Poised to break through in Europe
By Ellen Ashton-Haiste

Left: Tim & Karola Lawson during an interview at 88 Acht! Radio - Berlin

After one meeting with Tim Lawson in November 1999, Pim van der Kolk knew this was a musician worth plenty of time and effort

That’s why the promoter, a veteran of some of the biggest names in the British and European music industry, who operates Pim’s Independent Entertainment Promotions (Pim’s I.E.P.) based in Amsterdam, is working tirelessly to bring Tim and his music to the attention of the European media and public.

Van der Kolk met Tim after hearing a few tracks from the CD The Right Way On and says he was “enthusiastic about the product.” But it was the personal contact that induced him to climb onboard the Timberholme bandwagon.

“After talking to (Tim) for two evenings, I was totally convinced of this man,” van der Kolk says. “(Here was) a nice, intelligent person, who knows a lot about the world.… He has interesting stories to tell and he can get people interested in him just by talking to them.… His personal charisma is very, very big.”

Working with Timberholme, van der Kolk started the European marketing ball rolling earlier this spring. Journalists from across the United Kingdom and the Continent were invited to a music industry showcase and dinner in London, England, where Tim and the band performed and met with the media representatives.

An extensive tour of media interviews and personal meetings followed, covering the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Holland.  Plans for a promo tour to France are in the works.

“We had some really good, enthusiastic results and reactions,” says van der Kolk. “We got quite some play in several countries… so, at the moment there is a good acceptance of the artist, Tim Lawson.”

The book, “The Right Way On,” which tells the story of a steamship captain and his experiences ferrying prospectors north during the Klondyke Gold Rush, was marketed in a package with the CD in Canada. However, while it was used in the initial media promotion, it’s not being actively marketed to the European public at this point, says van der Kolk.  We are at the moment investigating options for releases in several territories.

Van der Kolk says European music lovers will find something in Tim’s music that they have been missing – “a certain nice, pop music, which is not provided a lot anymore.” But, more important, they will find an artist who is “a lot more than just a guy who sings.”

This message came across well to the journalists who met Tim during the spring tour, the promoter says. It may take longer for public awareness to kick in but the payoff will be worth it, he believes.

“We are working a longer career, of an artist who has a lot more to offer than just one or two songs.… Of course, this is an approach that takes more time…. It takes a lot of effort and you have to shoot a lot before you have this awareness created.”

That’s why he’ll be bringing Tim back to Europe in the near future. “He’s a very important promotional tool to support the whole campaign… as soon as (people) get a chance to meet him, to speak to him, hear his stories, hear his interesting thoughts about life and whatever else he has to offer, they get very enthusiastic about him.… I got just this reaction from almost all the journalists we spoke with (during the tour). Nobody dislikes him.”

While everyone involved realizes the European marketing is in a building phase and may take some time to yield the hoped for results, van der Kolk is extremely optimistic that the public will come to appreciate the music and the artist, and the feelings that go along with the songs.

“I really have a very positive feeling about the whole situation here,” he says. “My experience was that for most of the people who were confronted with Tim and his music, he did bring the emotion across. We have to be realistic and understand that it takes awhile to bring this emotion across to all possible buyers. But that’s what marketing and promotion are all about.…

“There’s more here than just another guy who sings a few songs, and that’s my motivation to do it. It’s worthwhile investing for awhile and putting in a lot of effort and having the right people joining in. And we (have got) ourselves the best in Europe, I think.”