In addition to the reviews for magazines and websites which I am hired to write, as an independent journalist and publicist with 30 years of experience, I also offer a service of professionally written promo pieces, artist profiles, interviews, and feature articles to artists for use in marketing and publicity.
My background in the music industry includes being a current member of 
The Recording Academy and a voting member for The GRAMMYS, with some of my own music having been submitted for award consideration.
Artists I’ve reviewed and/or interviewed include Ravi Shankar, Carlos Santana, Jon Anderson of the rock group Yes, Blackmore’s Night with Richie Blackmore of Deep Purple, Windham Hill Records founder Will Ackerman, new age GRAMMY winners Ricky Kej & Wouter Kellerman and Laura Sullivan, as well as Steven Halpern, Peter Kater, and Suzanne Ciani, David Arkenstone, Kitaro, Constance Demby, Yanni, Jonn Serrie, Enya, and many more.
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I am also a music producer and recording artist with 3 albums in collaboration with Steven Halpern.
I offer a comprehensive PROMOTIONAL PACKAGE which includes:
1. An in-depth feature article as the centerpiece of the larger package.
Please note, the feature article is not written as an “album review.” As a publicist, my goal is to provide deeper insight into the artist’s background, inspiration, and creative process, as well as a specific focus on their current release. (See testimonials below)
2. An interview, which adds greater detail to the feature article about the artist and their music. Direct quotes and information gained from the interview provide a personal perspective in the artist’s own words.
3. An attractively designed customized web page will be created and posted on this site. The page includes the feature article, album cover, color photos, and links to the artist’s website. The page has its own url you can link to and include in marketing materials and post on a website, Facebook, and other social media. See “Home” page of this site for examples.
New Feature – For photos that would benefit from it, basic photo editing and re-touching are now included in the package. Parameters like contrast, definition, color, highlights, shadows, and more can be adjusted to bring out the full potential of an image, whenever possible.
4. If you have a YouTube video of a song or sampler from the album, it will be embeded directly onto the page with the feature article, so that the reader can hear some of the music right from the page without having to click on a link to another website. (For my music video production services – see below.)
New Feature – A brief comment, including a link to your feature article on Music and Media Focus, will be posted in the Comments section on your YouTube video page.
5. Additionally a shorter edited version of the article will be created and posted on point of purchase sites such as the artist’s Amazon, iTunes, and CD Baby pages, where it can be seen worldwide. On Amazon I have a “Top Reviewer” ranking and I have received hundreds of replies from readers stating that my comments were helpful to them in making purchases.
Direct links to the artist’s pages on Amazon, iTunes, & CD Baby will be posted in the feature article where the reader can click to purchase the album and hear samples.
6. For artists who have entered their album into the ZMR data base, reviews will also be submitted to Zone Music Reporter for publication on their website. ZMR is a major industry resource for recording artists to gain exposure in the genres of new age, ambient, world music, and more: www.zonemusicreporter.com
The fee for a PROMOTIONAL PACKAGE is $85
Artists considering this service should email me at:
mdiamondstudio@aol.com
or mdiamondstudio@gmail.com
and send mp3’s or a link to samples of their music so I can determine whether it is something I can represent authentically.
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*****New Service*****
Now offering high quality affordable MUSIC VIDEO PRODUCTION!
Full songs and album samplers available.
Click here for info and to see videos I’ve produced for:
Peter Kater
Fiona Joy
Steven Halpern
Kathryn Kaye
My own music, and more…
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I’m also available to write press releases, CD liner notes, and promotional materials.
Update: I was gratified to learn that a number of the recording artists I did feature articles and promotional writing for were final nominees for the 2015 GRAMMY AWARD in the New Age category: Paul Avgerinos, Peter Kater, and Ron Korb. And a special congratulations to Paul Avgerinos for winning the GRAMMY in this category!
Also, congrats to so many of my writing and promotional clients who received nominations on the first round ballot of the GRAMMY’s.
Music and Media Focus has had over 95,000 views from more than 100 countries and is growing all the time.
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CLIENT TESTIMONIALS FROM ARTISTS & PUBLICISTS
“
A thousand thanks for your insightful, thoughtful and heartfelt article. Not only do you write exceptionally well with a poetic turn of phrase, you have really honed into the real message of this album. It’s such a joy also when a writer is able to mirror back to me things about the project that improves me as a composer/artist – and you have done that. Truly, this is by far the best write up I’ve received on a number of levels. Thank you again for your time and expertise. It REALLY makes my day.
Michael DeMaria 1/11
“Beth Hilton (music publicist) told me today that she enjoys working with you. She says you are a true professional. I agree.”
Ann Licater 3/11
“I am so glad that we contacted each other and that you are writing about the artists we are sending you. You are doing a great job! I am so pleased and so should the artists be too!”
Ed Bonk 2/11, – broadcast & media promoter, Lazz Promotions, Toronto
“Thank you so much for your feature article – I am absolutely thrilled with it!
It is very evident that you have taken great time, trouble and care in writing Michael, as everything you have said reflects a true understanding of my music and its intent, as well as how my personal spiritual journey is tied in with that. The construction of the piece is superb…so beautifully written…and it’s a really comprehensive analysis of the purpose of my work in general, and not just this new album.”
Lia Scallon 8/11
“Michael, I am always impressed with your thorough and knowlegdeable writing. You really understand the artist’s history and perspective, but you also make it easy for anyone else to grasp the essence of the music. Such a great service for such a low fee – amazing!!! I have a few artists for your services.”
Suzanne Doucet, award-winning new age music pioneer, composer, producer, & consultant
“Hi Michael, I just read the “Christmas Joy” article – THANK YOU – that’s my best ever ever ever yet. I’m reading it again and again and thinking how lovely your words are. May I just say that this is truly the most wonderful write up about my album. Your work is very professional.”
Fiona Joy 12/11
“Thank you very much… that is probably one of the most thoughtful article anyone has done of one of my albums… it’s obvious you took some time to research me and my history, and I really appreciate that. Wow.”
David Nevue 1/12
“What an incredibly beautiful, sensitive, deeply insightful feature article! Your genius with words matches your genius with music. I’m freshly inspired by your writing, and will be sitting at the piano, composing joyfully, for most of the weekend. Keep doing everything you do. You’re making a difference in so many ways.”
Kathryn Kaye 2/12
“I wanted to thank you personally for the lovely feature you did on me. You truly delved into my background/profile, weaving that in with the music review itself. I appreciate that you did that and presented a very real picture of me. I particularly loved the closing. I am a very spiritual person and it was so nice to see that you had captured that in your artistic assessment. Your own career is indeed impressive and though I don’t need to say this, I will, because you just are, such a fine writer!”
Ann Sweeten 2/12
“Wow – what a great write-up and I’m really glad you included some of my photography. And thanks so much for posting the shorter versions – I think will help quite a bit. Such a wonderful piece of writing – I think it has really captured the essence of who I am and what has influenced me over the years. I really can’t thank you enough for the incredible service you provide to musicians – I will be sending others your way for sure in future!!”
Lorrie Sarafin 3/12
“This is a great deal in my eyes. You are providing a very affordable service for us “non-mainstream artists”
Craig Padilla 4/12
“I am deeply grateful for all of your thoughtfulness in this. All of the 22 people on THE GATHERING are grateful for you support. I’ve contemplated this project for a couple of years now and knowing that it was worthwhile and appreciated in the world is a joy. Thanks for your considerable part in that.”
Will Ackerman – Windham Hill Records founder 7/12
“I am always very grateful for your well-written articles. Your words mean more than you know. ”
Corin Nelsen – Grammy winning music producer 9/12
“Please tell Michael it’s great. Very flattering that he spent so much time listening and writing about each piece and my work in general. Please give him a heartfelt thanks for me.”
Peter Kater 10/12
“Thanks for your write up about Peter Kater’s new album. I appreciate your positive take on the project and am grateful for your compliments about my performances. Thanks for your support.”
Paul McCandless, Grammy-winning member of Paul Winter Consort 10/12
“I’m so pleased, and frankly honored, at what you’ve written! Once again, you’ve managed to capture and nailed the very essence of the work. You are an absolute genius when it comes to that! I don’t know if it’s your keen intuition, or your experience as a musician (or both!) that gives you that unique perspective. In any case, I truly appreciate it…it’s very special.”
Isadar 12/12
“Michael, I think this is the most beautiful write up I have ever read let alone received. I’m very touched. Thank you so very much for this wonderful piece you have written.”
Fiona Joy 12/12
“You impress me yet again with your scope of musical knowledge and understanding.”
Beth Hilton, music publicist – The B Company, Los Angeles 1/13
“You are one of the few to write about an album of mine while at the same time capturing me as an artist and my life as a whole. Thank you for such a beautifully written piece.”
Al Conti – Grammy nominee 4/13
“Wonderful! I especially appreciate your perspective not only as a writer but also as an excellent musician. It adds certain insights to the review.”
Stephen DeRuby 5/13
“We love it. Thank you for understanding and relating our music in such a beautiful expressive way.”
Blackmore’s Night 7/13
“Michael Diamond, is a writer I first became acquainted with in 1985 when he was the music editor of New Frontier magazine. His recent article on my DEEP THETA 2.0 album places him at the head of the class of today’s reviewers writing about New Age music. Michael educates and informs the reader about the historical and musicological context within which this album deserves to be placed. He offers descriptions of what the album sounds like, and even more importantly, insights into the experience that the music orchestrates.”
GRAMMY nominee, Steven Halpern 8/13
“Michael, you are the one of the best writers I know! Seriously! And I am a journalist by profession. Thank you for sharing your gift of words and storytelling! It is a marvelous, marvelous talent you have, Michael
Bill Leslie, CBS News anchor 9/13
“Wow, I am so grateful for your generous, thoughtful and creative approach to understanding and expressing what I couldn’t have imagined being put into words. You are so very gifted and offer such a valuable service for artists and the readers.”
Karen Olson 12/13
“I need to say once again how grateful I am for the support of our music that you so kindly give. I mean this more for the artists whose work I admire, respect and love than for myself, but the recognition you give to the work made here at Imaginary Road is part of what keeps me doing what I love to do. I thank you for that as well.”
GRAMMY winning producer & Windham Hill Founder, Will Ackerman 12/13
“You did a remarkable job on the article. Not only was it written in a personal and engaging style but the organization, the use of graphics and the use of links made this a superb package. I can understand why you get such good feedback – it is well deserved!! I am delighted with your approach, which is a further extension of your endless creativity.”
Timothy Wenzel 2/14
“I really love your writing and how you included quotes and details about me as an artist and person. I feel that you truly understand the music and read between the notes in many of your interpretations. Thanks again for sharing your many talents and for helping me to share the music. I’ll get to posting your link on social networks!”
Denise Young 3/14
“You get this music, and the entire profile is thorough and very well written. And I really appreciate you following up with posts to Amazon and CD Baby, where the CD is available now. I think that album feedback on those pages goes a long way to draw people in to the music. I’m grateful for your generous support, Michael. You’re making a difference!”
Carl Weingarten 6/14
“That is the most phenomenal feature article Michael and only you could have written it. You’re a super talent yourself and I love your work, your music, and your understanding of media technology and how to use it to its fullest. Your portrayal of the spirit is right on the mark and uncovers the purpose behind the music – great call! 100% and 5 stars in my book!”
Jonn Serrie 8/14
“I am very grateful for the time you put in to not only listen intently through the album but to find the themes and articulate your experience overall. I have had people write about my work in the past but again you really took the time to get inside the record and I am very grateful for that!”
Trevor Gordon Hall 10/14
“Thank you very much for taking so much time and putting so much detail into your writing. You have absolutely nailed what I was trying to portray through the music and that is not easily done with a theme this heavy and complex.”
Peter Jennison 11/14
“Your writing is as rich as your music, with beautiful and particularly descriptive prose. Indeed, you do capture the spirit of the album, and the underlying emotions and passions that fueled the music. I am absolutely delighted! Your writing always flows like beautiful music!”
Timothy Wenzel 1/15
“The quality of your work far exceeds anything I’ve seen over the many years.”
Darby Davis, editor of Awareness Magazine 1/15
“I’m speechless. Totally and utterly moved. Firstly, this is unequivocally the best article that has ever been written about my music and me as an artist. Secondly, the way you wrote about the concept and also brought in the reality of the story was just so elegantly done. So eloquent. No one has quite understood that exactly and you simply got it. Finally, I felt while reading it, like you really meant what you wrote, and that it must mean that with EVERY article you write you are wholly sincere and THAT is of paramount importance for an artist to feel. I absolutely love it.”
Heidi Breyer 4/15
“I just wanted to thank you yet again for devoting so much of yourself to the world of music It’s an honor for me to watch a handful of musicians who have become family here enjoy the attention they deserve and your writing and the support it represents. So thanks for all you do, Michael.”
Will Ackerman 7/15
“Your compilation of work within the genre is a simply fantastic outpouring of effort and talent, and it is my good fortune to have your listening ear turned my way. Thank you, in advance, for your time, and for your sincere approach to crafting informative and insightful content. You seem to have an uncanny knack for getting to the gist of what is most relevant, and also for putting others in a favorable light.”
Anne Trenning 8/15
“Michael: You need to charge more!!! You went above and beyond. Thanks so much!! It looks great. I’m speechless. I have to say, you couldn’t have presented it better. That’s the best article yet. Feels like it gets the point.”
Paul Adams 9/15
“I cant tell you how refreshing it is to have someone really get what I meant to convey to the public with this recording. Everything I read was accurate and so kind. It is also appreciated to have it listed under iTunes, amazon, cdbaby and especially the Zone Music Reporter.”
Scott Cossu 3/16
“This is brilliant! It is definitely a “feature article,” not a review. The way you wove our quotes and personal insights into the fabric of your own critique is seamless: the mark of a music writer who is also a musician; a wordsmith as well as a tunesmith.”
Will Clipman 4/16
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Here are a few of my favorite artist profiles that I’ve written from over the years:
CARLOS SANTANA
published in Music and Media Focus as well as Awareness Magazine – 2012
After 36 releases, 10 Grammy awards, and 100 million albums sold over a 40-year career, I’ll assume I’m safe in invoking that classic opening line: “My next guest needs no introduction…” And I’m sure that I’m only one of countless guitarists that has cited Mr. Carlos Santana as a major influence on their playing – for me he’s always been number one.* However, it is more than his music that has touched my life, it is his Being… as a spiritual warrior, which not only flows through his fingers, but through his words, his actions, and his Soul to promote love, understanding, and unity in the world. Read more…
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RAVI SHANKAR PROFILE (excerpt)
Body Mind Spirit Magazine – 9/97
After an exclusive interview with Ravi Shankar, Michael Diamond wrote this article on his life, his music, and his special relationship with George Harrison:
Silence… as the dark embrace of night yields to the pre-dawn blush of the morning sun.
Silence… except for the gentle lapping of the water against the hull of the houseboat. Piercing the veils of sleep, a sound, deeply mystical and achingly beautiful, weaves it’s way into the receding dreams of the students who are beginning to awaken to continue their studies with the great master. The sound of Ravi Shankar tuning his instrument reminded the young disciples how fortunate they were to be in the presence of such a gifted soul. The year was 1966 and a young George Harrison, on sabbatical from the Beatles reminisces: “we lived on a houseboat in the lake, just Ravi’s advanced students, himself, and me. They’d wake us up before the sun and give us tea and biscuits, and you’d see boats go by pulling these floating gardens, and next door, I’d hear Ravi doing morning practice with the sitar. It was a very privileged position to be in, just to hear him.”
Now over thirty years later, Harrison, no doubt, shares some of the same feelings. Although he is still a student of the master, his relationship has evolved into that of a colleague and close personal friend. Ravi Shankar’s new album “Chants Of India:” – which Harrison played on and produced has just been released. A remarkable achievement for a man of 77 who has suffered two heart attacks. But then again, remarkable achievements have been the keynote for Shankar’s momentous career. Having received such accolades as being called “the single most recognizable world music artist”, “an icon of world music”, “a model musical ambassador”, and “the Godfather of world music”… Shankar manages to maintain a sense of perspective and humility: “I always feel I can do more. I am never satisfied. I think whatever I do is not enough. Mastery is one word I never use”.
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PORTRAIT OF A DREAM WEAVER:
A Profile of Suzanne Ciani (exerpt)
Body Mind Spirit Magazine – 7/95
The career of recording artist Suzanne Ciani is featured in an exclusive interview with Michael Diamond at her San Francisco Bay studio.
Looking up from her array of synthesizers and digital recording equipment, Suzanne Ciani pauses to watch the waves caressing the northern California coast far below her cliff-side abode. a large hawk glides silently by, while the horizon drinks the last drops of color from the golden purple sunset that fills the panoramic view from her studio windows. As the lights of San Francisco begin to twinkle in the gathering darkness across the water, it is easy to imagine that this breathtaking vista has been the inspiration for the seven albums of lush romantic music that Suzanne has produced in the past ten years. This, however, is not the case. As a relatively recent arrival in California, the last lights she saw twinkling from her studio window were those of New York City where she lived and worked for nineteen years, carving out a unique niche for herself in what is perhaps the music capitol of the world.
In the dawn of the electronic music era, when synthesizers were unwieldy beasts that bore more resemblance to
telephone switchboards than to musical instruments, Suzanne was there learning and mastering the emerging technology. In a relatively short time, she went on to become one of the most well known sound designers in New York, doing innovative studio work for the likes of Columbia Pictures, Kodak, General Motors, United Airlines, and many of the world’s largest companies. It was this aspect of her work that afforded her the financial and music industry resources to begin her career a solo recording artist. Although her professional work at the time was highly commercial, her personal musical style was far from top-forty. Since that time, music that utilizes layers of synthesizers, sequencers, and drum machines has found mass acceptance as exemplified by popular artists like Yanni and Kitaro. While many musicians paint sonic masterpieces from a digital palette, few are able to coax such softness, sensitivity, and human feel out of their circuitry as Suzanne Ciani.
Sitting in Suzanne’s studio, surrounded by the latest, state of the art equipment, it is interesting to note the juxtaposition of all this high-tech electronic gear and the decidedly acoustic oceanic scene that unfolds on the other side of the window a few feet away. Suzanne explains, “Most of my inspiration comes from nature. The sea has always been an inspiration for me. The rhythm and the motion of the waves, that to me is music.” The concept of waves has always played an important part in her music, including the title of her first album “Seven Waves”, and the name of her newly formed record label, “Seventh Wave.”
From playing with many of the top studio musicians in the world, to being a guest on the David Letterman Show, to playing at the Olympics in Barcelona, Suzanne has certainly achieved a level of success that many musicians only dream of. But then, transposing dreams into reality has been the true magic of this gifted artist.
Music and Media Focus 