Getting Real With Fake Emails

This article is inspired by an email a publicist received from the editorial desk of “Pollstar International.” The request from the editor, the almighty Bruce Evans, was for two passes to shoot a Dave Matthews Band show for the “August issue.”

It was an impressive email, complete with a logo, links to Pollstar’s web presence, and a phone number (a Google phone number) that went to the “editorial offices of Pollstar International” (we called it and got the outgoing message).

Not too shabby, but the publicist caught the red flags, such as that a weekly publication wouldn’t have an “August” issue.

Turns out this is far more common than we knew.

Scoop Marketing, for instance – the publicity company that reps acts like Eagles, Van Halen and Dead & Co. – gets these requests all the time and particularly enjoys the ones who claim to be “on assignment” from Pollstar.

Scoop knows the freelance photographers do not get assignments from us. Besides, a flip through the magazine shows the same photographer credits over and over again.

The question is: how do publicists, venues and promoters vet these requests? Also, what exactly is the motivation? There was a time when it was easier. Twenty years ago, major publications would send reporters or critics to the shows and everybody knew each other.

Today, it’s mostly bloggers and smaller publications asking for access and it’s harder to figure out what’s real and what’s not. When reporter Jimmy McCartney from FlyByNight.com wants a sit-down with the rock star, sometimes he gets his way, even when the promoter knows he shouldn’t.

For instance, publicists for record labels can be extraordinarily busy and don’t have time to vet all the requests for tour press.

The names go into an Excel spreadsheet and forwarded to management. Management doesn’t know all the local press and forwards the file to the local promoter rep. Of course, the local promoter recognizes the charlatans and lightweights but, hey, if the artist manager has them on the list, there must be a reason. In other words, communication is key.

The promoter may not want to challenge the guest list of management but, if so, it is possible to provide information in advance and let others know when a suspicious request is received. “All of us talk,” publicist Jacquelyn Marushka told Pollstar.

Once a red flag goes up, a publicist will send the email across the universe and it goes down in a personal record.

To emphasize the truth of that, Scoop Marketing provided Pollstar correspondence that began in 2007 with a man who ran a couple of ticketing websites, although he only claimed to be a fan wanting great seats and, you know, a meet-and-greet.

Sometimes he wanted to upgrade his seats to the ADA section because of an alleged incurable heart disease. Management easily found photos from his Facebook page disproving his claims.

“It is surprising to me that you, being an owner of a ticket website, [continue] to write management companies with fake sob stories asking for free tickets,” one response reads. “So, once again, I’ve forwarded your name to our extensive contact list of other managers, tour managers and publicists (and have asked them to forward to their contacts) so everyone knows that you own a ticket company and your request should be denied.”

Apparently, requesting ADA seats and being “willing to pay” for the upgrade is a clever scam. Not only are handicap seats near the stage and have great resale value but few want to challenge the request and, if mistaken, face a lawsuit.

Marushka, who, after years as GM of Nashville’s Shore Fire office recently formed her own publicity firm representing the Americana Music Association, Lee Brice, Jimmy Wayne, American Young and Angaleena Presley among others, ran through some of her procedure to separate the wheat from the chaff.

“I reply with an email and ask who assigned the photographer and when and where it’ll run and the name of the photographer. If I don’t recognize the name, I ask for some samples of their work. Also, when and if the photographer is cleared, I can only allow the first 90 seconds of two songs out of respect for paying fans. Nine times out of 10, I won’t hear back from someone who isn’t legit.”

Another publicist based in Nashville, Ebie McFarland, who handles coverage for acts from Kenny Chesney to George Strait, added that years of working with the same clients have netted an extensive database of potential scammers.

Also, in the country music world, the publicists, venue execs and promoters have close ties and freely share information.

“Ultimately, it’s a conversation between us, the venue and management,” McFarland said. “We’re working with Live Nation and the local venue rep so if it’s a new name they’re very quick to tell us, ‘Hey, we’ve never credentialed them before.’”

As for the endgame of these requests – versus just buying a good camera and developing a reputation as a professional photographer – McFarland said she is still a little perplexed.

“It’s always a red flag if it’s a name we haven’t seen,” McFarland said. “Another red flag is if it’s a Gmail or Yahoo email account, rather than something like @tennessean.com. Yet another flag is if they overshare. ‘I shot this concert, I attended that one, my portfolio is available here.’ We always go to the site to vet them.”