Where are you based?
Austin, TX.
Where do you work? What do you do?
I’m a publicity manager at The Syndicate. I specialize in music releases and tour press.
My primary objective: publicize the stories and music of my clients. We facilitate feature stories, interviews, news stories, album reviews, live sessions, show coverage, and other promotional opportunities – regionally and nationally.
What are you listening to?
Lots of shoegaze, indie pop, and all the incredible bands that make up the Austin music scene. Big fan of Tame Impala, Still Woozy, Clairo, Arctic Monkeys, Vampire Weekend, & Glass Animals.
How do you discover new music?
I’ve immersed every aspect of my life in music. When I’m working I listen to discovery playlists and check out what publications are writing about, I go to 2-3 “work” shows a week, and when I have free time you can find me at the local venues jamming out to something new.
What formats do you usually listen to? LP, CD, Cassette, Digital, Streaming Services? Why?
I love streaming platforms because it’s extremely accessible. When I have the chance, I like to spin records too.
Where do you do most of your music listening?
I listen to music essentially every second I’m awake. Usually through my bluetooth Crosley speaker that sits on a shelf in my living room. I logged over 600 hours on Spotify last year.
How do you find and listen to pre-release music?
The only pre-released music I listen to is my clients’. If someone is interested in doing PR with us, they’ll send over their tunes and once we’re signed on – the pitching to publications and writers begins.
What are your frustrations with listening to music digitally? Any benefits?
Whenever I listen to an album, I like to listen to it from start to finish – I wish Spotify had a feature where it saved where you left off. Also, nobody likes streaming ads, but they have to get paid somehow.
There are plenty of benefits to listening to music digitally! It’s super accessible, you can share it easily, and you can organize the music you like and remove music you don’t like. The concept of curated playlists based on your listening habits has been an essential tool for my music discovery. I love being able to listen to music essentially everywhere I go.
“I have about 100 curated playlists in my Spotify account – inspired and categorized by moods, feelings, genres, and memories.”
How do you keep track of everything you are listening to?
I have about 100 curated playlists in my Spotify account – inspired and categorized by moods, feelings, genres, and memories. If I like a song enough, I’ll immediately add it to one of my playlists. I listen to them daily so eventually, I’ll re-discover them again.
For our clients, we keep track of music releases in our release calendar. We also upload the music to DISCO. The watermarked system is how we safely share music with writers.
Do you tip other people off to new music? How?
My job is to literally share music with people. It’s something I’ve done my entire life and I feel lucky every day that it’s something I get to do as my career. I pitch most pre-release music via email and we occasionally send CDs and vinyl, but once a song is out, it’s free rein. I’ll post on my socials, play the music to friends, and add the songs to my public playlists and my personal favourite – drag as many people out as possible to the live shows.
Anything you want to “promote”?
Aside from promoting artists, I make music myself under the name Shae Lane. Some of The Syndicate’s current roster includes Best Breakfast, Colatura, French Cassettes, Lauren Balthrop, Nate Bergman, Making Movies, Particle Kid, slenderbodies, The Blue Stones, The Feelings Parade, The Foxies, and more – you can check out our current, and some of our previous clients on The Syndicate’s website and Instagram.
