About Kari Gaffney

Formerly Gaffney Productions (publishing and booking agency) formed in 1987 originally as an entertainment and publishing company registered with BMI, to service the needs of touring musicians and to operate as a publishing company for said artists was reformulated in 1996 to expand its demographic of coverage by combining the experience and expertise of their staff and over 21 years of contacts in the business to become a full service publicity and radio promotions company. Kari-On Productions exclusively represents: Jazz, Fusion, Blues, World, Improvisational, Triple-A, Americana, Folk/Bluegrass, Classical (acoustic based genres) with a foundation of musical knowledge and expertise within a very specialized genre.

Our campaigns include out-of-the-box promotions. We look not only at the mainstay avenues of promotion, but we also analyze how we can increase your exposure to new audiences. In addition to building your most valuable tool, "impressions within the market" via publicity and radio airplay. We utilize those achievements to build you viable marketing tools so you can then take those achievements and put them to use with regard to gigs, festivals, advertising, building your fan base and to increase traffic to your product for potential buyers. This process has to be done whether you are a veteran performer or a debut artist. Large corporations don't stop marketing their products once they are recognized. They have to continue awareness and build new clients and potential buyers. THIS APPLIES TO YOU TOO! You are in the toughest industry there is; what is going to set you a part from your competitors.

RADIO: We stimulate and work with over 500+ radio stations (depending on the level of service you choose) throughout the United States, Canada and 100 stations internationally on a weekly basis to solicit radio airplay, interviews to promote new releases, gigs, and tour-dates (if applicable). We work with the following charting panels; JazzWeek, CMJ, !Earshot, Chart Attack, Roots Music Report, The AMA (Americana) Chart, New Age Reporter and other applicable music industry charts; we obtain special promotions such as station IDs, CD giveaways, special program features and quotes from radio personalities. The network of stations include NPR affiliates, college and community stations, satellite radio (DMX, XM, Sirius, Music Choice), cable music stations, syndicated programs, The Weather Channel, Muzak and airplay in hotels, in stores and on airlines. We have obtained airplay on such syndicated programs as; Jim Wilke's "Jazz After Hours," Bob Parlocha "Jazz with Bob Parlocha," Muzak, Skyjazz Internet Radio, Radio(io), M3 Radio, Music Choice, DMX, XM, Sirius, The Weather Channel, Blues Deluxe with 2.1 million listeners, Any Thing Goes and many, many more....

PUBLICITY: Our publicity department has obtained reviews and preview coverage for our artists with publications such as; Washington Post, NY Times, Time Out New York, LA Times, International Herald Tribune, 21st Century Guitar, Dirty Linen, Downbeat, Jazz Times, Elmore Magazine and many, many more. This brief example is only a highlight of the coverage we have obtained for our clients. We compose effectively written materials including biographies, 1-sheets, press releases, and pitch letters and have the quantifiable track record of placement for our clients. We coordinate print interviews with online and print publications along with flooding the market with your CD release information create and imprint of your name within the market and among industry who's who.

Kari-On Productions which has built its reputation on service, service, and service! Gaffney, a native Southern Californian, grew up surrounded by family and friends deeply involved in all aspects of the entertainment industry; many are famous performers, actors, songwriters, producers and sound engineers. All have enjoyed the many facets of success in the entertainment industry, including the business, performance, and the production of music. Some of the projects include such notable artists and productions as; Bruce Springsteen, Extreme Games, CSI NY, Transformers I and II, Radio Days, Freddy Fender, Doug Sahm, Chris Gaffney, Dave Alvin, Lucinda Williams, No Doubt, Offspring, Stone Temple Pilots, Eddie Daniels, Chris Holiday, Llew Mathews, Diane Schuur, Bon Jovi, James Brown and more..

Gaffney's experience as a touring musician, promoter, Indy label, distributor, and entertainment agency have given her the hands on experience to understand and coordinate with many facets of the entertainment industry and the knowledge to better serve her clients. Additionally, Gaffney has a long-time career handling PR for fortune 500 companies, artists, and actors so her experience in marketing and music go hand in hand. Along with her extensive contacts built over a 21 year span. She has obtained coverage in top print magazines, newspaper print and industry publications along with valuable online print, blogs, podcasts, zines and beyond. The Internet is a valuable part of promotions especially since the evolution of iPod and Mp3.

Jeff Williams:
Jeff attended ASU, where his studies included Classical Guitar, English and Pre-Med. After being accepted to the National College of Natural Medicine, Jeff decided his true love was music. He then focused his energy completely on his musical path. As the recipient of the prestigious Achievement Scholarship (award based on compositions and performance) Jeff attended and then graduated Berklee College of Music with a jazz composition degree in 1999. Upon graduation in 1999 Williams toured the U.S. and internationally extensively for 4 years. Upon returning from touring Williams accepted a position with the ASU conservatory program. In 2007 he joined the Kari-On Productions/Melodic Promotions team and has been a key contributing force to the success of our artists.

David Halfacre:
David works 3 hours per day at Kari-On Productions, helping in the mail department, stuffing packages along with other daily tasks so our staff can truly focus on you the artist and your promotion. His part time position is a great help to the company.

Kari Gaffney joined the JazzTimes community on Mar 29, 2009