Hello and welcome to the final Blogger Spotlight of the week. We realize it’s only Wednesday, but we have so much content ready to release that it’s time to put this column on the shelf for a bit. Before we do however, we are delivering one of the most requested interviews we have ever received.
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Those who find lasting success in the music industry often do so because they have fully committed to their craft. They find the power to shake off whatever self-imposed barriers to success stand in their way and do everything in their power to forge a path entirely their own towards the goals they have set for themselves. They may turn to others for advice and reassurance, but no one can do the work for them.
The burden of purpose is one only you can carry, and in order to succeed you have to be prepared to commit all the time you have available to the pursuit of professional happiness. You can accept no substitute. There is a place for you in this world and you are working towards it.
Cassie Whitt accepted the challenges that come with a career in music when she decided to launch her own blog in 2008, but her pursuit of a life in music actually began several years earlier in 2004. That was the year Cassie, then 14, first discovered My Chemical Romance. Their music helped Cassie turn her life around, and in doing so exposed her to the true power music can possess. She knew then she needed to do something to help others find music that would eventually change their lives, and the rest – as they say – is history.
These days Cassie can be found around the offices of Alternative Press Magazine where she serves the publication’s web content manager. She loves her job and continues to help connect people with talented artists on a daily basis. We’ve been receiving requests to feature her story since late November and could not be more excited to finally be able to share her adventure.
If you would like to learn more about Cassie and her undying love for all things My Chemical Romance, please make it a point to follow both her and Alternative Press on Twitter. Additional questions and comments can be left at the end of this post.
H: Hello! Before we dive in, would you please tell everyone your name, job title, and the publication(s) you currently work for:
C: My name is Cassie Whitt. I’m the Web Content Manager for Alternative Press.
H: Thanks again for taking part in this series. We like to begin by getting a little background information about everyone. When you think of your earliest memories with music, what comes to mind?
C: I always think of running errands with my grandmother and listening to Patsy Cline cassettes in the car when I was a three or four years old. On the cover art of one of the tapes, Cline actually looked like my grandma, so I grew up singing “I Fall To Pieces,” “Crazy” and “Walkin’ After Midnight” with her—a part of me thinking the whole time my Meme actually was Patsy Cline. Later, in high school, when I joined choir, Patsy Cline was the reason I was thrilled to be an alto. I have a soft spot for classic country, especially Johnny Cash, because of my grandparents.
H: What was the first album you purchased with your own money? Do you still own it today?
C: I believe the first “album” I purchased was actually the Backstreet Boys’ Millennium on cassette. Haha! That was back when new releases would first go onsale in stores in cassette format, and nine-year-old me couldn’t wait to have it. I don’t think I have any of my cassettes anymore (I believe Spice Girls were also in the collection, if that gives you any idea of my awesome taste in third grade.) I do, however, still have Eiffel 65’s Europop on CD and still know all the words to every song. Yikes!
H: Can you pinpoint any specific time or moment in life when you made the conscious decision to pursue a life in music?If so, can you tell us about it?
C: In 2004, I discovered My Chemical Romance at dire time in my life. I was 14, miserable and desperately needed some sort of positive intervention. MCR provided a guiding light for me, showed me hope and–in a pretty drastic way–helped me turn my life around. They showed me the real power of music and how it could effect significant change in individuals and in the world.
Because they helped me and because I knew music had the power to help people, I then knew that I wanted to help others. I knew I had strength in my ability to write, so I wanted to use my writing to bring musicians and fans together or to help people discover the music that could change their lives the way it changed mine.
H: Let’s touch on your history with writing for a moment. What were your earliest efforts in writing outside of school?
C: Before I even knew how to spell, I used to dictate stories to my grandmother who would type them for me on my grandfather’s typewriter. Growing up, I spent a lot of time at his desk typing away, giving life to the worlds in my head. I actually didn’t have Internet or a computer until I was in middle school. I first started blogging when I was 12 or 13. Back then, it was very diary-style and bleak. I’m glad the first blogging site I was a member of has since died. Haha!
H: Who or what inspires you as a writer?
C: Living, my environment and just really observing and interpreting the world around me. My brain is always full–sometimes too full–and that’s where writing comes in. It’s a way to get some of it out.
H: Okay, onto your life today. When did you first join the AltPress team, and what can you tell us about the application process?
C: I joined the AP team as an intern in the summer of 2012. It was my final requirement for graduation, and I was very persistent, because it was my dream internship, and I had resolved myself not to settle for anything less. I joined the team as an official staff member the fall following my internship. Because I had shown them I was proficient at handling the site when I was an intern, they called me back on a temporary basis, then they must have liked my direction for the site, because they kept me on!
H: What was your experience in music blogging prior to AP?
C: I started my music blog, CassieTheVenomous.com in 2008 when I had just started J-School. My Chemical Romance were between album cycles at the time and a lot of the mainstream music media were doing a really shitty job covering them. It’s super-important to me to keep my favorite band’s history well-preserved and accurate, so I started my blog as a niche news site to give MCR fans better information than what was available to us at the time.
I was also the Blogs Editor for the then newly formed editorial department of our student-run rock radio station, ACRN.com. There, I oversaw a staff and a pool of niche blogs and began contributing content that was closer to the AP scene than to CMJ to their site. I did one of my first large interviews for ACRN, actually, with Andy Biersack of Black Veil Brides circa 2009 because I could sense their impending explosion.
H: Speaking of the term blogger, that brings up a question we tackle a lot: Do you consider yourself a blogger or journalist? Both? People seem to put a lot of weight in these titles.
C: When I’m blogging, I’m a blogger. Terms are relative, and I think they’re dependent on the platform and on what you prefer to call yourself. When writing for AP, I definitely don’t consider what I’m doing blogging unless I’m literally writing a blog-style Op-Ed.
H: Without going too into detail, could you run us through a typical day at work for you?
C: My job is very much about conceptualizing and realizing, and I wear many hats as one of only two people in my larger department dedicated solely to web. I curate, create or direct much of the content you see on AltPress, so my days vary based on which project needs the most attention, and keeping the wheels of the site constantly turning.
H: The world of music blogs has exploded in recent years, with competition for traffic and content growing fiercer by the day. AltPress has remained on top throughout however, and it shows no signs of changing any time soon. What do you think it is about the content offered by AP that keeps it ahead of the competition?
C: I grew up reading AP and I’m still amazed every day I come into the office and get to walk the wall of framed magazines and just be surrounded by the amazing history that has been built here. To me, it’s an honor to work here, and I want to maintain our website in a way that makes everyone proud and that continues the legacy we’ve built on a new platform.
There are members of our staff who have worked in music media longer than I’ve been alive. That experience and wisdom is invaluable, and because I’m young enough to be a peer to our audience, I can take that wisdom and shape it in a way I know the people who come to AltPress.com will relate to. I think it’s less about traffic and more being human and listening to the people who take the time to visit your site and making sure you’re not cheating them with sub-par content.
H: As someone who writes news in addition to features, you generate a wealth of original content every day of the week. How do you measure success and/or progression in your career?
C: There’s not a mathematical bone in my body, so numerical measurements mean zilch to me. I see a story as a success when people make an effort to reach out to me about it personally or when someone wants to further a discussion based on an article I wrote. For me, success is about connecting, entertaining, inspiring and informing. If I can make someone laugh or think differently about a subject with a piece I write, that’s a success.
H: The role AltPress has played in breaking new alternative bands goes without saying, but I am a bit curious about your discovery efforts. When you want to find new bands for the site, where do you turn?
C: I actually “scout” many of the bands we put in the AP&R section of the magazine these days. I don’t think you can be active on the web in the music world and not discover new bands. It happens everywhere you go. I usually just stumble across bands through the people I interact with. I’ve actually found a fair few of our AP&R bands from perusing YouTube. If I see a band name I don’t recognize, I Google it automatically. I’m super-curious and love learning, so I kind of can’t help myself!
H: Keeping with the theme of new artists, what advice would you offering musicians out there currently hoping to earn a bit of digital space on your site?
C: Just reach out! My inbox is always open, and it may take a couple nudges to get my attention, but if your music is good, it will receive fair consideration for feature from the other editors and me. We usually have a bit of a hierarchy for features (AP&R first, secondary coverage afterward), but if you blow us away, you stand a chance. Don’t be intimidated.
H: In addition to the albums that appear in the physical magazine, you run a wealth of reviews online. When it comes to receiving music for review and preview purposes, which services do you prefer and why?
C: Am I not supposed to put Haulix here? Because I honestly really like Haulix. Haha!
H: What is the biggest misconception people have about life in the music industry?
C: I think the biggest misconception about AP specifically within the music community is that we’re this big, scary monster that lives in a sky scraper in either New York or Los Angeles. We literally have five people total in our editorial department and exist in a warehouse in Cleveland. Haha! It’s not glamorous, and it’s nowhere close to being easy, but there’s nothing in the world I’d rather do.
H: Even though you work with one of the largest music publications around, you’re still quite young. What is your ultimate career goal?
C: I feel like I’ve been lucky enough to achieve my ultimate career goal. Working for AP was always the top of the top for me. Now, I guess my career goal is bettering our brand and helping it grow into the future. I’ve gotten my dream job; now I can work on my personal/life goals. Maybe I’ll write a fiction book or something. I don’t know! Oh, and if MCR ever come back and decide they need a career archivist, I’m 300 percent down for that. Haha!
H: If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
C: The pretense, cynicism and jadedness that some people harbor.Anyone in this world who loses track of their inner music-obsessed fourteen-year-old should find a different career path. Music is supposed to be this amazing force that connects people. Outta here with your negativity!
H: We cover a lot of ground here. Before I let you go, do you have anything you would like to add?
C: TL;DR – I really like My Chemical Romance.
