They say best way to learn about the realities of life in the music business is by talking to the people who spend each and every day working in music, so that’s what we did for this piece of content. The following tips and tricks were pulled from a music writing group on Facebook that boasts over 1200 members who write about everything from punk to hip-hop, grunge, metal, pop, country, and any niche genre in between. We posed a question to the group earlier this week seeking the best single piece of advice anyone had received, and we’ve collected our favorite replies for you to enjoy:
“Find your own voice.” – M.J. Rawls, Mind Equals Blown
“Take risks and stop worrying what others think (within reason)” – Jordan Mohler, Kill The Music
“Sometimes you have to say no to the “maybes” so you have time to say yes to the “sure things.” – Josh Hammond, PunkOut
“Don’t ask anything you can Google.” – Alyson Stokes, Alternative Press
“Musicians are people, not gods.” – Joseph Tucker, The LP Collective
“Be true to yourself. If you don’t like something, either write nothing, or be ready for backlash.” – Alison Toon, Toon’s Tunes
“Don’t just write about one genre or you’ll get pigeon-holed.” – Sareth Ney, Examiner
“Ride the highs and remember them during the lows.” – Bill Knowlton, WeLoveMetal
“Give honest feedback. Artists hate being told "it’s so good!” They want constructive criticism so they have a direction to grow in.” – Jessie Frary, Vinyl Mag
“Be consistent. If you want to succeed, especially if you own your own press outlet, you have to commit yourself to keeping a constant flow of content releasing.” – Joshua Weidling, Digital Tour Bus
“Write about music that you think is worth writing about” – Molly Louise Hudelson, Circles & Soundwaves
“Be patient. This is something I still struggle with but sometimes you just have to be patient with things, whether its a press request, waiting on a writer to finish up a piece, or anything else.” – James Boss, Babetalk
“Don’t pander. The very first time I posted something on the Babetalk Facebook, I was trying too hard to be cool and bouncy. I was trying too hard to “internet speak” (I called All Time Low “pop punkers”). And when we started sharing the post, people in our target Facebook groups definitely took notice. It made me realize that your audience is smarter than you think, and if you’re just honest in your writing and engaging naturally, your audience will come, you don’t have to pander to them to bait them in.” – Carly Rios, Babetalk
“Do it for yourself and have fun. Don’t do this just to be “cool” or “to get hot guys or hot chicks”. That sounds so fucking stupid, but you would be surprised by the amount of people who have that mentality after they interview a few bigger bands like they are celebrities or gods.” – Patrick Walford, Rock The Walls / idobi
“Just do it. Thanks, Shia” – Kyle Gaddo, Save/Continue
