Rock and metal specialist music PR and radio plugging agency Hold Tight! PR has relaunched as HOLD TIGHT, a multi-faceted music marketing agency offering print & online PR, radio plugging, strategic planning and digital marketing services.
Since its inception in 2010 as the PR arm of Basick Records, Hold Tight! PR has grown into a leading force in rock and metal music publicity, working with many top labels and bands worldwide. With development of its radio plugging service (launched 2017), and rapid growth of its digital marketing services (soft launched 2019), the rebrand is part of a strategic overhaul of the business and representative of where the company is today. The newly rebranded agency will still have PR as its core, but with a renewed focus on creative, digital and social media that will enhance traditional models.
In 2020, digital marketing has never been more important and works in tandem with PR campaigns to promote an event / record release, grow profile and expand audience. Reaching audiences directly via platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and DSPs has become vital for grassroots artists and projects to reach new audiences, but also established ones too.
Digital marketing manager Darren Gosling joined HOLD TIGHT in 2019 to develop this offering and has since worked with many bands across a range of genres, from American prog metallers Between the Buried and Me to British indie legends Cornershop, worked with a number of labels including New Heavy Sounds and Arising Empire, and launched tech start-up BandBond. In just under a year the success of HOLD TIGHT’s digital marketing service has seen it quickly become a permanent offering.
HOLD TIGHT’s PR and radio plugging business continues to go from strength to strength, working with key labels including Spinefarm/Universal, Fearless, UNFD, SPV/Long Branch, Holy Roar, Rude, Big Scary Monsters, Unique Leader, and bands such as Billy Talent, Zakk Wylde, August Burns Red, Elder, Misery Signals, Crowbar, Ihsahn, Darkthrone, CKY, plus many more. Based in the UK, HOLD TIGHT works with print and online media services across UK, GAS, Benelux and further afield in Europe, the USA, and radio in the UK.
HOLD TIGHT has also recently relocated its own office in Greenwich, London.
Director Lisa Coverdale commented: “The music industry was already evolving before the Covid-19 crisis, however the pandemic propelled many areas of the industry to adapt more rapidly and we’ve tried to predict those changes and stay one step ahead as they happen. Our digital marketing offerings have enabled our bands to instantly monetise revenue streams across their digital and social platforms, helping to pick up the shortfall created by an inability to tour and play live where a huge portion of their yearly revenue is made. For us as a business it was a case of choosing between turning the page and moving towards a new chapter or just closing the book on it all. We chose to turn the page and the results so far have been incredibly positive. We have evolved into an all-encompassing music marketing agency with digital and PR strengths, putting us amongst the forefront of such agencies in this fast-growing part of the industry.”
Director James Monteith commented: “The music industry is constantly facing new challenges and evolving, so at HOLD TIGHT we have always made a concerted effort to adapt with the changing landscape and stay ahead of the curve. We are all highly passionate about music and strive to give our clients the most effective and meaningful service, and with the new digital marketing offering, we can further enable them to reach new audiences and clearly get their messages across. I feel truly privileged to work with the team at HOLD TIGHT, they are some of the most hardworking, determined, and creative thinking people in the business. Team HOLD TIGHT is ready for communication in the 2020s.”