my time zone and I like to be available to them as much as possible.
What personal tips and shortcuts have made your job easier?
Writing everything down and creating game plans for myself. I have lot of large time lines for each project I work on and then from there, there's lots of sub-time lines I create for myself daily.
What do you do differently from your coworkers or peers in the same profession?
Unlike my buddy Tom George, I don't have 80's jam parties while I work. :P
Do you have any advice for people who need to enlist your services?
Make sure you're ready to hire a publicist and all your ducks are in a row. I hate saying “no” to bands, but if you have just started with zero fanbase/buzz and don't have a professional quality product for me to work, we are both gonna be disappointed. Not saying you need to spend a lot of money on a music video or recording, but it should be good quality.
What's the worst part of the job and how do you deal with it?
The 24/7 aspect can be draining sometimes, but booze helps. Ha.
What's the most enjoyable part of the job?
Waking up everyday and making a living in the music business is literally a dream come true for me. The most enjoyable part is doing something that I love and getting to listen to music everyday.
What kind of money can one expect to make at your job?
The pay rate is probably the most insane scale for any profession. You can make $0 or over 100K. It just really depends on how hard you work and how lucky you are.
How do you move up in your field?
If you do your job very well then people will notice and more offers will follow.
What advice would you give to those aspiring to join your profession?
Network as much as possible. Go to lots and lots of shows and become friends with bands in your scene. You'd be surprised how many influential industry people might live in your hometown.