It’s one thing to work in the industry and engage with artists one admires. It’s another to become family. While working for CMJ Music Marathon in 1993, Katy Krassner connected with a Capitol Records publicist who invited her to Duran Duran events for their comeback Wedding Album. That led to her landing an assistant gig with the band’s management. Although their New York office only stayed open for two years, and she went on to high-profile publicity gigs at Hollywood Records and The Sanctuary Group, Krassner continued on as their website manager and guest-list coordinator.
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Flash-forward to 2009: Krassner became their full-time website manager and social media guru. Since 2020, she has been singer Simon Le Bon’s co-host for their SiriusXM show WHOOOSH! in which they explore new music every week. (And keyboardist Nick Rhodes is her son’s godfather.) Krassner spoke to American Songwriter about what she’s learned through her career arc.
What are the things that you’ve learned doing social media for Duran Duran that could benefit other bands?
The band trust me. If I tell them “this is a good thing,” more often than not they’ll listen. When you’re working with an established artist, it’s smart to listen to their fans. Duran Duran are better than most of their contemporaries in their social media engagement. They don’t just do posts when they’re on tour or selling something—they’re very engaged. You could learn a lot by listening to your fan base and not just the diehard fans. There are a lot of passive fans, especially on Facebook, who will tune in or chime in every once in a while. I know the names by now, and while some fans post every day, the ones who post less frequently are also pretty fantastic and give good information. Sometimes followers react strongly to things. I’ll take a screenshot and send it to them and they’re interested in that kind of stuff. “Why do you think they feel that way?” Or “what could we be doing different?”
What are the mistakes you find younger artists doing with social media?
I wouldn’t say “mistakes,” but it drives me nuts when people are lazy and repost the same content on all their outlets. Take five minutes to post natively. Freshen it up—you can say the same thing in different ways.
Younger artists really get caught up on streaming because that’s what is being served up to them. Don’t forget radio though! Musicians need to look around and see all the avenues to reach fans. Make a lyric video. Find other bands you’re in the same loop with and recommend their stuff and ask them to recommend yours. Really get to know your followers.
One thing I always tell new artists who want to hire me is that if you’re up and coming, you need to be doing your own social media. You need to engage with fans so they get to know who you are. They get a sense of what you’re about and they want to learn about you. That’s the exciting part of being a fan of a new artist. Establish a voice.
What do you think Duran Duran has learned from you?
That Katy’s always right. [laughs] But in truth, I think that they’ve learned that social media at their level has a lot of power. They respect the power of people who are spending time on your social platform and giving an opinion, or expressing or asking for something. Any artist can go online on socials when they want to sell something. You can’t just engage when you want them to buy concert tickets or an album. You’re a fan 365 days a year. They’ve seen that in action, and they respect that.
You’re doing a show with Simon called Whoosh! How does that affect the way you perceive social media?
In ‘99 or 2000 we launched a column on the website called “Ask Katy.” If you had a question about the band, you’d “Ask Katy,” and I’d try to get the answer, which would then be published on the website. We actually collated the best questions and put out a book, which now sells for a lot on eBay [laughs].
Before that, we had a Duran Duran hotline that I hosted. We also have something called Katy’s Kafe. Once a month, I have a conversation with a different band member which is posted to the VIP section of their website. I don’t know any other band on Duran’s level that engages like that. Nick and I also do an Oscar podcast every year, and that’s a lot of fun.
As co-host of WHOOOSH!, I’m perhaps somewhat better known than someone who just works for an artist might be, although I’m sure everybody has someone like me. That being said, the band all encourage me to be me. Sometimes I have some strong feelings about things and express those feelings on social media. During the election year of 2016, some fans tweeted to Simon that my political views offended them and he totally had my back. He tweeted that I had every right to express myself, and if someone doesn’t like it, they shouldn’t follow me. I really appreciated that. I think any caution I have on social media is due to not wanting to embarrass my kids because I work for Duran Duran.
What have you learned about Simon being co-host of the show? How do you view yourself differently now?
WHOOOSH! was the last thing I ever thought I’d be good at. I am naturally shy. But because I co-host the show with Simon, it came very naturally to me. It’s like talking to my brother. Our relationship is very familial, and our interplay lends itself to a sibling type of discourse.
I am very happy to be the second banana. Simon’s a star. Simon’s why people tune in unless you’re related to me or worked with me at some point. I’m definitely a good foil, and we have a great connection with each other, but he’s amazing at what he does. He surprises me all the time with his passion and knowledge about all types of music. WHOOOSH! is an unexpected happenstance in my life that I am so grateful for. It’s pretty cool being on the radio every week with Simon Le Bon.
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Photo courtesy of Katy Krassner
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