Written By Chris Norris
The bands may be standing under the lights, but an entire network of people is working beyond the stage to make sure the music gets heard.
Publicists, promoters, booking agents, label staff, photographers, managers, producers, journalists, venue operators and countless others spend their lives helping artists find audiences, build careers and keep the machinery of heavy music moving. Their names may not always be on the marquee, but without them, a hell of a lot of great music would never make it out of the rehearsal room.
Behind the Noise: Music Industry Spotlight is Metal Lair’s interview series dedicated to those people.
We want to know what they see from their side of the industry, what bands often misunderstand, what has changed, what still works, what keeps them passionate about music after years inside the business, and what all of us can do to help rock and metal continue to thrive.
And because knowledge shouldn’t stay locked behind industry doors, each conversation will also include something useful for the artists trying to build their own path: practical insight from the people who work with bands every day.
For the inaugural edition of Behind the Noise, Metal Lair speaks with Jon Asher of Asher Media Relations, a music publicist who has spent nearly two decades working with independent artists and navigating the constantly changing relationship between bands, media and audiences. Metal Lair also collaborated with Asher on World Metal Weekly: Canada, spotlighting emerging talent from Canada’s underground metal scene.
Let’s go behind the noise.
Jon Asher knows the music industry from more than one side of the stage. Before founding Asher Media Relations in 2007, he spent time as a musician himself, which gives him a perspective shaped not only by publicity and media, but by what it actually feels like to be the artist trying to get heard.
Based in Montreal, Jon has spent nearly two decades working with independent bands, labels, journalists and outlets across the rock and metal world. His job sits right in the middle of that ecosystem, helping artists cut through the noise, find the right audiences and turn new music into something people actually notice.
For the very first edition of Metal Lair’s Behind the Noise: Music Industry Spotlight, we wanted to start with someone who has seen this business from both sides and has spent years helping bands move forward behind the scenes. Jon Asher felt like exactly the right place to begin.
Jon Asher Interview: Behind the Noise of Metal Publicity
Metal Lair: You founded Asher Media Relations in 2007. Nearly twenty years later, what part of music publicity has changed so dramatically that the advice you would have given a band ten years ago simply doesn’t work anymore?
Jon: Well, I wouldn’t say it doesn’t work anymore; it’s just changed direction and targeting. When I first began… Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were just in infancy, and Myspace ruled online social media for music. When I first began getting Print Mags, FM Radio, and getting music videos on MTV, and MuchMusic was a huge deal to break a band. Now strategy has changed to still press (Print, Online, Radio) but also social media into the mix, more content to promote, reels and social posts to engage and get messaging out even more. One sad thing is I personally don’t see young bands doing the old-school flyering on streets or outside the end of concerts to promote their bands. And sadly I miss the promo CD comps and tapes bands would pass around to promote themselves. I feel that over the years, direct street marketing has dwindled, though personally I think direct person-to-person can make a huge difference.
Metal Lair: After nearly twenty years of being surrounded by heavy music professionally, what still makes a band grab you on a personal level? What makes you hear something and think, “I need to get behind this”?
Jon: What grabs me the most are three things most of the time. If I get the opportunity to see them live and they win me over that way. Two, I really like knowing the bands personally, if I can see how their work ethic is behind the scenes. I respect the hustle the most. If they’re working hard, I want to work hard for them too. And of course, the music. If I dig the music and get excited about it. I’ll push as a team member.
Metal Lair: Out of all the bands and campaigns you’ve worked with over the years, is there one that still stands out as a moment when you thought, “This is exactly why I do this”? What made it special?
Jon: Oh my! That is a tough one! I think the band MUTANK, STRIKER, and the festivals I work for give me those moments. The two bands I mentioned are mainly because I got the opportunity to tour with both across Canada and really experience the behind-the-scenes tour life. It showed my the heart and dedication it takes to push your art to the masses and gave me much more respect to them songwriting, recording, promoting and hitting the road! It’s the discipline of not following hours and just giving it all to your craft. And for the festivals… It’s watching the bands and seeing them enjoy the moment in front of big audiences, and seeing the boost it gives them to play for the fans and the love of the music. Being behind the scenes, PR aiding awareness makes those moments always worth looking back on and feeling happy in their corners, working with media to spread the music to new and familiar listeners.
Metal Lair: You deal with music media every day. What separates an outlet you genuinely value from one that technically gives a band coverage but doesn’t really move the needle?
Jon: Well, I think all media has influence, but I think more and more outlets nowadays either if their print, online website, or radio station,need now to have strong reach on socials too. The share culture I find now has a strong influence. So sharing from a media outlet and their socials makes things get seen and heard.
Metal Lair: Has the decline of traditional music journalism made independent outlets more important to publicists, or has social media made press coverage less valuable than it once was?
Jon: Personally, I think all-size media outlets are important. Opinions from all levels of media are appreciated, especially by the bands. Trust me, a majority thrive on needing to hear feedback on their art. Whether it’s small outlet or big I think it all has values. The only difference that is seen might be credibility, reputation, and quality in penmanship from one outlet to another. I do find sometimes the small independent outlets push articles much harder to be read, which I appreciate a lot from them.
Metal Lair: What’s something about the artist-publicist-media relationship that everyone in the industry knows is true, but nobody likes saying publicly?
Jon: It can sometimes be politics. In a sense, being a publicist is like being a diplomat and negotiator.
Metal Lair: You work with independent and emerging artists every day. What can a band do before hiring a publicist that gives you the best possible chance of actually getting them heard?
Jon: A few things. I think bands need to have their social media game down and live show/touring organized too. Have a plan for 6 months, 1 year, and 3 years for themselves and their music, band, etc. Never just get out there like a chicken with its head cut off.
Metal Lair: When a band approaches you for representation, what makes you think, “Yes, I can work with this,” and what makes you know they simply aren’t ready yet?
Jon: First, I have to enjoy the music. If I don’t like it. I don’t work it. And two, demonstrating they are organized and know what they want in the coming future to progressively build their brand/band. (Pet peeve is missing scheduled interviews). Don’t work on musicians’ time. Work with a business mind.
Metal Lair: After all these years working behind the scenes, what do you wish more musicians understood about what publicists actually do for them?
Jon: We are here to help you build. We are not overnight success makers. Media does not do that. Media attention is there to complement and help build awareness of the band and its brand to readership and listeners, and to use media to convert them into followers/fans. Media is a tool to reach others. For independent bands, nobody is looking for you… You need to push yourself into people’s faces to say.
Metal Lair: Everyone in this industry occupies a different corner of the same ecosystem: bands, publicists, journalists, labels, promoters, venues and fans. What do you think we could all be doing better, together, to keep rock and metal healthy and make sure great bands don’t disappear simply because nobody heard them?
Jon: Honestly, it’s sad to say… but monetary support keeps it all alive, of course. But work in trading time, support by sharing, be at the shows, and involve yourself in your scene, and not just be a narcissist with your band. Pay it forward and support all those in the same boat as you, and they will support you too. When one does well, others in the industry with them will follow. We’re all in this together!
Jon Asher’s perspective offers a reminder that the music industry isn’t sustained by talent alone. Behind every band fighting to be heard are people investing their time, resources, and energy into keeping the music alive.
There are no shortcuts, no guarantees, and certainly no publicist capable of manufacturing overnight success. What remains is the work, the relationships, and a shared commitment to supporting the artists and communities that make heavy music worth fighting for.
As the inaugural guest of Metal Lair’s Behind the Noise, Jon leaves us with something worth remembering: a stronger music scene isn’t built by one successful band or one influential voice. It’s built by people willing to help one another rise.
ASHER MEDIA RELATIONS ONLINE:
About the Author
Chris Norris is the voice behind Metal Lair’s global metal coverage, World Metal Weekly. From funeral doom in the north to thrash born in the streets. Known for spotlighting bands before algorithms notice them and for writing with the precision of a scalpel… or a well-sharpened guitar pick. Vinyl collector. Night-shift journalist. Believes heavy music has no borders.
Read More From This Author:
ISVIDD Interview: A Renaissance Man, Nordic Melancholy and the Art of Black Metal
Art of Shock Interview: Creatively Fearless and Unapologetically Metal
The Konsent Interview: Ales Campanelli on Control, Conformity and the End of the System
GÅTE Sigil Interview: Folklore, Magic, Eurovision and a New Chapter
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