Hold Tight! PR relaunches as music marketing agency HOLD TIGHT

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. Address below.

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.”

HOLD TIGHT online:
holdtight.co
facebook.com/holdtightco
twitter.com/holdtight_co
youtube.com/holdtighttv

About HOLD TIGHT:

A company with over three decades of PR experience, HOLD TIGHT (previously known as Hold Tight! PR) was founded in 2010 by James Monteith and Basick Records owner Nathan Barley Phillips, working alongside freelance PR Lisa Coverdale. With a joint interest in forward thinking music, the three played a key role in building prog/tech/djent and metalcore scenes in Europe, working with bands such as Bury Tomorrow, Fellsilent, Monuments, Born Of Osiris, The Faceless and many more. Lisa officially joined HOLD TIGHT in 2012, bringing her roster of doom, sludge and extreme metal which now includes High on Fire, Ihsahn, Winterfylleth, Abigail Williams, Boss Keloid and many more.

Senior Account Manager (print and online) Matt Benton joined Basick / HOLD TIGHT in 2013 as an intern after completing a degree in music at Cambridge. He quickly became an invaluable asset, breaking bands such as Conjurer, Our Hollow Our Home, and Ithaca, but also in expanding HOLD TIGHT's remit into more avant-garde territories. Notable artists include Mongolian folk metal pioneers Tengger Cavalry, piano-led pop/prog trio Exploring Birdsong, and chiptune artist Danimal Cannon. Recently Matt has led the charge with new August Burns Red and Elder records, and working with new event Radar Festival, among many others.

Senior Account Manager (broadcast and online) Hannah Gillicker joined as an intern in 2014 after completing her Management degree in Leeds University, becoming full-time in 2015. Her vast skill set and passion for great songs led to her developing HOLD TIGHT’s radio plugging service, making big waves with the likes of Sleep Token, Phoxjaw, Vodun, Normandie, Gender Roles, Billy Talent and more. 

Darren Gosling joined HOLD TIGHT in 2019 as a freelance digital marketer, and in 2020 became full-time working with bands across a wide spectrum of genres. Darren previously worked for digital advertising agency Digital Gearbox is also the lead guitarist in UK rockers Chapter & Verse.

Outside of music, Director James Monteith brings in experience from the corporate, charity and arts sectors. He worked for five years as an account manager at media intelligence agency Gorkana and two years as a marketing manager at disability arts organisation Shape Arts. He is also a professional musician, playing guitar with the progressive metal band TesseracT.

Lisa Coverdale brings in 10 years corporate marketing and PR experience working with blue chip clients including Royal Bank of Scotland, O2, DHL, Visa, HP, HSBC and SKY. 

Nathan Barley Phillips left HOLD TIGHT in 2018, and now heads up TuneCore UK, a digital distribution service owned by international music company, Believe. He also continues to run Basick Records.

HOLD TIGHT’s current client roster includes: Spinefarm/Universal/Candlelight, Fearless, UNFD, SPV/Long Branch, Holy Roar, Rude Records, Big Scary Monsters, Unique Leader and bands Billy Talent, Zakk Wylde, August Burns Red, Elder, Misery Signals, Crowbar, Ihsahn, Animals As Leaders, CKY + many more.