Riot Act Media

What Riot Act Media does

Riot Act Media is a privately held public relations firm founded in 2005 and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, that develops and executes publicity campaigns primarily for independent musicians, bands, and record labels. Its core offering is album campaign PR, supplemented by tour press, consultation sessions, festival press, non-profit outreach, and book/film publicity for music-centric projects. The firm operates as a fan-first, selective-acceptance practice: publicists take on only projects they personally believe in, and they pitch directly to music press contacts whose interests align with the project, leveraging long-standing personal relationships cultivated over years with editors at outlets including Pitchfork, Stereogum, SPIN, Paste Magazine, NPR, The New York Times, Flood Magazine, and Bandcamp.

The firm has no proprietary technology platform; its product is the human capital of its publicists and their accumulated media relationships. As of the most recent data the team is distributed across at least eight US cities — Brooklyn/NY, Detroit, Athens GA, Fayetteville AR, Seattle, Portland, New York, and San Francisco — with six publicists (Nathan Walker as owner; Alyssa DeHayes, Laurie Kearney, Katy Henriksen, Talia Miller) plus a remote bookkeeper (Claire Ersan). Several publicists hold concurrent roles in adjacent parts of the music ecosystem: DeHayes teaches music publicity at the University of Georgia and volunteers for Girls Rock Athens; Henriksen is music editor at The Rumpus and founder of Trillium Salon Series; Miller serves concurrently as US Director of Publicity at Rough Trade Records. These dual roles deepen cultural fluency and generate inbound referrals.

Revenue is generated via professional-services fees — most likely project-based retainers or flat-rate campaigns scoped to each release or tour. The firm does not publish pricing; prospective clients are instructed to contact individual publicists directly via email with project details, links, and timelines. Distribution is primarily direct, sales-led, and relationship-driven, supported by a passive website showcasing the 100+ artist roster and 30+ client testimonials, plus an active Instagram feed that aggregates press coverage as social proof. Customer mix is intentionally diversified across indie artist SMBs and a long list of independent and major record labels. The company is bootstrapped, with no disclosed external funding.

Name

Riot Act Media

Legal name

Riot Act Media

Website

https://riotactmedia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Riot Act Media is a Brooklyn-headquartered, bootstrapped public relations firm that runs album, tour, festival, book, and film publicity campaigns for independent musicians, bands, and record labels via a distributed team of six publicists leveraging personal relationships with music press editors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music Public Relations

NAICS

Public Relations Agencies (541820)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Publicity, PR & Media Relations (Artists) (MPAIAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Media Relations & Press Office Services (BPAFADAF)

Keywords

• Music public relations
• Album campaign services
• Tour press services
• Media relations
• Artist publicity

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Album Campaign PR: Developing and executing publicity campaigns for album releases, which constitutes the bulk of Riot Act's workload. Fees are likely structured as project-based retainers or flat-rate campaigns based on scope.
2. Tour Press: Press services for touring artists, typically bundled with full album campaigns or as standalone engagements for established clients.
3. Consultation Sessions: One-on-one PR and marketing strategy consulting for artists and labels not yet ready for full campaigns. Charged separately from full campaigns.
4. Festival Press: Press coverage services for music festivals, ranging from major established events to emerging festivals.
5. Non-Profit Outreach: Publicity services for non-profit organizations' music and pop culture initiatives.
6. Book/Film PR: Publicity campaigns for music-centric books and films, a secondary service offering.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Riot Act Media is a public relations firm that develops and executes album publicity campaigns, tour press, festival press, and one-on-one consultation sessions for independent musicians, bands, record labels, music festivals, non-profit organizations, and music-centric authors/filmmakers. Their core work is securing editorial coverage for releases and tours through long-standing personal relationships with writers and editors at major music publications.

Product overview

Riot Act Media is a PR firm offering publicity services for musicians, artists, labels, and music-related organizations. The core offering consists of album campaigns and tour press services, supplemented by consultation sessions, non-profit outreach, festival press, and book/film publicity. Founded in 2005 and named after the final track on Elvis Costello's 1980 release Get Happy!!, the company has offices in Athens, Portland, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Album Campaigns End-to-end development and execution of publicity campaigns for album releases by bands and musicians, securing editorial coverage in music press outlets. This is the cornerstone of Riot Act Media's business and applies to independent artists and labels across indie, alternative, classical, and other genres.
• Tour Press Press services for touring artists — getting individual tour dates the editorial attention they warrant in regional and national outlets. Offered either as part of an album campaign or on its own for established clients.
• Consultation Sessions One-on-one PR and marketing strategy consulting sessions that help artists and labels gain clarity and direction on their career goals and strategies. Charged separately from full campaigns.
• Festival Press Press coverage services for music festivals, ranging from major established events (Governors' Ball, Shaky Knees, Hopscotch, Wildwood Revival) to up-and-coming festivals seeking to build brand and ticket sales through editorial coverage.
• Non-Profit Outreach Publicity services for non-profit organizations' music and pop culture initiatives, communicating mission-driven goals to music and pop culture press audiences in engaging ways.
• Book/Film Publicity Publicity campaigns for music-centric books and films aimed at music and pop culture press. Used by 33 1/3 Books (placed in national newspapers, magazines, and websites) and the MAKE film (coverage in Paper Magazine, SPIN, HuffPost, Utne Reader).

Quantifiable outcome

• 33 1/3 books placed in national newspapers, magazines, and websites for 33 1/3 Books
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers30 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• University of Georgia Music Business ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlyssa DeHayes teaches music publicity and promotion at UGA's Music Business Program twice a week. This engagement builds early-stage relationships with emerging industry professionals while contributing to music industry education.
• Girls Rock AthensminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlyssa DeHayes volunteers for Girls Rock Athens, a nonprofit organization empowering girls through music education and mentorship. The relationship reflects Riot Act's commitment to the broader music community beyond paid engagements.
• Trillium Salon SeriesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKaty Henriksen founded Trillium Salon Series, a nonprofit live music organization dedicated to redefining the boundary between audience and performer. This initiative builds community connections and positions Henriksen as a thought leader in Fayetteville's music scene.
• New Amsterdam RecordscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKaty Henriksen directed publicity for New Amsterdam Records, a composer-run independent label, for eight years. Artists received praise in Pitchfork, The New York Times, The Wire, and The New Yorker. This is a primary client relationship that constitutes a significant portion of Henriksen's portfolio.
• Rough Trade RecordscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTalia Miller holds a dual role as Riot Act publicist and US Director of Publicity at Rough Trade Records. This close integration with a major independent label creates mutual business development opportunities and deepens relationships across the independent music ecosystem.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Shore Fire Media: Long-standing independent music publicity firm representing artists, labels, festivals, and film projects across genres. Highly comparable to Riot Act in serving indie and major-label artists with personalized press campaigns and a relationship-driven model.
• Big Hassle Media: Music-focused publicity agency representing artists, labels, and events with a similar project-based, relationship-driven service model. Comparable to Riot Act in serving both indie and major-label clients across album, tour, and festival campaigns.
• Missing Piece Group: Publicity and consulting firm focused on arts, culture, and music clients. Comparable to Riot Act in delivering targeted press campaigns for independent and emerging artists, labels, and cultural institutions.

Others

• Sub Pop Records: Major independent record label with in-house publicity team; Riot Act co-founder Joan LeMay was previously a publicist at Sub Pop. Operates as a client-adjacent ecosystem participant that both competes for and sources music PR work.

Broad incumbents

• United Talent Agency (UTA): Large global talent and entertainment agency with publicity and communications capabilities for music, film, and broader entertainment clients. Comparable in serving major-label music clients but as a diversified incumbent with PR as one of many services.
• PMK*BNC: Major entertainment and culture public relations firm formed from the merger of PMK and Rogers & Cowan, representing a broad roster of high-profile entertainment, music, and brand clients. Serves as a broader incumbent analog with similar music publicity offerings but at much larger scale and portfolio breadth.
• William Morris Endeavor (WME): Global entertainment and talent agency that represents artists across music, film, TV, and sports, with in-house publicity and communications functions. A broader incumbent whose music publicity work overlaps with Riot Act's album and tour press services.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/riotactmedia
• Instagraminstagram.com/riotactmedia
• Facebookfacebook.com/riotactmedia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Riot Act Media