Brooklyn 100 Influencer: Hector Silva, Chromatic Publicity
If you’re a Lana Del Rey fan, you should thank Hector Silva. As a publicist at Shore Fire Media, Silva began working with Del Rey when she was a total unknown, got her through some difficult early patches (coughSNLcough), and helped build her into a Platinum-selling star. Now, Silva and partner Amanda Pitts have their own company, Chromatic Publicity. Within 18 months, Chromatic spearheaded publicity for Julien Baker’s debut album, and their work helped attract the attention of Matador. They also count Modest Mouse, Manchester Orchestra, Sinkane, and Cursive among their clients.
How/why did you become involved in music pr?
In college I played in bands, booked/promoted shows, and was the music director of my college radio station. I didn’t really even know music PR as a job existed, to be honest. A promoter I was in touch with referred me for an internship at a music promotion company, so I moved to NYC. When I graduated, I was hired to run the New Media department. At the time that meant pitching artists for online features on places like AOL, music Blogspots, and MySpace. I later joined Shore Fire Media, where I rose to become Director of Publicity. After almost 7 years, I left and co-founded Chromatic.
Tell us a little bit about your present work, the Cliffs Notes version of your day to day and what is at stake.
As the co-founder of Chromatic, I work with my partner Amanda Pitts (who is based in Austin) to strategize and implement national PR campaigns for our artists’ new releases, tours, and projects. I also recently started managing an emerging LA artist, Angelo De Augustine, and am preparing for the completion and release of his new album.
What do you find most fulfulling about your work?
Getting to only work with artists I love and being able to combine my DIY roots with my years of PR experience. I now have the dream job I’ve always wanted.
What is your proudest achievement with this work and what is your greatest challenge?
My proudest achievement is the company itself. We’re working with some of my all-time favorite bands, while our emerging artists are getting national press that’s helping them grow their audience and, in some cases, get record deals. The greatest challenge is having to choose which artists to work with. There are only so many hours in the day but so much amazing music out there.
What do you hope changes or improves (or continues!) in your field in the future?
Discrimination, however overt or subtle, is a problem in all industries and sadly often pervasive in PR. It feels like it’s getting better, but there’s still a long way to go.
Who would you nominate for this list?
I’d nominate Ebony L. Haynes, a curator and writer based in Brooklyn who’s the new director of Martos Gallery and project space Shoot The Lobster NY / LA.
Learn more about this year’s 100 Influencers in Brooklyn Culture.
Photo by Daniel Dorsa.