Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Gowen.
Hi Mike, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
In 2010, I began working in the music industry back in Los Angeles. That city is where I cut my teeth and learned a bit about grit. I pretty much decided early on I would say ‘yes’ to just about any opportunity that presented itself so I can see where I could take it. I landed in a reputable PR firm and decided I’d learn as much as I could from all the publicists in the office. They all brought their own style to running campaigns — I was like a sponge. After seven or eight years I decided it was time to launch my own firm, Milestone Publicity. The company is in its fourth year now and it’s been growing year-over-year. We’ve got a great foundational team that’s pulling in great results for our clients!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Early on in Los Angeles while navigating the ups and downs, it was tough. But I was young, hungry and willing to stick it out. I remember desperately needing a job, I needed income! A buddy of mine got me set up for an interview, I believe it was at East West Studios on Sunset Blvd. It was for a job that I had no business doing…I didn’t have the experience they were looking for. After a few questions, one of the hiring managers just got up and walked out of the interview. So that was a blow. One month I had to sell my guitar amp to a guy on Craigslist so I could pay rent. It had to be done. I wasn’t going to let the difficulties of a major city like L.A. send me packing with my tail between my legs.
Early on, I was driving an old early ’90s Honda Civic. One night someone thought it would be great to smash out the window and see wha they could take. Unfortunately for them, I was broke so there was nothing to steal. They stole the car battery.
I’ve seen rockstars and their ugly side; cussing out some colleagues which probably gave me some PTSD.
Of course, starting your own business just after having your first child, moving across the country to Nashville and then having our industry get hit with a pandemic certainly caused a lot of hard situations that needed to be navigated. I welcome the difficult days, they are what shape you.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Specifically, Milestone Publicity provides public relations services to artists, bands, tours and pretty much anything that touches on music. At the end of the day, we pride ourselves on delivering quality results and it’s why our clients come back time and time again to work on subsequent publicity campaigns. Overall, we carry deep relationships with media and industry and that’s helped us build a track record that differs from a lot of fly by night PR firms that constantly pop up and fade away.
I built up a track record and about nine years of hands-on experience before launching Milestone. We take pride in helping our clients — whether they are established or emerging — achieve their media goals and generate the awareness they’re looking for on a new single, album or tour.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
We limit the amount of active client campaigns we work on so the best bet is to reach out at least five months ahead of a scheduled release, if we’re talking about an album campaign, to see if we have the bandwidth to onboard new clients.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.MilestonePublicity.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milestonepublicity/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MilestonePublicity
- Other: https://linktr.ee/MikeGowen
