| CD Baby DIY Musician Podcast |
 June 29,
2009
Ep.65 : Matthew Ebel - Stream your concerts to the world
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| CD Baby Music Podcasts |
 Music Discovery
 Hip Hop
 60's Pop
 Rockabilly
 Top Sellers
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| Rhonda Kelley / Rainmaker Publicity |
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Beware of a publicist named Rhonda Kelley with a company called Rainmaker Publicity. I thought I was the only one that was ripped off by her, until I started talking to other musicians and found out we ALL have the same story!
She advertises the hell out of herself, so you see her name everywhere, and think that she must be legit. She talks a good hype, and can convince you that for $1500 she'll get you a lot of publicity.
Once you pay your $1500.... BYE BYE! She won't return phone calls or emails, and she certainly won't get you any publicity.
I thought maybe I just wasn't good enough, or had done something wrong, until I overheard someone here in Boston saying the same thing about her, then when the two of us started talking about it, a THIRD person had it happen to her, too!
Apparently Rhonda at Rainmaker spends all of our money on advertising HERSELF, hoping to catch some new suckers, because she sure as hell isn't spending our money on getting any publicity!
The reason I am putting this on CD Baby in a very public forum here is because WE JUST WANT TO HEAR FROM HER, and I know this will get her attention.
If:
(1) - EVERY musician who has been screwed by Rainmaker Publicity posts a comment below, telling their story.
and...
(2) - Rhonda comes here in this public forum and does the right thing to either provide the promised publicity services, or refund the money to EVERY LAST PERSON that has been screwed by her, and that person posts here that they are now satisfied, then I will delete this story, and tell the world that Rainmaker Publicity did the right thing.
But if not, I think we can organize a collective lawsuit against this illegal behavior.
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Wow. It's amazing how many people have been screwed over by this woman. I also gave Rhonda Kelley $1500 for publicity (as did two other friends of mine - believe it or not, she used my name to sell her services to my friends). And, just like everyone else it seems, she disappeared as soon as she cashed my check. I never heard from her again. And I now know I'm not the only one. As all indie musicians know, $1500 is a lot of money. However, the greater cost to me was losing those crucial six months of publicity after my CD release.
After this thouroughly disheartening experience, I was lucky enough to hook up with the Planetary Group, also out of Boston, and their hard work and perseverence translated into three of my songs being played on two MTV reality series, a CMJ add for the CD, and over 60 radio stations on the East Coast playing the CD. Anyone needing great publicity help should check them out.
Please, please, if you're reading this, spread the word about this unethical thief (oxymoron?). I hope my experience may save a couple of musicians from this type of grief. Just so folks know, if you're motivated enough, she is 'sponsoring' the Galaris musician's site -I'd already sent them an email warning them about her practices before Derek sent me a nice little note telling me about this post.
Peace and success to all, and please don't forget to VOTE!
Heidi Stone
www.heidistone.com
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Did you work hard enough and have anything to really promote.
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I've dealt with Rhonda Kelley as an Editor at
Performer Magazine and I can honestly say
that a lot of what she does to bands makes no
sense whatsoever. I can also say that she is
too embarassed to call my office after all of the
crazy and pointless stunts that she's pulled.
Many bands have called in for a character
reference telling me that they were
considering Ms. Kelley to do their PR. My
advice is simple: Don't do it.
Rather than talk trash about this poor woman
and her track record (there are enough bands
out there who can), I would just like to say to
all musicians that the music industry is
smaller than you think. There are a lot of
shady companies out there like Rainmaker
and there are many great people/companies
that are in it for all the right reasons like CD
Baby. As the Editor (back then) and the
Associate Publisher (now) of Performer, I've
seen many crooked people come and go. The
one thing that you can count on is that if
someone is doing bad business, they won't
last. They can't. This industry polices itself.
People talk and the crooks get flushed out.
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What a disgusting lying sack of shit she is.
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Allan:
Just because I didn't accept your 'offers', that is no reason to be bashing us??? Don't you have better things to do with your time?
Rhonda Kelley
Rainmaker Publicity
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I am currently working with Rhonda Kelley and Rainmaker Public Relations and rarely have I found a person in this industry more honesty and integrity. She is working diligently to advancing my career and I have complete trust and faith in her and her company.
Frank Unzueta/One World
Sunstone Records
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Rhonda got me a ton of great press... I can only speak for
myself, but I've been doing this for a living for alot of years
and she's one of the best I've come across, if not the best.
I've used Planetary, and they were great too.
alex woodard
www.alexwoodard.com
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Funny, Alex Woodard is one of the clients
whom Rhonda claims never paid her.
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| by
on Saturday October 16 2004 @ 04:18PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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| by
on Saturday October 16 2004 @ 04:20PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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Rhonda has worked with Alex for years and continues to have a great relationship with him.
you are such an instigator!!
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| by
on Wednesday March 24 2004 @ 01:45PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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you've been "making a living" at making music?
don't lie.
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| by
on Saturday October 16 2004 @ 04:22PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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I too had enlisted Rainmaker and Rhonda for the publicity campaign of my 2nd album JEWISH LIGHTNING.i am new to this publicity thing, so i was constantly calling her and e-mailing her. Guess what, she was always there to answer the questions i had. e-mails were always answered within minutes. although my sound and political demeaner are quite a hard sell especially to the mainstream and quasi-mainstream. during the campaign, my cd sales both for Jewish Lightning and my first CD BAD'LANIA RISING increased dramatically during my time with Rhonda and i learned enough from watching her to actually run my own campaign for DESERT FEVER BRIGADE, my 3rd cf.
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I'll always recommend my musician friends to her and I'll never release another record without her help!
I must say I am very surprised to hear these stories about Rhonda and Rainmaker publicity. I honestly don't know your situation or experience with her. But mine and all the bands and musicians I've recommended to her have been to the total contrary. I've Personally worked with Rhonda on several different projects and it has been nothing short of extraordinary. Not only does she work for cheap..but she has consistently provided me with exceptional work. $1500 may be a lot of money for most people...but if you do a little research...it's quite cheap for a publicist. The majority of artists that I know that have used her services have received tons of press. One of things you have to remember is getting press takes time..it doesn't happen over night. Also a publicist can only get the music in the hands of the press, she can't make them write anything. I'll always recommend my musician friends to her and I'll never release another record without her help!
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There is always two sides of the story, and so it seems the people ranting about Rainmaker Publicity decided not to pay for their campaign, ummm...guess that is why it never got off the ground huh? That is the the real truth behind these horrid lies posted on CD BABY.
I happen to know Rhonda Kelly of Rainmaker Publicity very well and she is an honest and reputable business woman. I have sent many artists her way for her services and have never heard a bad word about her. Go to her website to read testaments of artists and contact them to see for yourself @ http://www.rainmakerpublicity.com
Its too bad people can not be honest about what really happens. To tarnish someone else's career because things did not go your way and you did not follow through to make things happen is disgraceful and completely unprofessional. This is a total act of cowardice and disrespect to one of the most important publicist in Indie Music, you all should be ashamed!
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While I can't say I know every side of this issue, I have to say that the complaints about Rhonda (and Rainmaker) feel like total bullshit from where I sit. I run a relatively new label and Rhonda has been extremely responsive to my numerous questions (either on the phone or on email) and has done things totally out of her charter... like hook me up with other bands to help my bands set up tours.
I don't know why you feel your experience didn't work out... maybe you got dropped for non-payment as suggested or who the hell knows but to call her a thief seems way out of line.
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Rhonda Kelley IS THE BEST!!!
Not only did my CD get rave reviews, but she went out of her way to help me get noticed. I am sorry you had a bad experience, you might want to think about your music, and why the press didnt want to take the time to review it, not only have I been reviewed nationally, in webzines, but because of Rhonda's support, and guidance I have been listed in print, and will be featured in upcoming magazines.
It takes awhile for press to review a CD, so do your homework, and stop blaming other people.
Perhaps, they didnt like your stuff, its the editors decision to run your review, not Rhonda's.
Thank you Rhonda for all your help, will have a press release hopefully for you soon.
You are truly an independent musician's friend, and I WILL Continue to USE YOU!!!!!
Rock on Rhonda!
Chris
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Rhonda did a great job for me. She answered any and every phone call and email. She got me plenty of press and I consider her to have been a huge help. She was very professional and when I get ready to release my next CD, I will contact her for her help again. I can guarantee you that Rhonda does what she says she does. Beyond that, she has no control over who chooses to review you and what they have to say. This business is full of people who will take advantage of you but Rhonda isn't one of them.
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WOW!! Well, it sounds like you are pretty upset, I wish I could give you a response, but, you will not identify yourself. Please tell us who you are and what your issues are specifically and I will address them accordingly.
By the way, I have been in business for 8 years and have never had a lawsuit against me. I get ,on average ,100-125 press kits every month and decide on 6-8 bands to work with. I pick them very carefully. I have been very successful and take great pride in my work. But, there are some cd's that just bomb. That is not the publicists fault.
I hope that you stop the accusations and lies and come out of hiding.
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We hired Rhonda Kelley and she guided us into the world of publicity. She also explained the difference between publicity and cd play. As far as the Alice Stuart organization is concerned
Rhonda is a professional who helps.
We say know what you are buying when you ask for publicity help. Rhonda met all our goals and we would use her services again.
We hope this confusion can be cleared up.
James McBride Stuart
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It didn't look like Heidi Stone was hiding. Did you not care to address that? That's a little sketchy in my book.
-Kelly
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Well, there are all kinds of hiding Kelly. I will leave it at that. Heidi was contacted by us many, many, many, many times during the course of her campaign and 2 moves.
Rhonda Kelley
Rainmaker Publicity
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i engaged rhonda kelley's services for my first release. her work enabled me to put together a great press kit and she is now working on promoting my second release. why? because she does her job extremely well. as to her responsiveness, she has always been prompt and thorough in returning all communications, even those questions of a general nature which have helped me to understand the process of publicity. i in no way find the accusations made above to be representative of the rhonda kelley i know and look forward to working with her on the third record.
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I strongly believe that the unkind words toward Rhonda Kelley and Rainmaker Publicity are ALL LIES! I'm only in my second month of my campaign with Rhonda and I've already received a few positive reviews! I wasn't even especting to get review for anohter month or two! She always responds to my e-mail within 24 hours too! I know she's legit because when I went to the Nashville New Music Conference in 2003, another publicist recommended her to me! So if that isn't enough, I don't know what is. Do not believe the negative feedback about Rhonda!
Russ - Scorch
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I have been in contact with Rhonda over the course of the past few weeks. We have not paid her a dime for any services, yet she has taken the time to explain her services not only to me but to the other members of the band as well. She had an opportunity to scam us by working a campaign for one of our older releases that most likely would not have been reviewed (due to it's age..released in 2001),but she opted not to take on that release. It appears to me that she genuinely has our best interests in mind. So in a nut shell I would say Rhonda Kelley is pretty straight by us.
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I had the opposite experience from you regarding Rhonda.
We are a difficult band to pigeonhole, never mind sell since
we won't tour, and still we got tons - TONS - of publicity
because of her efforts. She has been our constant
chearleader, long after our contract expired, and we will be
using her for our next record as well. I hope you straighten
this out for both your sakes, but I totally disagree with your
assessment of Rainmaker Publicity.
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Hey to all - I'm glad it seems there are some folks who've had good experiences with Rainmaker Publicity and Rhonda Kelley - I was not one of those people and I stand by what I wrote about that awful experience. And it was truly awful especially in light of my experiences with publicists since then. This was my experience and the experience of several of my friends. So please don't call me a liar or dismiss my words. I wrote only with the goal of trying to save others from the lack of service and response that I received. And, I do have to say, I still want my $1500 back.
Best, Heidi Stone
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Rhonda was on my short list of possible PR people to
work with for my "Reality-The Rock Opera" release. She
was very prompt about answering e-mails. But my CD's
sound and concept was a bad fit for her personal
agenda, which I must confess, I found rude and
insufferable. I declined to employ her since I felt we'd
cross swords over direction. But I just attribute this to
crossed agendas.
Les
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Hey again to all - Miraculously it seems, Rhonda Kelley of Rainmaker Publicity has sent me four emails in the span of a couple of hours with an ultimatum that this was her last attempt to get a hold of me and hash things out. Could have used that great response when I needed it for the CD. I sent her this email: Hi Rhonda – I wasn’t ignoring your messages – I just got three of them at the same time and have a really good spam filter which is where your first two emails ended up – In my spam file. I spent months trying to get a hold of you via both email and phone. I left messages and emails which all went unanswered. And it wasn’t only me that had this experience. I don’t know what happened to you but my career has been quite good since that time and I have no desire to ‘hash it out’ or have any other contact with you.
This closes this nasty chapter for me and I'm done with this thread (and reliving that experience and having to defend myself about it, including nasty emails from Rhonda about why I won't respond to her!) but I do wish everyone well and much future success -
Best, Heidi Stone
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Heidi;
I am happy you were able to move forward and get past this;I wish you all the luck in the world with your new release...really!
Rhonda Kelley
Rainmaker Publicity
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Rhonda Kelley is a fatass, scheming bitch who will steal your money for "publicity" (but she actually has NO contacts that mean anything whatsoever, and people absoloutly HATE!! Her in the business. They can't STAND her!!). She's a sad, pathetic excuse for a human who should be incarcerated until she dies.
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| by
on Tuesday January 27 2004 @ 01:40PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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i could rattle off 20 bands rhonda has ripped off outright in the boston area. everyone working in the local music biz avoids her like the plague--her reputation couldn't be worse. most bands find themselves expertly coaxed into believing they've hired a caring genius only to find she's literally done nothing and taken their money. yet sometimes rhonda does actually find it within herself to care and does genuinely help an artist who's paid her, so i'm not surprised to find some positive responses here. at the very least, you're taking a huge gamble with your money and reputation by hiring rhonda. there are plenty of more credible people to hire for publicity. otherwise, you're playing with fire.
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I'm not usually in the business of bashing people which is why I'm posting anonymously, Rhonda probably knows whom I am and some of you may figure it out - I managed a band many years ago that hired Rhonda. She stole $650 of their hard earned dollars and did absolutley nothing for them. The only reason we didn't sue is that our attorney advised us that $650 was not a significant enough amount to offset our costs of suing. She didn't return any phone calls and didn't so much as mail out a press kit to anyone. The list is long of bands who've been doinked over by Rainmaker at some point in time. Prior to that experience I was booking a VERY VERY marquee club in Boston, similar to the Marquee clubs I book now - after a lot of friendly armtwisting she convinced me to book one of her acts. Three weeks before the gig she called me to tell me the artist wasn't paying her on time and could I please cancel the gig? When I declined she flipped out on me. I could relay you a dozen other instances where Rhonda has either ripped off a band i've dealt with or done some really sketchy back biting petty thing. I'll let you all be the judge here people, Rhonda has always been a major Sketch o matic to me and to most of the legit bands I've worked with. She's a bottomfeeder and will likely get you the same press love you could get yourself if you put the time in. I handle a LOT of PR for the clubs I currently book and I'll tell you that no journalist at any legitimately big meaningful publication (ie Major daily newspaper, major weekly A/E paper) will take or return her calls. So I'll leave you with this - GOOD PEOPLE who practise GOOD BUSINESS do not have posts on CDbaby about how they've ripped people off. They also don't take the time to respond either, they are too busy getting things done for their clients. Back to work for me. Hope this helps the cause.
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thank you. very cool of you to speak up.
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| by
on Saturday October 16 2004 @ 04:35PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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DAN MILLEN....How did I know it was you????
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| by
on Tuesday January 27 2004 @ 02:12PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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Truth is, Rhonda Kelley is a master manipulator who only cares about her two-week-in-advance payments for services rendered. And then once you terminate the deal because of her ineffectiveness, she pockets the cash. It's a nice scheme Rhonda. Yeah, we can send out press kits to the Noise, Lollipop, The NE Performer, and Soundcheck too. Does anyone read that shit? Has she placed a feature in the Globe or Herald in the last 5 years. Have you EVER seen her in a club? No, of course not. And she loves to prey on young bands who think they're famous because there's a review of their EP in the Performer. Ha! Oh yeah kids, a major label deal is right around the corner. Here's a tip to the up-and-comers: do it yourselves. You'll work harder and get better results. She doesn't have her finger on the pulse of the music community; she has her fingers, instead, in your pocket. I could list 5 bands -- including my own -- that have been ripped-off. And I won't name them. That's right I'm a coward. I'm hiding behind the cloak of anonymity because the best thing my band ever did was drop her (and that was 5 years ago). Wouldn't want to jinx it...afer all, we're still kickin ass! Good luck.
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| by
on Friday January 30 2004 @ 12:20AM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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| by
on Saturday October 16 2004 @ 04:39PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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Is this Dan Millen again???
Why are you so hostile,man?
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Rhonda Kelly is evil! Not a nice human being and should be ashamed of herself.
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| by
on Saturday October 16 2004 @ 04:40PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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Frank Rollo? This is DAN MILLEN again.........
You need a hobby dude!!!
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| by C
on Tuesday January 27 2004 @ 04:21PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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I produced a now defunct but once very popular band in the Boston area.
She used their name as one of her main clients. She never worked for them at all. The had to force her to stop using dropping the name.
Anyone can send stuff to The Noise, Soundcheck and NE Perfomer by the way, and they will most likely review it. I alsobelieve that she worked for a semi popular Boston band with a type of city bird in thier name. If I recall they were in the paper saying that had signed with Interscope..of course the deal never happend. I don't know if she was responsible for that..however that is pretty bad PR if she was. There are good PR people out there.
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| by
on Tuesday January 27 2004 @ 04:36PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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Rhonda Kelly ripped my band off and talked shit about everyone in the "scene" she talked about how much she hated everyone at the noise and performer mag. she talked shit about local show d.j.s on wbcn and waaf. Rhonda shit on everyone who she's trying to get help from. She talked shit about her whole roster of bands and how she's screwing them out of their money. Rhonda Kelly is a very sad person who preys on baby bands.
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| by
on Tuesday January 27 2004 @ 04:49PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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Rhonda Kelly= leech/scam artist.
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| by
on Saturday October 16 2004 @ 04:43PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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OK, so the last 3 posts were all sent within 3 minutes of one another.....do you think they were the same person???
Perhaps....DAN MILLEN!!!!
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I personally don't think any contractor should be paid a large predetermined fee for services that they cannot guaruntee 100% successful results for. Unfortunately in the publicity & radio worlds this is the normal structure for how publicists and radio promoters get paid. They recieve exorbitant fees and if they don't produce garner even one article or radio add for their client...it's totally legal for them to get away with it and still get paid. To my mind there is something utterly wrong with this. "Services accomplished" should equal "services paid".
Musicians are typically never paid for shows they don't perform and neither are 99% of the rest of hard working class Americans. You get paid when you show up, work, and produce tangible results that everyone can see. So why should publicists or radio promoters be paid garuantees for work they cannot guaruntee 100% sucessful results for?
If the media industry is structured in such a way that publicists and ratio promoters cannot guaruntee 100% successful results for their work, I feel they should be paid a reasonable predetermined commission fee for each article or radio add that they produce for their clients. This would build incentive into the pay structure and help produce better results for their clients. One might argue that a large up front fee pays for the publicist or radio promoters hourly wage for a campaign. But it's such a high risk field that I feel hourly wages are unmerited. There are many jobs in this world that are based not on hourly wage but on commission structure such as most sales positions, music induatry management, waitressing etc. I feel that publicity or radio work should be treated like these jobs and held more accountably.
Think about this. $1500 will buy you approximately (214 office hours at $7 hour) from a hard working intern you can hire and oversee in your own home office. That's one entire month (30 days at 7 hours a day) of fully accountable work. You can see each press kit that goes out and know each contact it is being sent to. You can hear the follow up phone calls being made. Maybe you or they don't have all the amazing contacts that publicists purportedly have but maybe those publicists don't have all those amazing contacts either. They just say that they do. You'd be suprised how many amazing contacts you can find if you use your noggin to find the back door ways to contact high profile writers and editors.
I did this with my last album and produced great results for myself garnering articles and reviews for myself in these major magazines and newspapers.
Curve Magazine, The Advocate, Performing Songwriter, A Magazine, Rockrgrl, Alice, Girlfriends, Yolk, Bamboo Girl, Women's Monthly, LA Weekly, Trenton Times, Poughkeepsie Journal, Seattle Weekly, Raleigh News and Observer, Berkeley Free Press, Burlington’s 7 Days New Orleans Gambit Weekly, Chicago Weekly News Madison Times, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Hartford Courant, Tacoma News Tribune,
In addition to these, there were more articles in many more newspapers than this. Too many to list.
The music industry thrives on the mythology that artists are helpless and need help from seasoned experienced professionals who have all the power. You have power. And if you are willing to work hard it will pay off. I'm not saying don't trust anyone. Im saying middle of the road. Don't be afraid to reach out to work with other, don't be afaid to trust others, but always trust yourself and your own hard work first.
It's just sometimes hard to know to know who is actually seasoned experienced professional you can build a trusty long-term working relationship with and who is a sharky charlatan who is not worth giving the time of day...before your hard earned money is gone.
Peace and Light,
Magdalen
*************************************************
Magdalen Hsu-Li
CHICKPOP Records
Email powrbabe@speakeasy.org
Website: www.magdalenhsuli.com
*************************************************
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I just want to say that though I am not an artist, I have worked with and corresponded Rhonda Kelly for several years. She's sent me TONS of CDs that have ended up as reviews on my site (some have not but that's because I didn't like them). So she is certainly sending stuff out there. Sure, I'm small time compared to big famous newspapers, but I know for a fact that my reviews help sell records.
In the past year or so she has also been an advertiser on my site. She is the ONLY advertiser I have ever had who actually paid for their ads. She has paid every single month and ON TIME (usually within moments of my sending her the invoice).
I think she's a stand up person. I'd hate to learn otherwise.
~Amy
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Well that's exactly the worry, here. That she's taking our money and spending it on her own advertising instead of the services we're paying her to do. There's NO DOUBT in anyone's mind that Rainmaker spends a TON on advertising.
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on Wednesday January 28 2004 @ 07:03AM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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SHE PAYS HER AD'S WITH OUR MONEY!! FOOL.
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Rhonda Kelly and I met in 1999. In 2000, she began doing a short publicity campaign for me at no charge. She began booking gigs for me, which was great--I was lonesome subway busker and in need of exposure. Rhonda even got me a gig playing bass for some filthy-rich, Richard Marx-styled journeyman from the burbs to the tune of $150 a gig. Not too shabby, I thought.
As our conversations became more candid, she revealed her vindictive side. I mentioned I might have a gig at Bill's Bar; she immediately went on a tirade about what a cokehead Jeff Marshall is and how he's ruined Bill's. My friends Godboy were going through some rough personal times. I watched as she played one member off the other and all but precipitated the end of their band.
She got me a residency at Toad--again, not too shabby. But when I wanted to put The Control Group on the bill, she balked: "I don't want them on the bill. They are not good people, they have no draw," which was a lie. There must have been something else. I asked for an explanation, but she wouldn't say what they'd done to her. I got away with having them on the bill only because they'd already said yes and it would have looked bad to go back on my offer. But the booking troubles with the residency didn't stop there--she insisted on putting every Rainmaker-backed, NYC or Providence-based Matchbox-20 soundalike on the residency nights without even asking. We had our words, and two weeks in, she called me to say she'd dropped the campaign.
I eventually got ahold of the press kit she sent out. My name was mispelled everytime. She had written an elaborate lie of a bio that claimed Mary Lou Lord had taken me under her wing and was going to tour with me; Mary Lou and I had met but a few times. Worse, she listed as the opener on the first night of the residency: Mary Lou Lord. Several of her fans read it in the paper and had to be turned away.
I have heard worse from others. I do not think she is evil; I just believe perhaps she is in the wrong business.
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For what...telling the truth you cow.
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on Tuesday January 27 2004 @ 07:44PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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I find it curious that most of the postings touting Rhonda Kelly's expertise and professionalism are loaded full of plugs and title dropping. I am sorry to say that I too have an unsavory tale to tell of Ms. Kelly. In previous postings, I have noticed many a comment about her "flipping out" or badmothing other musicians and industry professionals. This has been my experience as well. Many years ago, my band was made similar false promises and was led to believe that Ms. Kelly had greater clout and resources than she actually did. In addition, she would often use manipulative tatics to promote her own agenda. When this didn't work, she would become vindictive and volatile. As I said before, this was many years ago however; after close to 1,000 shows as a Boston based band, I nor my bandmates have ever once heard anything favorable said about Rhonda Kelly. I too am a coward for not identifying myself, but I have no desire to have any dealings with Rainmaker for any reason. To any band or musician reading this, heed the warnings of your fellow artists. To Rhonda Kelly... it seems some things never change.
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I would never consider adding to this thread but I had such an awful experience with Rhonda Kelly that I feel I must. I used to have to deal with her on a professional level. At first she seemed nice, if pushy. She was enthusiastic about bands she liked, anyway. Eventually she wanted me to write about a band of hers that I'd written about in the not-so-distant past. Because there are so many bands in this city, it would've been lazy and stupid to write about that band at that point. They'd done nothing earth-shattering, were not a terribly exciting band even. Boy did she go haywire when I told her I wouldn't write about them again. Such a nasty, nasty individual if you don't give her what she wants. Also, I know of at least one band whose name she includes in her Noise magazine ad. That band has never had anything to do with her. She truly knows how to burn her bridges.
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on Sunday October 17 2004 @ 03:41AM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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Thelma Lou.......I don't think so........................this is still DAN MILLEN!!!!!!
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on Tuesday January 27 2004 @ 10:53PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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I wish her lots of guilt and suffering.
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As the owner of a start up indie label in 1994, I enlisted Rhonda Kelley's services. On the phone, she talked a good game, throwing out names like the Bosstones, Morphine, and other bands from boston that had "made it" (for all intents and purposes)I decided to hire her, and paid the $1500. Rhonda helped set up a series of cd releases for one of the bands I was working with, promising to get them in the globe, herald, phoenix, etc. Guiding me (although it wasnt necessarey) through the press kit stuff. I was pleased with her bookings.
My first sign that something was amiss was that she had me drop off 100 cd's and press kits, and leave them inside her door...even though she was home the entire time. She would NOT meet with me face to face.
The second sign that something wasn't right was the fact that Rhonda never ever once came to a single gig that the band had, despite telling me she'd be there repeatedly. She didn't want to meet the band she was publicizing at all. Didn't even know their names. I started talking to others about this publicist we hired...other "baby bands" (that's what Rhonda calls them)had been screwed by her,and told me to get out now. I wanted to give her a chance, she had 2 strikes against her, I'll give her one more chance.
I paid for all costs incurred in sending out the cd's, and she gave me an update on those she had sent them to. Well, when I went to check up that those she had sent the cd's to, received them...They all said they had not. They (press from local radio, and newspapers)asked who they were sent by, and when I said "rhonda Kelley, rainmaker publicity" I was greeted with knowing snickers, and the advice to run for my life.
When I confronted Rhonda about what happened, she flew into an absolute rage. She said how dare I check up on her work, who did I think I was, I was called stupid bitch, a cunt, and told that I was going to regret it. She was on the telephone, literally screaming her lungs out at me.
We had six gigs booked- at Bills Bar, the Middle East, TT's etc. Rhonda cancelled all of them, including the cd release party. She tried her best to blacklist the band I was working with, and I had to go through hell to get those gigs back, I eventually did, thankfully and was able to carry on with some success.
After this, my ear started buzzing with people telling me how they had been screwed by her.
WHat she does is, if you've already made a name for yourself locally, she'll do right by you. Her money is made scamming these so called "baby bands" and if ANYONE ever asks you why you are questioning someone like her (publicist, manager, anyone you're paying money to)get out fast. You're paying her your hard earned cash, you have the right to make sure things are done properly.
I'm sure those who have had good experiences with her are being honest, however... it's the people that are on the outskirts of the "Scene" that you really need to talk to, and honestly, check ALL references and talk to people out there before you give her your money, and listen to what they're saying.
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It really sucks that people have to sign in anonymously to air their stories about Rhonda Kelley. I wish that people felt comfortable enough to share their experiences with their name and the band they are in. The fact that they don't should tell people the kind of woman they are dealing with.
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Sadly, I must also post anonymously because
Rhonda has threatended me with harm if I tell
anyone what a lying, psychotic, back stabbing
evil "C U Next Tuesday" she is. Stay as far
away from this evil person as possible.
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on Wednesday January 28 2004 @ 06:50AM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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The idea of hiring a publicist for your bands is ludicrous. There is nothing this woman can do that you can't do for yourselves -- and probably do better. Hire a publicist when there's a possibility that you can get into national magazines, or when you're touring and there's a chance you can get into the major dailies and alternative weeklies.
I work in the media, and I work with publicists all day every day, and I've never heard of Rhonda Kelly.
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on Wednesday January 28 2004 @ 06:59AM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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on Wednesday January 28 2004 @ 06:58AM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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I sent this post to about 1,000 people.
inside, i chuckle.
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me too. it's gone out to everyone on our mailinglist. There's a pretty decent message board called The noise board www.thenoiseboard.com and it's funny to see, as she screws bands over, they post on it, and let everyone know what happened. I can't believe this fat fuck is still in business.
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I worked w/Rhonda a few years ago, and she is a scumbag. How else do you explain somebody doing a local promotion hitting you up for long distance phone calls (w/o producing an itemized list). Everybody else who I know that has worked with her says the exact same thing.
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I also was in a band that hired Rhonda Kelley as a publicist. She did a decent enough job (small spots in local papers, reviews, etc....), but nothing outstanding or worth the money we spent. The issue i Have with her is that she began to meddle in the affairs of the band, calling individual members telling them they should quit, join other bands, etc..... she's a little crazy and unstable and i wouldn't ever get involved with her again in any way.
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Magdalen Hsu-Li: <>
As an indie promoter/publicist, I'm always surprised by how few people request recommendations. Musicians want to trust you, but people like Rhonda make it impossible. But a call to a handful of her clients and/or local music biz people for recommendations would have saved a lot of people a lot of money and grief. Don't be afraid to ask for references. Artists can benefit greatly from professional services when they're ready to react to results--most don't have the time or interest in calling hundreds of periodicals and radio stations on behalf of their own cd, gig, etc. There are a few DIY artists (like Magdalena) who are good at it, but at a certain point it often becomes a matter of only having so many hours in a day, and a lack of, yes, contacts. (You should still get out there and meet people). But artists need time and space to be artists. And you also need to do your homework--research the company you're considering hiring, meet with the people who'd actually be on the phone on your behalf. Not being an indie who gets paid a ton of money, we get a weekly fee and do our best to pick projects that we like and think will succeed, and are worthy! Our reputation is on the line too, so we need to represent appropriate music. Most indies, especially the really good ones, cannot afford to take on projects they don't believe in because their reputation is on-the-line at those stations or periodicals. As a result, very few indies are in the position to be "pocketing" people's money with no results--it's very bad business. Still, we're all guilty of taking on projects we love only to find that we're mostly alone in that feeling. But only someone who wants to risk having a reputation as bad as Rhonda's would willingly dupe a band. The rest of us need to stay in business.
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Good indie promoter said:
"
As an indie promoter/publicist, I'm always surprised by how few people request recommendations. Musicians want to trust you, but people like Rhonda make it impossible. But a call to a handful of her clients and/or local music biz people for recommendations would have saved a lot of people a lot of money and grief. Don't be afraid to ask for references. "
This is of course a given when hiring anyone to work with your band, or anyone you're paying money to provide a service, however, the little trick with rhonda, is that she'll give you maybe 2 or 3 references of people she actually didn't fuck over, and if you press her for more, watch out, because the shit storm will come!
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| by
on Wednesday January 28 2004 @ 12:47PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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... kind of like she emailed her few supporters to say nice things about her at the top of this page. Notice how they all came within a couple minutes of eachother, all at once.
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If I had $1,500- look out- I would do all the promo stuff myself. You could go to Staples and w/ a computer do your own promo kit w/ postage, etc for under $1,000 and still have $500 for upgrading equipment. You would get at least 10 gigs w/ 100 press kits, get to sell CD's, etc at the gigs and get reoccuring gigs. Do as much own your own. Then you have nobody to blame but yourself.
Over 100 paid gigs in 2002, over 75 paid gigs in 2003 and still kept a full time job.
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All the Rhonda Kelly supporters here keep complaining about everyone logging in anonymously and posting their gripes. However, Brett Rosenberg, Perfect Records, Frank Rollo, Heidi Stone, and Thelma Lou have all gone on record - with their names attached to their posts - and agreed with everyone else that Rhonda Kelly is bad. The others that have logged in anonymously have done so because they hate the talk bad about someone, but felt they should warn you about Rhonda Kelly.
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| by
on Wednesday January 28 2004 @ 12:45PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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... or just don't feel like having this psycho's legendary tireless wrath directed at us for the rest of our lives.
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I've worked with Rhonda for years and it's been all good.
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I work with rhonda and even i think she is shady.
Sorry girl it's the truth. You told me endless stories of how you rip bands off. How all booking agents bow down to you because they're afraid of your power. Watch who you work with sister.
bye
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I have been speaking with Rhonda Kelley for over a year now, and just this past month finally "officially" enlisted Rainmaker's services for my band's cd release. This has been my experience:
1)I just found this archive through one of my lists (GoGirls) and have NOT spoken to her about seeing this yet, although I will, so you're getting it firsthand.
2)ALL of my exchanges with Rhonda have been professional, courteous, and dare I say FUN...She has been beyond awesome in terms of giving me advice,leads, and contacts - all BEFORE WE EVER PAID HER A DIME!!!! I spoke to her many times just to touch base during the year before our cd was finished, and she always took my calls, spent time on the phone, and even managed to make me laugh. (Having been a musician in NYC for many years, I appreciate a sense of humor about this insane business.)
3)We have so far only paid 1/3 of the $1500, and have not been pressed at all for a 2nd payment. In fact, I called her the other day to explain that we would be late paying and she simply said "no worries - I normally forget to even invoice. Whenever you have it..."
4)It's been a month and we already have our first review...
I'll gladly keep you all posted during the remainder of our campaign in the next 5 months - I am personally keeping the faith in Rhonda.
Peace.
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I just sent Rhonda Keley promo. This thread has become very important to me. I have had one phone conversation and quite of few emails. ALL have been professional. My comment is that while I can understand your anger, the personal attacks are disheartening and unprofessional. You lose all crediability with me. I appreciate the facts.
Love,
Patti B.
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you might notice that rainmaker is an advertiser on that site, and shit, who reads websites for music reviews anyway?
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Rhonda, you lying, evil, horrid manipulator.
Hey everyone, got some NEWS FOR YOU. Don't believe this SACK OF LIES. She PAYS Gail Worley and Keith "Muzikman" Whatever-the=fuck to write reviews and she PAID THEM TO WRITE THESE STORIES. She told me. She tells EVERYONE. She doesn't even know HOW to be sneaky. Fuck, give me a hundred bucks and I'LL write a glowing, baseless piece of crap too.
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Amen musakdish. Webzine reviews are pretty much worthless, unless it's a major publication that also has a website. You can get reviews up the yazoo all over cyberland...So what...Who cares?...You know? The odds are pretty slim that anyone is reading them or taking them seriously enough to buy your cd or check out your band.
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I dont think that people are writing anonymously has anything to do with them feeling bad about outing someone, I think that it's got everything to do with their fear of pissing someone off and having their band pay the consequences. The vindictive nature of the boston scene is sickening when it comes to shit like this.
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Could not have said it better myself!!
Rhonda Kelley
Rainmaker Publicity
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on Thursday January 29 2004 @ 07:05AM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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Anyone curious to know if "Patti B" has the same IP as Rhonda? I bet she does.
You wouldn't hire a contractor, or someone to paint your house without checking all available references, so why would you hire someone to work for your band and not listen to all available opinions? You're an ass if you dont.
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| by
on Thursday January 29 2004 @ 08:28AM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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Quite frankly, who's to say that all of the complaints are coming from one or two people as well?
The reality is that there are probably 15-20 bands all around the country (maybe none in Boston) that are working with Rhonda as we speak and maybe she'll burn them all or maybe she'll do a good job. Don't see a reason to flame them.
And I'm guessing that Rhonda stopped looking at this long ago...
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Go to www.pattib.net or billiandpatti.com and you will see I do not have the same IP as Rhonda Kelley. My point was only that I find this thread important to me because I am considering hiring her if she feels that she can work with us. I was defending her actions either. I only stated that I could do without the nasty person comments about her. Attacking her crediability and work ethic is not a problem. When you attack someone personally I tend to think that you don't have a leg to stand on. Just the facts! Please!
Love,
Patti B.
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on Thursday January 29 2004 @ 10:23AM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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Well, Patti B-
Are you from the Boston Area? I really feel very strongly that you should talk to other musicians / bands from around here to hear what they have to say face to face. Seriously. Everyone has the same initial experience that you have had, it's all been sunshine and roses but cross her once, hell, even question her once and that's when she goes absolutely insane, and gets vindictive.
Please, seriously, think long and hard before hiring her, please!
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Thank you for your advice!
Love,
Patti B.
www.pattib.net
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on Thursday January 29 2004 @ 04:27PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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Random question, but is that Rhonda on her web page? Or some other lady?
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Re: Rainmaker Ad Model.
The woman in the Rainmaker ad is
performance artist Cynthia Von Buhler, not
Rhonda.
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Has anyone considered contacting a local news station to
do a "Shame On You" investigation?
Just a suggestion!
I know there are a lot of angry, frustrated people that have
been burrned by Rhonda Kelly (I have been too), but don't
bring yourself down to her level. Stick to facts and your
experiences. Take the high road !
Isn't Kharma a Beautiful thing?
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| by
on Saturday January 31 2004 @ 09:58AM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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My band got ripped off by rhonda kelly and she tried to blacklist us from playing in boston when i told her we were not working with her anymore. the funny thing is boston is so small we knew all the booking agents who told us what she had done.
she also told me everyone in boston is afraid of her and thats why they listen. Her claim to fame is the bosstones and when i asked dickie barrett about her, he also said she was a scam artist. Her big thing was the gossip on who was gay in the boston music scene. SO in conclusion,I sent this thread to the webmaster of the velvetrope.com, who is a good friend of mine, If you are in the music biz the last place you want this thead at is the velvetrope.
good luck
someone at w.e.a.
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Hi all.
I don't know Rhonda, and have no experience with her whatsoever. So this isn't intended as any kind of editorial on her, one way or the other, but rather a response to many of the other posts on here.
I've been working as a publicist for several years, and this is my 2 cents based on my experience with both signed and unsigned artists:
1) Yes, you can do your own publicity. Yes, at the local/regional level, you're probably better off doing so. Got $1500 to drop on a press campaign? Spend it at Kinko's and the Post Office. If you're from Boston, go around picking up every newspaper and magazine in Boston and see who's covering music there. Many will have a masthead page that lists the whole editorial staff, some even with email addresses. Releasing a CD, and hoping for some national press reviews? Hit the biggest local newsstand, buy every magazine that deals with pop/rock music in general or with your specific kind of music. For all of these publications, get on their websites. Call and ask who the music editor is, and how you can reach them. A little leg work goes a long way. This is the research publicists do too.
Playing out of town? Ask the club you're playing at for a list of local music media. Some will have better and more current lists than others, but it's a starting point.
Be aware that daily papers will have at least a one-week lead time; weeklies, 3-4 weeks; and monthlies, 1-2 months. You need to get music and information to these publications in a timely manner to be considered, especially for listings and show previews.
2) If you decide to hire a publicist -- either because you're too busy to do it yourself, too lazy to do it yourself (and willing & able to pay for the privilege of laziness), or because you've reached the point where you can no longer efficiently handle the task (like if you're touring nationally and hitting markets where you don't know anything about the press) -- then, as someone else said, ASK FOR REFERENCES, from artists or labels they've worked with.
MEET THEM FIRST -- I can't believe you'd trust your media campaign to someone you've never shared coffee or broken bread with. This is common sense. If you can't do it, your manager should do it without you, if you have one. But this person who's involved in such an intimate part of your professional life should not be an unknown quantity.
Trust your instincts; if they seem like an unpleasant or unethical person, be wary! Don't give them your money!
And after you've hired them, expect them to keep you in the loop. Ask for regular reports on their progress (biweekly or monthly is safe) -- what media outlets they've sent music to, whom at those outlets they sent it to, whether they've followed up, whether there's been any feedback or coverage commitments... That last part may be a great big "No," which isn't unusual, as journalists get about ten thousand calls a day from publicists, managers and artists and tend to just let their voice mail take it all, and only call back those few they need something from. Most of the time I find out a CD is being reviewed in, say, Rolling Stone when I get the new issue of Rolling Stone, and there it is. The point is that you should be aware of what your publicist is doing, and maintain a dialogue with them about why they're doing what they're doing and what else they could be doing. Believe me, those of us who are good at our jobs prefer an informed and communicative client. (This is not to say you should call us 15 times a day about minor details. ;) )
3) Have realistic expectations. The reality of the business of publicity is that the success rate is usually minimal, even for name acts on big labels. As such, publicists can't get paid based on results -- it's too unpredictable, no matter who the publicist is and no matter who the band is. When you pay a publicist, you're paying for their time, expertise, effort, resources and contacts. Obviously, if you're not getting these things -- as in some of the complaints above, accusing a publicist of never sending any press kits or making any calls -- then you absolutely have a legitimate complaint. But if they've sent the CDs, done the follow-ups, made information and photos available, and not a word is written about you in spite of all that, that's not their fault. You still owe them for their time, effort and resources. If that's a problem for you, do your own press. (See #1.)
4) In general, publicists aren't in charge of booking gigs or garnering radio spins. Some may do these things as a favor for clients, or even formally offer them as part of their services, but in reality a publicist handles PRESS. This means print media, online media, TV appearances, and maybe radio interviews (different from your song getting spins). An agent books your gigs, a radio promoter gets you spins. If one person or firm does more than one of these things, that's fine. But don't necessarily expect it from your publicist if it's not an expressed service they provide.
* * *
Okay, that was a longer message than I meant it to be. Hopefully it's helpful for some of you. The basic message in all of the above: be realistic, and trust your insticts and common sense when entering into business arragements.
Best,
Andy
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| by
on Saturday January 31 2004 @ 07:25PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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| by
on Sunday February 01 2004 @ 10:02PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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Rhonda KELLY STOLE MONEY FROM MY BAND!!!
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Ask any member of this band about their experiences with rhonda kelley, it's an ugly, ugly tale.
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I have used two publicists in the last year and have found that as in anything, a reputable firms reputation usually precedes itself. Planetary was one, and they were fantastic. If you look at who thier clients are its obvious that they are in business for a very good reason. I have found that when you are hiring a manager, agent, publicist, etc...what you are really paying for is not only their time spent working on your behalf, but your paying for that persons contacts and more importantley their reputation! Not every person on the planet can call Rolling Stone magazine and expect to garnish some press. If it were that easy we would all be rock stars and the magazine would be 5000 pages long. I regress.
What I have learned from my experience is that a reputable publicist will not do anything but publicity. No managing, no club booking, no promoting, none of the above.
Also I feel that publicists are either good at radio, or good at print press, one or the other but not both.
Most indy labels do thier publicity in house but outsource special campaigns when needs arise, and some national touring acts use seperate publicists for radio, album release, and tour publicity all in tandem with thier labels publicist.
My last publicist, not planetary, made the mistake of trying to be band mediator, etc, which ended up contributing in some way to the demise of the band. Not that the publicicity campaign was bad, but my point is simply that beware of any publicist who wants to act as a "manager" or "help booking shows" because real publicists are not in that business, and dont want to have anything to do with it.
I hope this is somewhat helpful
Maybe not.
Cheers!
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on Wednesday February 04 2004 @ 10:37AM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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I was a good friend of one of her "assistants" who worked for her for several months last year...hahaha, she stole all her contacts. The stupid cow emailed every one of her contacts to the assistant, then proceeded to go absolutely apeshit on her.
assistant girl is now doing publicity, and doing very well for herself. hahahaha
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on Sunday October 17 2004 @ 03:36AM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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Your ass't friend stole her contacts? Do you think she should have gone ape-shit?
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I got scammed a little more than two grand from Rhonda. She
did more for me before I paid, then after. I haven't heard from
her in 6 months and we were throwing a 6 month campaign. I
have been watching her every move, but she has no idea. IF THIS
MANY PEOPLE ARE BEING RIPPED OFF OR NOT GETTING WHAT
THEY PAID FOR, THEN THERE IS A PROBLEM.
Something needs to be done here. We need to form a contact
list of everyone that has had a bad expierence with her company
then we can take it from there. My major is Music Business Law
so I have good connections and we could possibly get out
money back or get what we paid for or atleast make her pay for
the damages. Please e-mail me at
rpolonsky@craigrobertsonline.com if you are intrested in
helping. Leave your name, address and a contact # or e-mail.
Thanks everyone, it's good to know we're all not a lone out here.
Rob
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on Thursday February 05 2004 @ 01:15PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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It flys in the face of my dear mother's sage advice, "If you can't say something nice, then say nothing at all," but,
in the interest of saving other's heartache, I would have to second the warning notices posted here based on my personal, though admittedly limited, exposure to "the wrath of Rhonda" a few years back.
I was smitten at first by Rhonda's charisma, but soon found myself smote more profoundly, when, after sharing some of my most intimate and heartfelt concerns with the seemingly compassionate Rhonda,
about my struggling relationship with a long-time boyfriend,
I was shocked to discover she was simultaneously counseling me on how to repair my relationship,
while, behind the scenes, and my back, orchestrating a romance between my aforementioned (now former) boyfriend, and her very own SisteR!!!
I guess she justified the move to herself as a compassionate intervention.
The real kicker was that when aforementioned boyfriend consummated Rhonda's grandly untoward scheme with her sister, Rhonda flew off in a rage, that the she had not been consulted prior to the actual carnal victuals.
Apparently, she fancies herself a bit of a "puppet master."
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Ok,
I'M NOT posting Anonymously and I'm fully aware of my 'position' in the scene in Boston. I'm cracking up because I could relay to you at least 100 Rhonda Kelley stories both personal and second hand from people I love and trust. I've been personally charmed and screwed by Rhonda myself and been on the receiving end of such lovely nuggets as "jeff marshall is a cokehead", "oedipus is gay", "Deb Pasternak sleeps around with everyone", "Pete from the Mudhens is the most anal retentive Jew ever" and so much more! God knows what she's said about me...
I stopped taking Rhonda's calls years ago after she robbed a band I managed after I'd put my name on the line to recommend her.
I can tell you that in general if you wanna get somewhere in the Boston live music scene and REALLY have something happening, chances are you have to deal with me at some point, and I can tell you with 100% certainty that nobody who has anything happening for them in my scene is working with Rhonda. You can interpret that how you want. I can also tell you that if asked, I would advise any artist working with her to run away quickly.
Bands, Artists, Labels, mark my words - Rhonda Kelley is BAD NEWS. Anyone who inspires this much bashing on a message board can't be doing anything good for their clients.
That's about all the negativity I can hack for now, let the floodgates of bullshit begin - so something positive I'd like to offer up to the CD baby community - For those of you in Boston or playing in Boston who are interested, I've put together two very cool documents which if you want to email me I'll be happy to send you - free of charge.
My entire ever expanding Boston Press List
My pdf edocument entitled - How to Effectively Promote Your Band In Boston
- click on my email address, but please don't send me your life story.
Remember that we ALL have the same information, it's the people who take the time and energy to follow up and utilize the information that become successful!
May all your rock n' roll dreams come true!
Dan Millen
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Dan-
I am sorry to say that you have no position in the scene. Do you even have a job at this point?
Rhonda Kelley
Rainmaker Publicity
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this kind of response belittling him in this way is pretty representative of what everyone is saying about you. so you have just proven everyone's point.
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Well, now my dirty secret is out of the bag, too.
Rhonda charmed and screwed me when I
was young, and well, quite naive.
Under contract representing me, she started
spreading lies about me (I only wish I'd slept
my way to the top). She also started
badmouthing a number of my good friends to
me.
My favorite fact about Rhonda is that after I
fired her, she still kept me on her client list, so
when ever people called for references, I just
told the truth.
Any cute guys out there?
Deb
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on Sunday February 08 2004 @ 12:34PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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"I was shocked to discover she was simultaneously counseling me on how to repair my relationship,
while, behind the scenes, and my back, orchestrating a romance between my aforementioned (now former) boyfriend, and her very own SisteR!!! "
Hmmm...I had a similar experience with Rhonda, only she didn't set my ex up with her sister (atleast, not that I know of).
My old band used to work with her. She got us tons of press including an article in the Globe. We were on cloud 9. Then, she started getting involved in booking and turning us against our managers (and against ourselves). Within 6 months of working with her, the band broke up. Pretty sad...
Since then, we've started a new band, released a CD (for which we used Margot at the Planetary Group, who is amazing!) and we're now planning a tour for the summer. I'm sure Rhonda "assisted" us in burning bridges that now, could really help us. Atleast, we've learned how to do it ourselves...it may take a bit longer, and will definitely take up more time...but atleast we are the ones making the contacts and decisions for the band.
Good luck to everyone!
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after passing through some early stages of
charm, charisma and what appeared to be
professionalism, i found a vindictive,
pathological (and quite imaginative) liar. if
only she could channel this energy towards
actually helping people, she could be a
strong, capable force that supports artists.
good luck rhonda. i hope you get better soon.
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Rhonda took my money and never called me back at all. She lied to my face, and then assualted me when I called her. I think she should be put in jail.
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My Name is Phil Risen. I am a singer/songwriter from the
NYC area. This was my experience with Rhonda Kelly:
I have no one to blame but myself, since I did not do
enough research on her, but I too feel I was taken in by
Rhonda Kelly.
I have been in the music business for a long time. In the
late 80's, I used to sing lead vocals for the band Foghat. For
the last 10 years, I have been working in television as a
director for news and sports. But I have always continued to
write and perform my own music.
Early in 2002, I released a solo CD called "Things Are
Different Now". I was not looking to become a rock star or
get famous from my CD. I was just looking for someone
who could help me get some write-ups or reviews that I
could post on my web site. After seeing her name all over
the indie bible, I decided to give her a call. In our first
conversation, she told me she was not taking on any new
clients but I should send her my CD anyway. I got a call
back from her a few days later during which she told me
she loved my CD and that she would like to work with me.
She said for $1500.00 we would do a 5-month national and
regional promotional campaign. I should send her 130
copies of my CD and pay the $1500.00 in 4 payments. No
problem, I thought that was quite reasonable.
A few days later I received a copy of a pitch letter, which
contained some grammatical and factual errors. I asked her
to make some corrections and send me a copy of the
revised pitch letter. I never received the revised copy. In
the mean time I started to get a few good reviews on the
internet.
Up until she received my final payment, our phone
conversations were pleasant and professional. After I made
my final payment, I felt the tone of our communications
changed significantly. I asked her several times to
send me a copy of the revised pitch letter which I wanted to
include in my own press kits. Each time she sent me back
the original letter with the mistakes. When I phoned her
about it , she was short with me, and, I feel, she was also
condescending. I also asked her if she could send me a list
of the people to whom she sent my packages, so that I
could follow up on them. She refused. At that point, I knew
the relationship was not going to work. I asked her to send
back my remaining CD's and pro rate the fees. Again she
refused and told me that I was stuck with her for the next 5
months.
After this conversation, I received a couple of bad reviews
on the internet. What concerned me more was that some of
the reviews were clearly inappropriate. One review was by a
punk rock writer who expressed surprise that anyone would
have sent him my CD to review in the first place. My music
can be characterized in many ways, but no one would ever
call it punk.
So in short, I made the mistake of not doing the research
and I paid the consequences. It was a $1500.00 learning
experience and a business write off. The problem is that
Rhonda Kelly keeps getting away with taking advantage of
people because up until now, no one was speaking up.
I just hope that other people can learn from my mistake
and thoroughly research anyone they are considering doing
business with.
Sincerely,
Phil Risen
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My name is Pete Chandler, and I used to play bass for the Mudhens. Somebody just forwarded me this link, and I was a little surprised to see myself being called an "the most anal retentive Jew ever". Having worked with Dan Millen on several things, I definitely believe him when he says Rhonda had said the things he is attributing to her.
We worked with Rhonda Kelley at one point and our experience mirrors a lot of what has been said on this board. Once we stopped working with her, she went out of her way to smear us to anybody who would listen (although I didn't realize ethnic slurs were part of her repertoire). The only reason I decided to write in, besides out of amusement, is to convince anybody who's considering to work with her to realize what they are getting themselves into.
Thanks for listening.
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I've thoroughly checked out Rhonda Kelley and Rainmaker, as I do before accepting any advertiser on my site. I also investigate and report on scams in the independent music industry. I haven't been able to substantiate that Rhonda is a rip-off artist in any way.
I also know Rhonda personally and, like MuzikMan, find it extremely hard to believe that she would be the perpetrator of ANYTHING that would hurt the people she loves so much ... indie artists.
In my experience with these types of cases you have to sift out the "jilted" musicians from those with solid allegations, then weigh the negatives against the positives, the sources and the nature of the actual "offense". This formula provides you with a balance. In this case I feel that it's just a case of some who felt they didn't get the full service their product deserved.
Because I'm here for the community and am always willing to listen to both sides of the story, I urge you to contact me with your experiences. If I find a further investigation is warranted, I'll be happy to do the footwork. On the flip side, I'll also be happy to write a vindication on behalf of Rhonda and Rainmaker.
John Foxworthy
Chief Editor, Garage Radio
http://www.garageradio.com
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I've dealt with Rhonda Kelley as an Editor at
Performer Magazine and I can honestly say
that a lot of what she does to bands makes no
sense whatsoever. I can also say that she is
too embarassed to call my office after all of the
crazy and pointless stunts that she's pulled.
Many bands have called in for a character
reference telling me that they were
considering Ms. Kelley to do their PR. My
advice is simple: Don't do it.
Rather than talk trash about this poor woman
and her track record (there are enough bands
out there who can), I would just like to say to
all musicians that the music industry is
smaller than you think. There are a lot of
shady companies out there like Rainmaker
and there are many great people/companies
that are in it for all the right reasons like CD
Baby. As the Editor (back then) and the
Associate Publisher (now) of Performer, I've
seen many crooked people come and go. The
one thing that you can count on is that if
someone is doing bad business, they won't
last. They can't. This industry polices itself.
People talk and the crooks get flushed out.
If Rhonda Kelley has no business and can't
contact a mag like Performer, where's she
gonna go?
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| by
on Sunday October 17 2004 @ 03:23AM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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Rhonda Kelley and Rainmaker Publicity have only worked national and European bands now for 4 years. There would be no need for her to contact a magazine of your level.
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on Wednesday February 18 2004 @ 11:18AM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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I don't understand how you can read account after account by musicians (many of whom are keeping there name in the post) and discount it by saying you have seen no evidence of any wrongdoing on Rhonda's part. I don't to put my name in here because Boston is a small town. But she is a complete scam artist and a miserable human being to boot!
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on Sunday October 17 2004 @ 03:32AM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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We actually traced the e-mails and they are coming from 4 bands. Rainmaker worked those bands in 1997,1998 and 1999. All of them have yet to release another cd since then. All of them had been dropped for non-payment.
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on Saturday February 21 2004 @ 09:43AM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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John, no offense, but you must be completely
delusional to have read this entire post and
still say you have no evidence that Rhonda is
a shady cahracter? I thought word of mouth
was still good for something. Oh well, trust
Rhonda and it's your funeral.
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As both a musician and a music publicist, I wanted to chime in on this general topic, but not Rainmaker specifically, in hopes that it will be helpful to some of you in the future. I've heard too many horror stories from bands in the past simply because they weren't confident about what they should expect, or in some cases even what a publicist does.
As some other people have said, it's absolutely important that you check references for anyone you work with. But more than that, you should also do your research on what type of music the publicist works with. Before you contact a publicist, radio station, club, writer, etc. you should make sure you're not a punk band pitching yourself to a folk venue or publication. Listen to some of the music. If you don't like any of the bands a publicist works with, then you probably don't want to work with them as they're not going to represent the aesthetic you're going for. A good publicist should have developed a reputation through the music they choose to work with, so if they're not careful about the bands they represent, writers will not be very interested in opening packages from them. While my company works with rock, electronica, and singer/songwriters, our general focus falls into the indie rock category, and we work with publications interested in that. And the people you work with should LIKE your music! Don't work with anyone who agrees to work with you before they hear your music and are excited about it.
Also, don't make a decision to work with someone via email. I work with bands and labels from all over the country, so I can't always meet them face to face, but we always talk on the phone and discuss the goals of the project to make sure we're on the same page. Before you commit to working with a publicist, you should receive a proposal with an outline of services and the pr plan. It is typical for a publicist to ask for a deposit up front to pay for initial work and to cover expenses, but be wary of anyone who asks for all the money up front. Monthly payments are typical.
As you're paying for these services, you should be able to approve all promotion materials and the target press list before any kits are sent out. At minimum, a monthly progress report should be sent to the client and all reviews should be sent via email and/or mail. Generally, if someone you're working with doesn't send you a progress report, it's because they don't have anything to report.
It's also important to consider the size of a publicity company. If you're a younger band with less experience, you might want to stick with a smaller company that can give you more personalized attention. You can do some things on your own, and bands just starting out should really be building a base by booking their own shows and doing at least some local pr. A less expensive way to get some help could be to find someone to give you a consulation or maybe write and design your press kit for you for a smaller fee to help you make sure you're working in the right direction.
I'd like to invite you all to a couple things on my company's website that may be helpful to you. http://www.canarypromo.com/resources features an article on promoting your own shows, and http://www.canarypromo.com/messageboard is a new message board we've started where musicians can network and promote their bands as well as ask us industry-related questions. I hope this info is helpful to some of you and wish you the best of luck.
-Megan Wendell
Canary Promotion + Design
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I'm not dillusional, rather fair and aware that everyone in this business hates someone. I've dealt with a lot of bands that feel they didn't get the full attention they deserved or just had an ax to grind. On the flip-side I keep notes ... what I'm saying is that if you have a story (good or bad) email me and show me some back-up. One board with a 50/50 split on the the outcome is not enough to disclaim anyone's ability or sincerity.
I've exposed scams in the past and discarded other possible scams, due to the lack of solid info to go on. When I'm absolutely sure I have something I go after it and prior to these postings I had nothing negative about Rainmaker OR Rhonda Kelley ... look at it from my perspective. These complaints are duely noted, but again are just complaints by people I've never interacted with.
Thanx,
John Foxworthy
roadrash@garageradio.com
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My experience is like a majority of the postings
here. Rhonda made many claims about what
she could do to promote my cd. She didn't
fulfill any of them. For my $1500 I got two
internet reviews, one by her friend Keith. I have
no personal axe to grind, I don't live in Boston
and have never met Rhonda. I, like many
others, got ripped off. She has been hired by
The Orchard to do publicity. I urge everyone to
contact them and tell them your experience
with Rainmaker.
Sincerely,
Steve Fawcett
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I've been peeking back in on this thread since
January; it's March now and it's hard to believe
it's still going. I had zero plans to add anything
here for many reasons, but mainly because I
have a strict personal policy to never post
anonymously, anywhere, ever. Having the
courage of one's convictions is key to a clear
conscience, and if I can't say it with my name
attached, I'm not going to say it at all.
I'm still not 100% sure that contributing here is
the morally correct or professional thing to do,
but I'm seeing friends and colleagues on here
taking the chance to provide testimonials in
the hopes of of warning wide-eyed new bands
about a snakepit, and I feel that these fine
individuals shouldn't stand alone. I know Dan
Millen as a cool guy and successful band
manager and club booker, I've met Pete
Chandler and loved his old band (The
Mudhens), and I respect Performer Mag's Alan
Levesque. Brett Rosenberg is young and
cocky (in a fun way!) but doesn't have a mean
bone in his body. I've never met Deb
Pasternak but we have friends in common
and she seems a straight-up cool chick.
I've been around the Boston rock scene since
around 1996 or so. I'm a writer and Associate
Editor for The Noise
(www.thenoise-boston.com) and Soundcheck
(http://soundcheckmag.net/) and AltarNative
(www.altarnative.com). I managed a band that
got a good buzz going for awhile, and now I
have a teeny tiny booking entity of my own
called Low Budget Superhero
(www.lowbudgetsuperhero.com). Like Dan
and Alan, people generally know who I am. So
here goes:
I worked for Rainmaker for nearly a year, from
approxomately February 2003 to this past
November (give or take a few months). And I
have eyebrow-raising firsthand experience of
many, many MANY questionable activities.
There is no need to go into detail (that
WOULD be mean) but I can say without bias
that Rainmaker's clients are treated badly on
both a personal and professional level. Often
behind their backs, i.e. some of you who've
posted glowing praise on here need to be
warned about what goes on behind the
scenes. At least two of you have no idea what
names you were called and what really went
on. If your campaign was done last year, you
can be certain that I'm not speaking
hypothetically; I was on the phone with
Rhonda on a daily basis and I may have even
been the one who wrote your press release,
bio and pitch letter.
Having said that, I can also say that there ARE
some bands that become darlings or favorites
of Rainmaker's, and for those artists Rhonda
really does do a stand-up job. The Jewish
Lightning guy was one example, she loves
him for real. There are others too, so I am not
surprised at all that there are good
testimonials here.
Rhonda is not pure evil; she's just
extraordinarily high strung and often rather
manic. (Example of mania: Send her one
email with five pieces of information, she
sends back five separate one-line emails by
way of answer, all with the same subject line.
It's like she can't focus long enough to craft a
paragraph.) She does get up early in the
morning and gets right to work, is on the
phone all day and does have some good
contacts out there. But her behavior is
inconsistent: She can display scathing,
heated competitiveness with other publicists,
but can also be open and sharing: for
example, I did many hours of work collecting
information and updating her National contact
list and she told me that I could use that list for
mailing CDs of the band I was managing at
the time. (I didn't use her list, but that offer was
pretty cool of her).
I fully understand the mixed testimonials here
wherein you get a charismatic, warm and
knowing person versus an enraged,
demanding one. The truth is, you never know
which Rhonda you're going to get from day to
day. I'm 33 and have been working since I was
16, and had never been fired from a job until
Rhonda fired me suddenly one day. ( ! ) In the
space of about twenty minutes, via a series of
four voicemails in quick succession, I went
from a bubbly and warm "sweetie, you're the
best thing that ever happened" to a clipped
and cold "your services are no longer
required." Literally. I wish I'd saved the
voicemails. I'm still laughing about it...if my
best friend hadn't been in the room with me
listening to the voicemails, no one would
believe the circumstances under which I was
unceremoniously let go from Rainmaker!
Jokes about "Sybil" ensued. Based on the
derogatory way she'd talked about other
ex-employees and the names she gave them
(The Retard, The Ditz etc) I can only imagine
what she's been saying about me. I can't let it
bug me...I know I did a fab job and I see now
that she doesn't keep the same assistants for
very long.
On those occasions when her heart is in it,
Rhonda really will do a good campaign.
Unfortunately I think "greed" takes over more
often than not and she's more interested in
rooking new bands than genuinely helping
them, and yes, the words "vindictive" and "flew
off the handle" ring very true. It's not cool.
Bottom line is this: hiring a publicist is a crap
shoot to begin with. There are no guarantees
in this business. You could use ANY publicist
to send your CDs to two hundred contacts (or
do it yourself) and get zero response.
Sometimes there is nothing the publicist can
do-- writers just aren't interested. However, if
you're taking the risk of giving your money to a
publicist, at least remove some of the doubt:
there ARE kind-hearted, business-minded,
well-connected, RELEVANT and well-liked
publicists out there who won't get tangled in
your personal life and perpetuate rumours
about you and just generally make for an
uncomfortable situation. Go with Catalano, go
with Planetary, they RULE.
That's about it. For better or for worse.
Rock on, be safe.
Lexi Kahn
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Dear Lexi;
We both know why you were fired; I will take the high road on this one,however. I have been lucky enough to only have to let go of 2 ass'ts in 9 years. Having said that:
I just read some of the posts from over the summer and it is actually getting pretty entertaining ,even for me!
Here are a few of our newer success stories for you all to go gaga over.
"Rhonda Kelly and Rainmaker is one of the best things to happen to Indie Music and The Music Scene in General! The Catholic Girls have been part of the rock scene since the 80s and we've worked with many great people but we have to say that Rhonda goes that "extra" step for her clients (which is a rare and valuable thing) and we love her for it!"
--The Catholic Girls
Rhonda Kelley & her team at Rainmaker Publicity did in 6 months what I could never do in two years. She needs to be on your team; her dedication and enthusiasm and hard work pay off in a big way! She truly loves her job! -Mathew C. SLANG!!
Rhonda's no frills approach to indie publicity was a perfect match for the Jazz Farm recording. Rhonda and Rainmaker generated more publicity for me in two months than I had done in two years! Super cool, super honest, ultra accessible, and she delivers exactly what she says, Rhonda for President! She get's my vote!" Scott Farr/ Jazz Farm
Rhonda Kelley & Rainmaker Publicity are a pleasure to work with ... enthusiastic, knowledgeable, persistent and responsive. I would recommend her services in a heartbeat!
-Deb Ferrara
Rainmaker Publicity got our band excellent reviews within weeks . . . they are one of the only publicity firms I've worked with that actually put thought and care into the press releases they write . . . no cut and paste, typo riddled copy . . . their blurbs, bios and descriptions are spot on and imaginative. Kudos to Rainmaker! -- The Cringe Band
Rhonda & company are the real deal! Real with their enthusiasm; real with their hard work; & real in every aspect of the word.. Rhonda has been nonstop energy for us!!
-- Jayne Digregorio, Great Escape Records
Your slave to the music!
Rhonda Kelley
Rainmaker Publicity
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Hi, Lexi: Thanks for the referrals to reputable publicists. Musicians might want to check out Serge Entertainment PR if you are in need of assistance. It's true that much publicity can be done yourself, but it's also true that alot of musicians don't have time to be on the road, write and record music, and handle publicity, too. We are one of those PR firms that also helps bands secure shows, but it's only because we've been doing that and PR for about almost 40 years now. If you have any questions after visiting our site at http://www.serge.org/sepr.htm, please call us at 678/445-0006. We are open late evenings ET as well and can design a campaign to fit your budget.
Thanks for reading.
Sandy Serge
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on Thursday March 25 2004 @ 12:25PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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Someone should also contact her ex-assistant Jen Marlowe, who was letgo in the EXACT same fashion Lexi was. Thanks, Lexi for having the courage to come out and do that. If one band can be save from being ripped off, then this thread has been worth it.
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Now that we have a public forum going maybe we can get a response to our unanswered correspondence to Rhonda and our 'absolutely 1500 dollar, down the drain' campaign of 2003.
Letter dated July 15, 2003:
Rhonda:
... I find your business practices totally unacceptable and deplorable. Most notably blocking e-mails from our address until you want to either solicit more business or want a payment. I don’t buy the preferences line, sorry. And of course there was the telephone conversation you abruptly decided to end. It was hard to believe that this was the same person who seemed so appeasing when she was trying to sell her services and eager to answer any questions at all I might have. Ironically, I was only asking for the list of contacts that you assured me I would be provided as part of the agreement. Which, by the way, do not include many of those you cited in Mark’s “National Press Campaign.” I only hope you can keep some level of professionalism when contacting people on Mark’s behalf. Its pretty bad when you hire a publicist and then have to worry how they might be representing you.
As you know, I did not sign a contract with you but have made a point to honor my verbal agreement. To date, the only review we have received that was not something I had originally sent was the celebritycafe.com which I would not call a review. In fact it doesn’t even make sense. It’s early yet but time will tell.
And finally, I have since learned that I am not alone in my dissatisfaction with your services rather than your suggestion that the problem lies with me. Perhaps I should have asked for references, but after speaking with you on the telephone it just didn’t seem necessary. Too bad we didn’t have the last conversation first. But I am confident that you will make every reasonable effort to resolve these matters."
E-mail dated September 20, 2003:
" ... fact is so far the only substantial review from your 'National Press Campaign' was a review by Gail Worley (your associate) which I might say was truly well-written and an educated observation. Then there was the Celebrity Cafe (which was by no means a review) ... Minor 7th (another nonsensical blurb) and Impact Press (yet, another blurb). Compare those to the reviews in Country Music Round Up, AltCountryTab, Flyin Shoes, The Baltimore Citypaper, Muse's Muse, Mindquest, Le Cri du Coyote, Mescalina, Roots Highwaay to name just a few that are a result of our efforts and you have to begin to question where are the reviews from your campaign.
I realize any press is a good thing, but what is missing is what you sold us on (you remember the outlets you sited ... CMJ, Billboard, No Depression, Performing Songwriter, Relix, etc., etc.). However, I was not aware that the "Official campaign follow-up" started from the day you receive expenses. The playing field shifts so much, I can't decipher the game plan.
Rhonda, I am not a local band, who gets excited over seeing my name in print on the web. Let's get serious here, ok? And I am not so egotistical to think everyone is going to want to review my material and therein lies the decision to hire a professional publicist. But given the fact that I do have an established track record of ongoing media attention at least one credible source should have (and has in the past) written something especially coming from a professional publicist.
You claim you are not even halfway through the campaign. But since you have never been one to hestitate about your expectations and likewise keeping with the standard you have set, do know that I expect the final half to be the national outlets that you had sited in your original proposal."
Please note this is just a sampling (Volume I) of a well-documented case study of our dealings with Rhonda. Did I hear somebody say "class action suit." We noticed Rhonda is now a member of the Better Business Bureau. Hello?
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WOW!..I can't believe these postings....is this still going on? What a bunch of whiners! Listen, boys & girls I have news for you...the music business is a tough business and its full of rejection. Deal With It! Stop shooting the messengers. I have had a chance to read thru the posts and there are a lot of repeats from the same individuals but, it looks like there are a hand full of bands that are ,shall I say, disenchanted with me. Instead of attacking back, let me just say this:
The culture of the music publicity business is very aggresive and sometimes abrasive.
I am a tough competitor and am in the trenches everyday fighting for placement for my bands.I do not coddle my bands, I do not council my bands, I do not hold motivational meetings with my bands, I get them press! I chose bands carefully but not all bands are going do well. And its heartbreaking for those bands that have put so much into their cd's and have had less then stellar results.I understand this and can appreciate your frustration, but, your attention is misguided.These particular posts seem more personal than work related to me. And it isn't personal, it is just a subjective business.
I have worked hundreds of bands over the past 8 years and I know I can't please every single one of them. And so..it goes.
I would urge these few bands to go back to the drawing board, accept that the cd was not well received and make another one! Prove the bastards (reviewers) wrong! Whining on messageboards is a cowardly way to deal with rejection & it isn't going to get you where you want to be.
Rhonda Kelley
Rainmaker Publicity
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Rhonda...if this was merely about rejection, why aren't there similiar threads about your more honest competitors?
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| by
on Sunday October 17 2004 @ 03:49AM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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That's a good question actually. I think the fact that I work about 90- 100 bands per year and I have been in business for almost 9 years...well that's alot of bands. I am surprised, given the nature of this mesageboard that there are only 4 bands pissed off. I have to drop bands for non-payment a few times a year and its never pleasant.
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| by
on Thursday April 08 2004 @ 12:15PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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TRY TO PAY ATTENTION RHONDA:
Your response was a complete and total deflection of responsibility. NOT ONE posting complained about being ill-received by industry folk. The only complaints were about YOU! Consider yourself lucky that you have not been held liable for your fraudulent business practices. If you firmly believe that you are doing a good job why not refund the $1,500.00 to those client for whom you could not deliver the promises you made to solicit their business? Why not have clear written contracts that outline what people will get for there money?
Anyone making music for more than a year has faced rejection; the rationale that the postings are mere sour grapes is foolish. Most of the messages are from seemingly intelligent and articulate people. And yes, people tend to "whine" when they get RIPPED OFF!
TO ALL OTHERS:
There is no statute on a small claims suits. If you were scammed 5 years ago or 5 days ago. It cost $40 to file (which Rhonda would have to pay if she lost). There is currently a $2,000.00 cap on small claims suits. It requires no attorney and is very easy to do. Even if you had no paper trail, she would be required to show up in court to answer to the suit. The inconvenience to her would be worth it because you do have to sit around for a couple of hours.
I find this website endlessly entertaining.
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| by
on Friday April 09 2004 @ 03:59PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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File a complaint
Better Business Bureau Online Complaint System
http://complaints.bbb.org/Welcome.asp
or
BBB Serving E MA, ME and VT
http://www.bosbbb.org
Email: info@bosbbb.org
Phone: (508) 652-4800
Fax: (508) 652-4820
235 West Central Street, Suite 1
Natick, MA 01760 -3767
Rainmaker is a member since 12/01/03 and
subject to their terms including arbitration
and informal dispute resolution.
and yes, this thread is very interesting!
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Wow, talk about not even answering the questions.
If Rhonda can confuse what has been alleged in this thread with musicians not being happy with the press results, conveniently leaving out the issues they took with her actual performance and attitude, then the "truthfulness" of her response would lead me to believe that the claims are true...
Wow, Rhonda, for a PR person, you're really bad at, well, PR...
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Like Lexi, I have been watching this thread for the last few months and I was content sitting on the sidelines until I saw Rhonda's latest response. I hope that she is actually talking outside of this forum to some of the folks who are voicing complaints, and vice versa, but characterizing the outpouring here as "whining" by "a handful of bands" is just ridiculous. When musicians (clients), bookers, magazine editors and past assistants are writing in, that's hard to ignore.
If you are a potential client of Rainmaker you should realize that this thread feels like a court of last appeals for a reason. Look hard at the variety of people who have posted.
I played in the Boston band "Slide", did our booking, had almost daily contact with Rhonda for quite awhile- maybe a couple of years. She uses our band on her client list, uses a testimonial from another band member, etc. We were one of the favored few that Lexi mentions.
I write only to say that much of what I have read here is consistent with the person I knew then. No big surprises. I can not speak to CDs not being sent- I never got the impression that Rhonda was blatantly ripping us off. When she was excited she did a good job. Even a great job. But that excitement has very little to do with the money she is paid. Despite what she contends, it is ENTIRELY personal. In my experience she would work hard for short money if she liked you and wouldn't do much if she didn't (even if you had paid her); and she does like people and bands that let her get personally invested/involved. Time after time I saw this lead to the type of messy issues people have posted about. There is a reason folks are afraid of her and are so bitter, and it is not just the "(abrassive) culture of the music publicity business", as she suggests.
Read the last paragraph of Lexi's posting- it is the best advice that has come out of this thing. Rhonda is not evil, she is not all the things anonymous adolescents have called her. She is a choice that may work for someone. Personally, I would not recommend this choice to an enemy. There are no guarantees in music and PR, so why strap a boulder on when you're already walking uphill?
Ken.
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I read rhondas post. she is a little bitch. she does a job, if a person is not satisfied with her work, she should do a complete refund. she is a heartless withc, and I can't wait to see what happens to her.! :-) (black magic)
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I've never had any personal contact with Rhonda, but I have had to listen to and/or review a ton of CDs by bands she represents. Some of these are actually pretty good every now and then, but most are just incredibly poor. It makes me wonder why any label would actually bother putting out a lot of this junk and why Rhonda would then waste her time promoting them. Anyone with a crummy set of ears even can tell that acts like Lundy Lewis, Hayman Hartman, West 78, and Snacks go beyond mere suckage.
Right, I know what you're saying. "WHO?!" Not to mention more recently hilarious bad music such as Christine Martucci and Martha Lipton.
That said, I can only say beware of Rhonda, not because of any of her "tactics", which I couldn't care less about, but just the wealth of crappy artists she represents. I can't see it being anyone's fault but their own after hearing so much junk coming out of Rainmaker. My suggestion is to stick to the little bars and parties you might be big at in your little towns, but for God's sake, please don't make any CDs. It would make the music critic's job that much easier to not have to sit through so much shit.
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I remember a certain "music critic" who really wasn't more than a hack with access to the internet. He put up a website that got surprisingly many hits. He ranted up and down about how horrible some music was, even when some of it when multiple platinum. I guess there’s no accounting for taste. All-the-while, he was flaunting what sounded like a prepubescent teenager who bought his first guitar and recorded what sounds he could make with it. He even learned the C and the G chords. He sang, albeit poorly. Yay for him.
Maybe being a music critic really isn’t for you, “Megan”. Maybe you could be a shill for hire. Or you could try cleaning urinals while whistling Dixie. It might echo nicely, you could record it, and put it up on your hit list. Then you could post how talented musicians represented by Rainmaker aren’t worth listening to, and you could redirect the traffic to your site.
The point of all that, “Megan”, is that the music being represented by Rainmaker is not the issue here. The issue is Rainmaker’s business ethics, professionalism, and honour, none of which are evident in Rhonda’s behaviour towards a great many of her clients. That’s pretty clear based on the posts above.
Rainmaker has failed to deliver the goods that she promised, and smaller artists without experience in scamming are subject to lose their hard earned cash in the fraud.
Beware the Rainmaker, friends, for the fields are dry, and the rain will not be falling. Better to buy a jug of water and nourish yourselves and your dreams away from this cheat.
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actually alot of the acts are really bad, i'm
sorry. one of my jobs was to listen to them for
rhonda and give her a few sentences about
what they sounded like, she only pretends to
listen she has no idea what the bands sound
like, only wants their money. no quality control,
and that is a valid point by megan.
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I agree with alot of what Ken Schopf had to say about RK. We had some success with her at times, but my issue has nothing to do with whether or not she is a good publicity person (which I don't believe she is). My issue is that she was dishonest and often overstepped her bounds and would go off on anybody who raised the most basic question. My band, like any other band, had personality issues and conflicts to deal with. We found that Rhonda was trying to get involved and making some of these issues worse...we used to refer to her as a crazymaker.
That's just the opinion of another former client who thinks she is a thief.
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I have absolutely nothing but great things to say about Rhonda. She did an amazing job getting the band I promote into some great magazines. She created the "buzz" that we hoped for, and actually was very fair with us regarding money. Because of the work she did for us, we definitely had some doors open for us. I'm completely surprised by all of these accusations....
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| by
on Wednesday May 19 2004 @ 09:04AM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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Oof. Anonymous "former employees" and
"managers"? That's harsh. I'm against
anonymous posting on the Internet. Who you
are helps me understand why I should listen
to you. Thanks to Steve and Megan and Ken
for daring.
The "former employee" is right about one of
the job elements: listen to the CDs and give
Rhonda a short blurb describing it. However, I
can't confirm that that was because she never
LISTENED to the CDs-- she freely admits that
she can't write for shit. That's why she hires
writers, she can barely string a cohesive
sentence. Long before I worked for Rhonda, I
was a local rock writer and got tons of
Rainmaker CDs, and it was a guarantee that
the pitch letter and bio would be packed with
spelling and grammatical errors. Every one,
always.
Admitting the fact and hiring a wordsmith
counts for something on Rhonda's part. I
know a few folks in her position with sadly
misplaced confidence in their own ability to
communicate. Trust me, it's better that she
has a writer do it, and she knows that.
As for Megan, I agree with her that yes, some
of the acts are horrendous. Miserable, awful
stuff, HOOOO boy. Try being on the other side
and writing a convincing pitch letter for some
of those, Megan, knowing it's SO BAD but
having it be your job to get a writer to listen!
(The bio's and pitch letters I wrote for horrible
Rainmaker bands are some of my best writing
examples, ha ha!) But you know, it's music--
somethng I will absolutely hate, another
reviewer will embrace and adore. It's been that
way since time began.
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What the hell, I have the time and the cash...
I'm going to send RK some of my work and see what she does with it, all with the intent of documenting and exposing her for what she truly is.
The beauty of this plan, besides giving my bored ass a bit of amusement, is that she and her assistants will not know which artist\band is actually mine, yet I'll be watching right over their shoulders their every move. Literally. The worst that could happen would be that I'm out $1500 (no big deal), yet Rainmaker will watch what they say and write a little more carefully.
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heheh. Sounds like fun - but - if you have extra cash I am looking for sponsors - and I have the music to back up my claims:-)
Other than that, from the looks of this thread, looks like I made a narrow escape.
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I once worked with Rhonda several years ago
Man, she was one of the most evil people
I had ever run across before and after that.
She treated people like they were her own
personal hand puppet. I really do think the
lady needs to go to hell for a very long
while. My best hope is that noone else gives her
anymore of their money, and she dies broke and
pennieless. That may sound harsh, but you really
need to meet this freak of nature. For real,
dawgs. I am' out.
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Anyone know anything about Madalyn Sklar from GoGirlsMusic. She's friends with Rhonda Kelley. Just curious.
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If anyone would care to know, the website for the Massachusett's Attorney General's office is: http://www.ago.state.ma.us/
If enough of us filed consumer complaints, they would take this seriously and would go after her. Don't want anyone else to be taken advantage of.
While it's true that a lot of indie bands might be better off not quitting their day jobs, there are a lot of indie bands that will be signed bands on the radio next year. But this isn't about how bad a band might suck, it's about ripping off people and fraud. Plus, some people get all hyped up over pep talks and bogus reviews and can easily be taken advantage of by people like Rhonda who have no problem playing on someone's "dreams".
Although it's good to vent and compare notes, file your complaint where it counts...with the Massachusett's Attorney General's office.
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I just got a call back from Ronda and she said my "Death of an
angel" was very powerful. I believe she is being sincere. I have a
lot of faith in my new CD. I believe you have to have that 100% in
yourself if you really want to go some where. I would like more
feed back on my music before I sign a big check but honest
criticism is hard to find. If people think I suck, then I guess I do.
but I"m still going to call her back, I only have 12 min... on my
cell until midnight and that really does suck. JMC
James Michael Coray
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I'm listening to James Michael Coray's "Death
of an Angel" right now, and it's not bad at all. I
haven't hit the website to see what it's all
about, but it's theatrical as though he's going
for "concept album" status. It veers from
sounding like Jellyfish to Flaming Lips to
something Radiohead might try as an
experiment. It's definitely not a pop record and
won't get any mainstream radio play, but it can
certainly occupy a cultish underground. I'd be
able to promote this without lying.
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Talk to ya in the morn Ronda
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Hello. This tread has amazed me beyond utter belief. James Coray is a testament to the old adage, "There's a sucker born every minute..."
James, did you not read this entire tread? Are you really suffering from that low of a self esteem that you have to stoop to gutter trash to get some press for your release?
From the sounds of a few of these statements made by others, chances are, Ms. Kelley hasn't even listed to your little CD offering... Baby, Cash parts fast from fools.
Good luck.
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I found Rainmaker to be intense, professional and totally scrupulous...and I still went another direction. Consistent with much of the indie world, many of the complainers on this thread probably suffer from medioce music, worse attitudes and serious delusions about what a publicist can really do for you. Rhonda's no saint and certainly no publicity magician...but she has a list of contacts that she can probably rely on throwing her a bone a coupla' times a year. Do yourself a favor...pay someone for music lessons, create a business plan(allowing for paying a publicist to stuff envelopes or doing it yourself) and quit crying. 99.9% of musicians fail in general terms; So create success on your terms and achieve it. There are several people I know such as Guster, Alex Woodard and Charlotte Kendrick that I consistently read about and they are/were Rainmaker clients. Just as "fools and money part swiftly", babies will cry. Grow up, educate yourselves and develop some relationships out in the music world. It's a whole lot harder to get grifted by an associate. Get to know Rhonda or whomever you choose and make sure they are completely invested in and smitten by your project. If you can't get "your team" to buy into your music...who's fault is that?
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| by
on Sunday August 08 2004 @ 08:32PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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Hey Elvis...funny that you didn't decide to go in the direction of Rainmaker. Obviously, if your music sucks or is mediocre, you aren't going to get very far, no matter who is promoting you and for many of Rhonda's clients, this would be true. If someone wanted to hire me to promote their music and it sucked, I would never try to pedal it, but I guess that's an integrity issue. Rhonda's list of contacts are the same ones that any resourceful person can get off the web. Yes, it's true, you can DIY and save a lot of $$. Talent gets noticed, poor to mediocre stuff doesn't, so if Rhonda's lucky enough to get a decent indie act, she can "legitimize" herself that way (get a couple of bones thrown her way as you stated). Truthfully, a lot of indie acts sound like they just came from the American Idol reject line, but refuse to accept the truth. Anyone with a little $$ can record a cd.
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Hey Moi...what's funny about not choosing a particular publicist?
"Obviously, if your music sucks or is mediocre, you aren't going to get very far, no matter who is promoting you"
Actually, the success of subpar.critically reviled projects not going "very far" is hardly pre-ordained or even obvious.(see Williams Hung) Your naivete' is almost endearing, but sadly, many horrible acts find varying modicums of success. Be it monetary or otherwise.
"If someone wanted to hire me to promote their music and it sucked, I would never try to pedal it, but I guess that's an integrity issue"
Actually your "integrity issue" sounds more like one of taste. One person's idea of music can be distant from anothers. Perhaps you and Rhonda hear all of the same acts and she finds your artists horrible and you hers.
"Rhonda's list of contacts are the same ones that any resourceful person can get off the web."
Bingo. The more important question is how many relationships with these "lists" can be bought off of the net. If you're strictly hiring publicists for data...there are, as you mentioned, much cheaper methods to acquire addresses.
"Talent gets noticed, poor to mediocre stuff doesn't, so if Rhonda's lucky enough to get a decent indie act, she can "legitimize" herself that way"
I guess you'll just have to expound on what "talent" means to you. I find it interesting that the key to another's "legitimacy" is gained through your undefined, autonamous criteria for talent.
Also, I'm interested in how getting a decent indie act(in your opinion) legitimizes anything.
"Truthfully, a lot of indie acts sound like they just came from the American Idol reject line, but refuse to accept the truth. Anyone with a little $$ can record a cd."
So what exactly were you saying about the result of music filed under "mediocre" or "suck" going nowhere?
Success on another's terms is not a real compelling motivation for some, however, I'd concede that a major issue within the indie music community is generalizing definitions of success rather than creating objectives built from true, independent desires.
Moi- What exactly are you trying to say?
If it's just that a certain person is "illegitimate" because of there musical tastes..than I must disagree irrespective of the publicists or attendant character issues involved.
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Megan Swenson: You were wrong about what?
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ps...
Research, people! Do your research before giving anyone your money!! Being creative types need not mean we're incapable of using our practical skilz--I mean, skills.
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Gee Rhonda
Think ya waited long enough to respond to these
complaints? Hey folks, take notice of the October
dates of her answers throughout this thread.
Rhonda, you really should be ashamed of yourself.
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Up above Rhonda posted a bunch of links with glowing articles on her. She PAYS Gail Worley and Keith "Muzikman" to write reviews and she PAID THEM TO WRITE THESE STORIES.
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If anyone wants to hear the real story behind
this article they can email me directly.
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| by
on Saturday February 26 2005 @ 08:35PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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Enjoyed all the posts. One fact remains. You have a better chance of being murdered than making it in the music business. Get the Yellow Pages and look under Trade Schools before its too late
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This fuk*** Bitch is a thief - No one can tell me Im not a hardworking musician - I toured Indie for over a year booking all my own shows- I enlisted the service of this bitch and as soon as the $$ came in she dissapeared- Shes gotta ticket to hell-
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Does anyone know where to find her in person?? Her site is down...
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Well, I am glad I did my research, and I thank all of you who had the balls to speak up. I especially wanted to thank Rhonda for responding with hollow excuses so many times that she essentially digs her own grave.
I do have a couple of suggestions for you people who did get screwed by Ms. Kelley.
1: Buy the domain name http://www.rainmakerpublicity.com (or rhondakelley.com) - as far as I can tell, she no longer owns it. Put up a message indicating that she is bad news.
2: Contact a music business lawyer, get all the names of bands that have been screwed, and file a class action suit against her. I am sure there is a whole lot of lawyers who'd be happy to work pro bono once they hear all your guys' stories. It sounds like a dead lock that ya'll would not only get back your dough (if she has any of it left), but you'd put her out of business in the process. What do you have to lose? not much.
3: File complaints with the Trade Commision in your state, they are very helpful in the state where I reside, and they are VERY EFFECTIVE at getting peoples money back, especially when there are volumes of complaints against a specific entity. the BBB will pretty much only lodge your complaint, they won't go after your dough. As well, if you are from a state other than Mass., file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, and both the state you live and Mass., that'll start turning some heads.
4. File small claims suits. As a previous poster mentioned, that whole porcess has been made more simple in most states, and is very cheap and easy to do. Furthermore, if Ms. Kelley is found guilty, she is responsible for the court costs.
5: Do your own publicity. Hammer away at it, and if your music is indeed good, eventually you are gonna get show and reviews.
6: Most importantly, get out and meet everybody who does the music you want in on. There are surely things you know how to do that they don't, or contacts that can be traded. I know from experience we have gotten far more out of hard work and contacts than we have out of anybody doing work for us, whether we payed them or not.
The other point is it feels a lot better when you know that the review or the show you got was achieved through your talent and not your publicists connections. A great review that was done by a friend doesn't do much for the self-esteem even though it may look like your the sh*t to someone who doesn't know the connection behind the curtains.
P.S. - DO IT. Take Action immediately. Stop whining and fighting on a messageboard and take her ass to court. You guys obviously have everything from bands to former employees to people in the industry who have dealt with her, and think she's bad news. There isn't much more you need other than some notarized letters that speak to the issue. If ya'll had the balls to post here, surely most of you have the balls to go one more step and take action.
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We just self-published our own cd under our own label. I created a company through my State's business license bureau and used that name on the cd. With a little research on the internet, the phone book and other resources a person can market themselves very easily. It just takes a lot of time and effort. Trusting strangers you have never met and sending them money is not the way to go. If you just set your mind to it you can accomplish anything. So far since our CD came out at the start of the month i've gotten our band's cds in local music stores, on the internet worldwide, got our band an on-air radio interview, organized a cd release party and invited the press, sent out press kits and demos, handed out teasers at gigs, created a mailing list, created a targeted venue list and applied to perform based on this list, spent countless hours researching and printing out help files on marketing from the internet. It can be done on your own without a publicist. You just have to know where to look and be willing to put in the hours. It's working so far for us. We have been doing it on our own (mostly by myself) for over 8 years and we consistently are booked all year. I can't wait to see how fast we sell our cds. It's all about getting your name out there and anyone can do it for free.
Come see our self-produced album "Black Highway"
at: http://cdbaby.com/cd/puddletown
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on Thursday April 21 2005 @ 02:29PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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I want to hire Lexi to promote our band. she seems to have her act together. (wonders if she is single hehe)
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Oh good...maybe you can take some of your testimonials from this page you thief.
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If you are looking for publicity, contact me at hilltownmedia@gmail.com with your bio, music sample and web address. I'm working with musicians and models and work at a fraction of the price many so-called "top" agencies work at.
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"With Rhonda Kelly, a terrible thing happens... NOTHING"
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on Wednesday May 25 2005 @ 12:03PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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i just took a big Rhonda Kelly, i'd stay out of the bathroom for about an hour if i were you
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I had very bad experience. Rhonda Kelley has a good attitude of take the money and run. She used a few bucks of my 1500 $ to buy some internet review until payment was finish. after this desapired and reply to my mails just that she was working but the fact that no report and no feedback about actions was done all along the campaign. This show that was no true and result show that as well. I tried to be positive with her proposing a bost to tha campaign adding more money but no reply... very professional.
I strong do not reccomend her service and if someone want to start a legal action against her I will be happy to joint.
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I feel hiring a promoter at this level of your careers is not a wise business move. If you're good people will notice and you will get reviews. Invest that $1500 in postage, demo CD's and send the shit out yourselves. Let me guess, you all joined TAXI as well. Never pay anyone to listen to your shit. Even legit managers won't force a contract on you.
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Check out her Testimonials section www.rm-pr.com/
testimonials.html scroll midway down and see our own
Derek Sivers endorsing her with a quote.
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But after reading this there is no way. True or not true the BBB and this board are all I needed to read.
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...dang... ... ... ...this was better than watching TV... :-D
-Fionna
www.fionnafaulk.com
www.myspace.com/stadiumofsaints
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I too have had a DISASTEROUS expierience in early 2002 with
Ms. Kelley. After spending $2000+ on her to do on a small CD
release and local press for our release party, I got 2 positive and
1 negative reviews. The day of the release party, I called her to
get a list of local news and reviewers that I was promised by
Rhonda and her shady "NYC associate". On that call, I was told
that she didn't have all day to field my questions, and she could
not provide a list of her precious names to me, because she
didn't want them to "get out". I only wanted the names so the
press people didn't have to pay for their entry to the venue. No
press came, called, emailed, or wrote. Of the 350 CD's I sent
her, I got 3 reviews, as I mentioned above.
After this abortion, and epic waste of money for a small indy
band, I sent out 66 of my own presskits to various magazines
and online zines. I had about 25-35 reviewed, most of them
positively. Gee, professional publicist gets about a 1% batting
average, while a newbie like me, with my first real effort at
publicty gets almost 50%? You do the math.
For those who have had good luck with Rhonda and Rainmaker
Publicity, thank your lucky stars, and move on. Learn how to do
this stuff on your own, and you'll be much better off.
By the way, for those who think that maybe the disc was just
awful, or we were simply unmarketable, our band played just
about everywhere east of the Mississippi river in 3 years,
opening for Danzig, The Misfits, The Exploited, Deicide, Nuclear
Assault, Jello Biafra, The Turbo AC's, Motorhead, Zakk Wilde, and
many more. We worked our relationship with media to the point
where we were named one of the 50 hardest touring bands by
Caustic Truths Magazine in 2004, alongside Sum 41 and The
Hellacopters. My band Leviathan has now gone our seperate
ways, but my time and money that was wasted on Rhonda Kelley
is one of the most stinging, ruthless things that I've ever seen
happen to a small band on a low to non-existant budget.
If you have questions, for me, don't hesitate to hit me up with an
email. You can find me at the following sites, working on my
new projects.
Shane Tierney
http://www.seventhlevelrecords.com
http://www.primerblack.com
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By the way, many of the tales above are strikingly similar, all this
happened to me as well:
1) She was nice & professional before payment, nasty and abrupt
afterwords.
2) She'd answer an email with 3 or 4 short questions in it in 3 or
4 seperate, one sentence emails
3) Mispelled our name constantly.
4) Only reviews were from Music Dish & 2 others she had "hook
ups" with
5) Promised booking support in MA, never came through with
any.
6) Turned unexplicably nasty after last payment went in, hung
up on me on the phone, refused to answer emails. (My average
phone conversation with her was 10-15 minutes max, not more
than once a week.)
7) Blamed the artist for their failure, blamed the CD for the
failure, blamed everyone but herself for her failure. (If you were
a good publicist, couldn't you sell something that was BAD too?)
8)And finally, we had our CD sent to a DANCE/POP reviewer.
How do you think we fared as a metal/punk band going there?
Rhonda's responses on here don't answer any questions.
Unfortunately, she will continue to find suckers and milk bands
for all their hard earned money. Most of what people have said
above about doing your own legwork and publicity is a truth I
have come to realize due to being screwed by Rhonda. In a
strange way, I have to thank the incompetent bitch, without her
shafting me so early on, I could have made a much more costly
mistake later. If anyone thinks that this is "par the course" for
any busy publicist, check around. Google Ariel Publicity, or any
reputable group, and you will see that this kind of feedback isn't
out there about anyone worth their salt. It has nothing to do
with volume Rhonda, it has to do with getting the job done and
not just taking a check and walking away.
Again, if anyone has any questions for me, please feel free to
reach out, I'd happily take any time necessary to make sure not
one more band is taken advantage of.
Rhonda, since you are checking this board regularly, and now
shifting your website to undoubtedly dodge bad writings such as
this one, I'm going to address you here. Don't contact me. I have
nothing that I want to say to you that I haven't said here. The
only reason I haven't chosen to take you to small claims court is
because of the loss of my time to travel to Boston to do so. I
hope that you find another field of work that you are better
suited to, but you have a lot of apologies to give out to the
bands that you robbed and then snubbed over the years.
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That's why she loves to work with bands that are not in Boston b/c she knows they're too busy to fill out the paper work and make the trip. She knows exactly what she's doing and she's pretty damn good at it. Screwing bands that is.
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on Monday September 19 2005 @ 02:40PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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Wow!
I sure hope every "disgruntled" band member here is telling the truth cause you've sure cost her my business. While I am not doubting anyone's story, I am wondering if some of you are just happy because you maybe expected the cover of Rolling Stone and a Jay Leno gig.
I'm researching her as I was looking to hire her and I googled "Rainmaker Publicity" to find their URL and the link to this is what came up. I clicked it thinking it was another CDbaby helpful article for indie musicians and lo and behold!
There is a couple lessons to be learnt here. Even if RP does succeed in getting you in the NE Performer etc, that's not going to do anything for your career. Don't pay someone $1500 bucks just so you can see your name in print, if its not worthwhile print. Do it yourself or better yet, spend the money on other things. If you sell CDs at your shows, pressing up a 1000 copies could garner you a minimum of $8000 in sales.
After reading this, I'm of the conclusion that even if they were on their A Game, no amount of PR work that RP does will garner you that much in sales. And if you are an artist who just pressed up a 1000 copies, you really don't need PR. Stop gassing yourself.
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