For this week’s Homegrown Business feature, we spoke with Chad Cornies, the head honcho (as he likes to call it!) at No Rules PR. No Rules PR does press and media promotions for musicians.
What is your business called and what does it do?
No Rules PR. We do press and radio promotions for music creators.
What made you want to do this work?
As a musician myself, it kind of just ended up being my job to do the promotion work in the bands I played in – probably because I was the bass player! Over the years I became a weird hoarder of contacts. Somehow, I had a feeling they might one day be worth something. Turns out there is a job called PR that I wasn’t familiar with as a younger artist.
What problem did you want to solve with the business?
I found a lot of PR people were stretched extremely thin, not being able to truly focus on their whole roster. I wanted to rethink PR, do it on a small scale, and really concentrate on one artist at a time. I wanted to somehow combine my knowledge of the music industry, my experience living and touring abroad, and my passion for networking, to create something that could help musicians and make a little scratch at the same time.
Who are your clientele/demographics?
I’m a sucker for garage rock and power pop, but I take on musicians from all genres. I’d say I feel most confident working in the “rock” world: new wave, indie, psych, punk, and post-punk bands are all part of my roster.
How does your business make money? How does it work?
Seeing as I’m so small-scale, I feel like I only make money if my bands are satisfied with my work. So far it’s been word of mouth and I’ve been very busy. I’m looking to add people to the team to keep up with all the awesome bands that have expressed interest in working with me.
Where in Vancouver can we find your profession?
I work from home and on the go. It’s a nice gig to have because it’s adaptable to the other daily obligations that I have.
What is the best question a prospective customer could ask a member of your profession when comparing services? Give the answer as well.
Q: How many artists are you currently working with on your roster, and how do you make sure that all artists receive the same attention?
A: I am very boutique in how I operate, meaning I only take on a small number of artists that I feel I can market because I love them. I have to feel passionate about the music, or I, unfortunately, can’t afford the time. Currently, I am working with 2 artists, and that is usually my maximum. By keeping my active roster small I dedicate all of my time equally to those projects.
What is the best part about what you do? What is the worst part?
The best part is meeting new people, both musicians and people in the press. I really appreciate what journalists do, and I don’t envy all the emails they have to sort through from people like me. The most important part for me as a musician was to tour and meet new people. Now that I’m more grounded with adult obligations, I have a lot of fun making friends with people in the press internationally.
The worst part is probably getting to the 500th email in the day and knowing you still have 500 more to go.
What is your favourite joke about your own profession?
I’m a newbie, and I don’t have many peers in the biz thanks to Covid, but I’m sure there must be jokes about some of the interesting names we come across.
What are your social media channels?
PAY IT FORWARD: What is another Vancouver business that you love?
Clampdown Record Pressing! These guys have really knocked it out of the park with their product. With record pressing being such a hot ticket these days, it’s great to have a local producer with totally competitive pricing. Plus their splatter-colored vinyl is the best I’ve seen.
