Tag: Blogging Tips

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Journalism Tips: Be Prepared To Lose Your Job

Hello, everyone! Thank you for carving a little time out of your schedule to browse this site and learn about the crazy place we call the music industry. The following post is written with journalists and bloggers in mind, but it can be applied to any profession within the entertainment industry. Times are hard for everyone, but with a little preparation you can learn to maneuver the business with ease.

This site exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

I have been writing about music for the better part of seven years at this point, and while I have always had a site of my own there have been several other opportunities along the way that I either messed up or had to leave. To be clear, when I say I ‘messed up’ I am dancing around the fact some places have told me they’d rather not work with me moving forward. Sometimes this is due to disagreements over the editorial direction or the style of content being created, but other times it’s a matter of resources and the ever-shrinking amount of money allocated to paying content creators. After all, anyone can create a listicle. You don’t need four years of college or any real training in journalism to tell me ’25 Things Everyone Should Be Doing By The Time They’re 25,” or to create a gif-driven post like “35 thoughts anyone who has ever been front row at a show has had.” You just need to have experienced life, and pretty much anyone capable of stringing sentences together can say they’ve at least done that.

The point I’m trying to make is that regardless of how good you may be, or how much training you have in a particular field, there will more than likely come a day (or five) in your life when you find yourself without a job. Even if you’re not currently getting paid for that ‘job,’ which I know is the case for many bloggers reading this now, you may wake up one day to discover the site and team you’ve been working with have decided you are no longer needed. This happens to everyone in music, and given the incredibly high turnover rate at many larger labels/companies it’s not uncommon for it to happen multiple times over the course of someone’s career. This doesn’t mean you’re an awful professional, unless of course you do something to warrant being fired. More often than not this simply means the business you work with cannot support its staff, and as much as they would like to keep everyone on board that is not always possible from a financial standpoint. It may also mean the company in question is changing its direction or planning to try something different, which often requires certain funds be re-allocated to whatever new project is in development. The reasons are limitless.

I won’t lie to you: Losing a job sucks and it never gets any easier. People working in music today know their career is almost always on shaky ground, and anytime the bottom does give way it only adds volume to that voice in the back of their head that claims they are ‘not good enough’ to make this industry their home for the duration of their professional life. This is hard to believe, I know, but you are good enough. Heck, you’re probably better than some who have been working in this business for decades, but the only way you can make it in this industry is by first believing in yourself. I cannot tell you how to do that, but I can tell you what to do afterwards. 

Once you learn to believe in yourself, losing a job is more of a stumbling block than proof you’re not cut out to work in the music business. It’s a blow to your ever-fragile ego that forces you to step back and think about what exactly it is you’re doing with your career. This is a good thing to an extant, but it can also be a very frustrating time in your life. The best advice I can offer is tips on how to be prepare for the day you find yourself back on the market, and I have outlined them below:

DO GOOD WORK

Quality work is likely not enough to get you hired, as there are a plethora of talented writers currently seeking employment, but finding success on your job hunt begins with proving you’re more than capable of meeting the the the demands of the industry. Networking and digital know-how will get you far, especially if you have a proven ability to build huge social followings, but no one is going to bring you on full time unless they believe you are capable of creating quality work on a regular basis. 

DEVELOP YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

If the word ‘brand’ makes you feel like a dirty business person who is void of a soul, feel free to replace it with ‘reputation.’ The two are one in the same, and in today’s music industry your reputation means almost as much as the quality of your work. Your reputation is what sets you apart. It makes it known that you are not a generic journalism who willing to turn out whatever content needs to be created as long as their is a paycheck at the end of the day. There is certainly nothing wrong with being a content generation machine, but you have a higher likelihood of getting a callback, as well as better pay, if you can showcase specific skill sets that you possess. If you’re an interviewer, make it clear that is where you excel. The same goes for critics and those who enjoy creating longform editorials. Being able to do everything is good, but having a specialty is far more important. Generic journalists are dispensable because there are countless writers who will happily churn out whatever content is requested, but those able to do one thing incredibly well appear more valuable/rare to those in control. Be unique.

BUILD, MAINTAIN, AND NURTURE YOUR NETWORK CONNNECTIONS

Networking is yet another key to success in the music business, but many writers do not realize that in order to network well you must frequently engage in conversation with those you consider to be contacts. Simply replying to press releases and requesting content is not enough. That is what is expected of you as a writer, and it’s what every person a publicist contacts does, so in order to forge a real connection you need to go beyond the requirements of the job. You need to learn about the people who represent the artists you cover, and in turn allow them to understand the person you are outside of writing. Creating real friendships over the internet can be tricky, but it’s certainly not impossible, and when the day comes that you find yourself without a job it will be the people you’ve forged real relationships with that help you the most.

KEEP YOUR RESUME UPDATED

This is probably the most obvious item on this list, but at the same time I know a good number of current industry professionals whose online portfolios stopped being updated around the time they landed whatever job they have now. This is understandable, as the presence of new work often comes with the hope you’ve found a home for your writing career, but it’s also incredibly foolish because it will slow any job hunt that may need to embark upon in the future. In 2014 there are a number of sites and services that exist to simplify the process of maintaining your resume and digital portfolio, each with their own pros and cons. LinkedIn is probably the one site everyone uses, and I would encourage each of you reading this now to use it as well. Beyond that, however, you simply need to find a site or service that fits your needs. As a writer, you should be maintaining an archive of your best content, as well as a URL all your own. You should have your own corner of the net that people can visit regardless of where you are currently employed, and if you don’t then you should head over to hover.com and reserve your domain today. 

BUILD GOOD WILL

There was a time in journalism when the most talented writers could also have the worst personalities and there was very little anyone could say or do to deter them. They were already kings and queens of the journalism game, so any attempt to take shots at their career or ego would run the risk of being viewed as jealously, envy, or a combination of the two. Today, however, the supply of great writers vastly outweighs the demand for great writers, and when it comes down to it companies are more likely to hire the people they believe will fit in with the rest of their editorial team. They don’t have to deal with journalists who carry a chip on their shoulder because there are countless other writers who could not be more humble, and those writers tend to be the ones others will recommend. In fact, as much as your experience may determine whether or not your considered for a position, my experiences have shown that people hire people they like and who are recommended to them by people they trust. Those people are never assholes, so do yourself a favor and lose whatever sense of superiority you may possess. You might be talented, but without a likable personality you may find securing work in this business incredibly difficult.

James Shotwell is the blog editor and social media coordinator for Haulix. He’s also the founder of Under The Gun Review and the host of the Inside Music podcast. His work has appeared on numerous websites and in several major publications, including Alternative Press, AbsolutePunk, and Rolling Stone. He tweets a lot, and would love it if you followed him on Twitter.

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News

Journalism Tips: You Need A Social Media Content Calendar

Hello, everyone! Welcome back from what I hope was a long and fun Thanksgiving holiday. We have gained a few pounds and slept several naps since our paths last crossed, but through it all we were itching for another opportunity to discuss the music industry. Today we’re sharing an editorial from our own team member James Shotwell and the importance of content calendars and the many ways they can simplify your blogging efforts. If you have any question, feel free to contact him via Twitter.

This site exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

It’s sometimes hard to imagine how anyone developed a strong digital following in the days before social media, but if I had to guess I would say great content was – as it remains today – a major key to success. You need great content in order to build a great website, and you need to know how to properly market that content if you want to see your efforts continue to grow in popularity. My time in the music industry has taught me that most music bloggers are good at one of these things, and generally speaking they have a decent grasp on how the other one should work. Those who succeed the quickest are often those with a strong understanding of both areas, but as much as I would like to say I can transform you into someone with every skill needed for success that is simply not the case. What I can do, however, is tell you about the one tool every successful site utilizes on a regular basis that the vast majority of blogs never think to create: A social media content calendar.

What am I talking about? A social media content calendar is a tool used by small business and bloggers to help create and curate content, as well as develop editorial strategy. It’s a time-saving creation that not only allows you to better understand your audience, but also to better allocate your resources, such as time and talent, without jeopardizing the quality or consistency of your work.

The design of a social media content calendar will be different for every site, but generally speaking they should be easy to read and contain all the information needed to understand you overall content strategy. You can organize your time by days or hours, depending on how much content you plan to create. You will want to come up with a system for identifying your individual writers as well, as your calendar should explain who is responsible for writing, publishing, and promoting each piece of content. Likewise, you will want to find icons to represent the various social media network you plan to promote on. You may choose to have each person responsible for every step of the process that pertains to their content, or you may decide to assign various aspects of the content distribution process to different individuals. The choice is yours, and either way this calendar will make it possible to convey your decision to team members with ease.

I spent the first five years of my professional writing life working without any type of content plan, let alone a calendar such as the one described above. I did manage to find a lot of success along the way, but having learned the benefits of calendars and content planning in recent months I now realize I could have done a lot more in far less time if I were better prepared for each new day. Content calendars allow you to not only plan for today and tomorrow, but also weeks and months down the line. As a result, you feel more confident in the content being created and your team has more time to research their creations. 

My own experiences may not be enough to persuade you to carve out a little time for social media content calendar planning, and that’s something I can completely understand. I thought I knew what was best for me when I was starting out as well, and as much as I appreciated advice from those who came before me I also couldn’t help feeling that they didn’t get what it was like to start out in the modern day. I’m still relatively young, but I have no doubt starting a site today is a lot different than it was over half a decade ago when I started my blog. What has remained the same, however, is the fact planning ahead will do a lot more for you than waking up every morning and hoping to create something great. 

So, instead of just telling you how my life has been changed by this process, I’ve gathered three reasons why you absolutely must introduce social media content calendars to your music site:

Content calendars help you avoid posting content that performs poorly

If your site is like most music blogs in existence today, you have a number of writers covering a wide array of topics who are geographically scattered around the globe. Most probably don’t earn a dime writing either, but remain dedicated nonetheless because they love music and they believe in their work. This is great, and as a site owner you will no doubt want to stoke the flames of their passion, but without a system of checks and balances even the site with the most dedicated writers will struggle to build an audience. 

A lot of people who start sites today make the classic mistake of putting all their time and resources into what they believe will be great content without ever taking a moment to consider what their audience may want. If you don’t have a target audience in mind for your work, then you risk inconsistent performance for your content, and over time your growth – regardless of how often you post – will begin to plateau. The best way to prevent this from happening and know what kind of content to plan for the future is to perform routine checks on what kind of content is well-liked by your audience, and make regular adjustments based on these insights. Services like Google Analytics and their numerous competitors will provide you with data so that you can better understand things like which of your posts get the most readers, which ones are good for generating leads, and what social channel is referring the majority of your readers. You can then use this information to adjust your publishing schedule, realign the network where your efforts are focused, and better plan what content will be created in the future. 

Content calendars prevent you from overwhelming your writers

Time and talent are two of the most limited resources in music writing today. Any site owner hoping to making a big impact on the world of music needs to learn how to best utilize these recources in a meaningful way, and that includes doing so without jeopardizing the health and/or happiness of their content creators. Having everyone write about whatever they please can provide you with a great amount of diverse content, but it can also cause many headaches relating to timely news coverage and even what it is that constitutes as news to you and your readers. If everyone is expected to do everything you can almost guarantee nothing will be done right. Why should it? Everyone can rely on everyone else, so why should any one person feel solely responsible for something’s success? If it doesn’t work, oh well, at least they did their part. 

In order to refrain from overwhelming your writers while still promoting a teamwork mentality, use content calendars as a way to assign content and bring everyone together. As soon as you review the data gathered from following the point above, use that information to brainstorm and plan the content that will appear on your site in the future. From here, start assigning that content to writers based on their schedule, strengths and level of skill. You can also allow writers to choose what content they wish to create from a list of topics, of course, but ultimately you will still want to get that information outlined on a content calendar so that there is no confusion moving forward. This will allow your writers to have additional time to research and craft their content, as well as ensuring that you have the most capable writer working o each piece of content. If there are writers who are working on content without an imminent deadline, consider refocusing their efforts on social media promotion or brainstorming ideas for the future.

Content Calendars Help Ensure No Network Is Spammed/Neglected

Amidst the flurry of content being created, content being edited, content being published, and content being promoted, it can often be hard to keep track of where the majority of your marketing efforts are focused. By outlining your social media plans on a calendar, not to mention revisiting them after posts have gone live, you will be more and informed and therefore capable of making better decisions about how you allocate time and resources to social media. Perhaps you’ve been sending 30 tweets a day and only posting to FB once, or maybe you haven’t updated your Instagram since summer. What about that Tumblr your intern in the spring launched? Is anyone still updating that? 

Every account you have on every social networks is a mini-representation of your entire site. By leveraging the clarity provided by planning your social media content in advance you will be more informed than ever before on what works, what fails, and what still needs a lot of help.

If you would like to learn more about the power of content calendars, as well as download a free example to help get you started, click here. Additional questions and comments can sent to us on Twitter.

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News

Journalism Tips: 3 Tips To Prepare For The Big Interview

Hello, everyone! Welcome to the beginning of another week of music industry discussion and commentary here on the official blog of Haulix. It has been a few weeks since shared a Journalism Tips column, but we finally found a topic worth sharing and a fantastic professional writer to add their own flavor to the mix. Matthew Leimkuehler has contributed to this blog before, but this piece may be his best to date.

This blog exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

So, you’ve established yourself at a reputable publication. You’ve reviewed a fair amount of records, you’ve done some live reviews, you’ve interviewed the local bands, you’ve even shot a few photos. And now your time has finally come. One of your favorite bands is ramping up for a new record run and your editor just sent the email over saying you’re the lucky one from your publication who gets to interview the band before the album drops. It’s a “bucket list” interview for you, one of those artists you adored growing up — you’re nervous, you’re probably a shameful wreck. That’s okay. Take a deep breath and dive in. These people are human and you are, too. This is why you started writing about music in the first place, right? Here are three tips to consider when you prepare for the big interview:

1. Do your research

You want to do your best to make an impact during this interview. Stay away from redundant questions. Sure, it’s okay to break the ice with a generic question about the record or the recording process. But don’t stay on the surface for your allotted time. It’s your job to dig into this artist’s brain, to tell the world where his or her mindset is for this release. Read old interviews, watch old music videos, soak in every piece of media that has led up to this release. Don’t repeat questions that have been asked for a decade on end — find something you think needs to be talked about more and run with it.

2. Listen to the music

Make sure the artist’s representation gets you the proper assets before you’re heading into the interview. Get an advance of the new record, listen to the singles that have already been released. Don’t go into the interview blind (or, deaf?). The artist always knows. Listen intently and prepare questions about the record. This is new material for the artist, he or she should be excited to talk about the project and what they have created. But it always starts with you listening and preparing to ask the right questions.

3. Don’t be a “yes” man or woman.

It’s your job to tell a story, not to flatter the artist. It’s okay to be grateful and it’s okay to be complimentative if you like the music. This is an artist that probably has a world full of fans who preach his or hers greatness daily. If there’s something that’s questionable, don’t be afraid to hold the artist accountable. The last thing readers deserve is an extended arm of public relations. He or she pays people good money to make their new record sound good — it’s your job to deliver the truth. The artist will respect honesty over fake flattery any day. Stand your ground and enjoy every moment.

Have any questions? Feel free to tweet me @callinghomematt to discuss more!

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News

Journalism Tips: What To Do When Presented With A Conflict Of Interest

Hello, everyone! Thank you for making time in your busy schedule to spend a few minutes discussing conflicts of interest in the modern music industry. This blog was created for music bloggers by music bloggers, and is intended to inform as much as it aims to start a dialogue. We welcome comments and replies at the end of each post.

This blog exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

In all my years of music blogging, ‘conflict of interest’ is probably the one term I have heard thrown around more than any other when discussing the efforts of various writers. Site owners, much like countless industry professionals working in areas like publicity or management, often have several industry-centric efforts going on at the same time. Some see this as a problem, while others view it as simply leveraging a position those individuals have earned through hard work. I’m not here to tell you which side is right because in all honestly I’m not entirely sure, but I can provide insight into the meaning of this often thrown around term and how it applies to the world of blogging today.

To quote our friends at Businessdictionary, a conflict of interest (COI) is “any situation that has the potential to undermine the impartiality of a person because of the possibility of a clash between the person’s self-interest and professional interest or public interest.” To put it in simpler terms: conflicts of interest are situations that occur when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation.

Some of the COIs taking place in music today include:

  • Bloggers writing about bands who they have an invested interest in, whether it be through management, label dealings, publicity, or any other facet of the music business.
  • Bloggers accepting cash ‘donations’ in exchange for covering certain acts on their blog that may otherwise not fit into their normal content offerings.
  • Critics scoring albums higher than they normally would because of a personal relationship with the artist.
  • Publicists contributing content to blogs featuring their clients.
  • Publicists and managers handling artists they have invested
    time/money in alongside to artists they have no financial ties to.
  • Bands touring with groups they have a financial interest in, as opposed to working with the best band for the bill.
  • Record labels maintaining music blogs under pseudonyms in order to push their latest releases.
  • Record labels paying music critics to review albums they would otherwise never consider highlighting.
  • Partnership blogging, which is an act where one writer covers a certain person’s artist so that the other individual will in turn cover their artist at some point in the future.

There are many more potential conflicts of interest taking place in the music industry today, but the vast majority are never brought to light. The reason for this is because the blogging industry, much like the wild west, is a place that is still very much trying to define itself. Everyone is scrambling to make something for themselves before the powers that be set a precedent everyone must follow, and until that happens people will use any and everything at their disposal to get ahead? Is that right or wrong? Again, I’m not a hundred percent sure anyone can really say either way.

Conflicts of interest must be addressed on a case by case basic in order to determine where they fall in the world of business ethics. That said, whether or not the person executing the COI cares for business ethics is another discussion altogether. There are far more people writing about music online for free than there are those who make a living doing it, and as a result It’s not hard to understand why people would bend rules and business practices for financial gain. That does not necessarily make it right, but in the mind of a young writer it’s not right that they often must write for years and years before seeing a single dime. COIs offer a quick leg up against the competition, be it for promotional or financial purposes, and as long as that remains true there will always be those willing to risk whatever fall out may occur if their efforts are uncovered.

Speaking of risks, it’s hard to tell what – if anything – will happen to someone whose COIs are discovered. In extreme cases there may be people removed from contributing staffs or black listed from a certain mailing list, but more often than not the only damage done in these situations is to the perceived reputation of the individual responsible. If you’re a critic and word gets out that your opinion can be bought, it’s going to be incredibly difficult for you to sell people on your word being trustworthy in the future. Likewise, if it comes to light that coverage on your blog is available for purchase your readers may look to what they believe to be more authentic outlets for news and music discovery. Then again, some might not care at all. People are weird like that.

In a way similar to how you choose the type of person you want to be in life, you also have a choice when it comes to the type of blogger you want to become. There are as many ways to success in music as there are to failure, but I can tell you from my decade of experience that nothing beats an honest voice with a unique perspective. Be yourself, regardless of what others say, and over time you will see your career flourish. You will find and audience, or perhaps they will find you, and together you will create a dialogue on music that is rewarding for everyone involved. Cutting corners for short term success or minuscule financial gain offers no longterm benefits, forging a trusting relationship with your reader is something that will reward you again and again.

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News

Journalism Tips: How To Handle Leaked ‘News’

Hello, everyone! Thank you for taking a little bit of time out of your day to join us for a little music industry discussion. The following post is actually a guest piece from Absolutepunk founder/editor Jason Tate. The article was created in the days following the leak of a major alternative’s artist new album plans and addresses the ethical questions such info leaks raise for music bloggers.

This blog exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

Want to know what I think the worst part of my job is? The easy answer is a day when I get a bunch of personal and hateful things heaved at me anonymously. But that’s more of a byproduct of the job, not actually a part of it. The worst part of my job is when I am sitting online looking at any one of my aggregation feeds and I see something that I know is a “leak” of pertinent band information. Sometimes it’ll be Amazon or iTunes that has prematurely posted album information, sometimes it’ll be a tweet about a new song title from a small market DJ, or even, worst of all in my opinion, an actual song leak. Today we saw two similar incidents occur and I’ve felt drawn to clarify my personal thoughts on both. I’ve talked about these tough circumstances before, most recently on episode 42 of the AP.net Podcast; however, I think that it’s worth expanding upon even more.

A large portion of this matter comes down to how I see my job. What is it that I do? Am I just a way to put out press releases when a band or label declares them ready for dissemination? Am I a “journalist”? Am I a blogger? By and large I view myself as a news aggregator and occasional columnist; someone offering an opinion on a variety of topics. I fear that if our website turns into just another place to post press releases we will have lost a part of what makes us special and loved. We will have lost what I believe is valuable to labels and bands in the first place: the very fact that people read our website. Some publications choose to value the bands’ or publicists’ wish and will at all costs. I understand that position and respect it — as I believe it is theirs individually to make. I, however, have to make the choice as a writer where I value our readers in this equation. I know that I don’t have full trust in certain publications because I can’t be sure that they’re writing for and respecting me, the reader, when they post. If I think a publication would pull an unflattering story or relevant information — I can’t trust them. And with that, I wouldn’t trust their opinion on music or their reporting on news stories. And, therefore, I use myself as a yardstick for the kind of reader I believe reads our site. What would I want to read, what would I expect, what standard do I hold the writers I follow to? These are the questions I ask myself every day.

I am well aware you may have different thoughts on how you would write online, I want to make it clear that I respect that as well — I’m not trying to say my way is the only way, or the right way, or even the best way. I’m simply trying to elucidate my reasoning and where I’ve landed at this stage in my career. I revisit my logic frequently, especially if I know it has bummed out a band I greatly respect.

Let’s look at it this way: If our core readers visit Twitter, or Facebook, or Tumblr, or another website similar to ours, and they have already seen some information by the time it’s “officially announced” — it has become “old news” to that audience. Giving people old news they’ve already read is antithetical to my mission statement. On the internet, yesterday’s news is virtually synonymous with nonexistence. However, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t put a pit in my stomach sometimes when we have to make a tough call. For example, tonight the new New Found Glory album name, track listing, and single hit iTunes in the UK. At the time when this information spreads to an official “source” like iTunes, I get stressed out. Did the band plan for it to just come out like this? Was there supposed to be an announcement? Why wasn’t this coordinated? What happened? And in a few minutes I have to start confirming information, preparing a post, and making the call for if it goes up or not. In this case, we posted it. Then I sit there and watch my email hoping that I don’t get one from the label asking us to pull the post down (or worse something directly from a band member). I hate those emails. I know it comes with the territory and I don’t hide from it. I really do believe the label is doing their job and I respect that. I always try and let everyone involved in one of those email chains know our policy, where the information is from, where it’s sourced from, that deleting it makes it worse, and that I will update the post with any information or statement from the band they’d like. Still, it’s a very stressful scenario (and as of this writing no such email has come in this particular case).

Let’s look at the other example of the day: I’ve known the guys in Yellowcard longer than many real life friends at this point. The people I went to my first Yellowcard show with I now know as those people I sometimes see on Facebook when they post pictures with their kids. Yet, even with this history, I believe in acting in accordance to our policy and not shifting it based upon the band in question. If we’ve been told not to post something under an embargo (more details about this special case below), I absolutely will not post it. Yet, if something is out on the internet and we are not the source for it — I do believe it is my job to post about it. If that causes harm in the relationship I have with a band, I totally understand that. It’s painful to me on a personal level but my other option is to bend my policy and give special favors for certain bands and therefore censor the news that I think that our audience would like to know (in turn they would be right to seek the information elsewhere and lose trust in me). Extrapolating that to its logical conclusion, we become a website that isn’t known for having the best information about all the bands readers want — and I feel as though I have failed at my job.

I’m not unlike most people: I don’t particularly enjoy bands, or labels, or publicists, or managers, or friends being mad at me. I don’t relish the idea of someone I respect being upset with me. It’s a dance between press and “journalist” (bleh) and one that I wish I had better solutions to after years of waltzing. My lighthouse is to continually come back to the question: Who am I writing for? I’m writing for the others like me that are looking for all the latest information on bands they love — and I feel duty bound to report on the information that’s available. All in all, this leaves me with a variety of options and a set of guidelines:

Option 1

I don’t post anything at all. The information is now elsewhere on the internet and I just wait until it is “supposed” to be released. It spreads around on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and other websites. The “place” to talk about these stories is no longer AP.net — we, in turn, become more of a press release echo-chamber. The pro is that bands and labels probably like us more and the con is that our readers like us a whole lot less.

Option 2

I go rogue and post everything and anything. I post anything I hear, even if it’s embargoed or off the record. I post links to full album leaks and thumb my nose at legal. I lose respect for myself, hate my job, and quickly burn every bridge I’ve spent years building.

I see nothing good that comes from this option. I do see some sites that try and run with the full rebel/pirate mode and they seem to have a boost in popularity in the short term but few last very long. I’ve been doing this over a decade and don’t plan to quit anytime soon.

Option 3

I post the news and then remove it when asked by the band or publicist. This plays out very similar to option 1, only it also adds the wrinkle that our readers now know we are censoring newsworthy stories to some degree and that we can’t be trusted to give them the latest information about the bands they follow.

Option 4

I try to follow a set of guidelines (outlined above and below) and keep the dialogue open with bands and publicists and readers and other staff-members to make sure we are communicating every step of the way. This adds a level of transparency and hopefully trust with the reader — it lets everyone know where we stand and why. And, it keeps the conversation open for options we haven’t thought of or technology that hasn’t been invented yet. To pretend I have all the answers right now and can just follow a formula forever seems misguided at best. Mostly, I just want those that read my words to know where I’m coming from. I want them to trust me when I write something and know that I’m speaking from a position that places honesty paramount.

Album Leak Guidelines

One of the things I touched on in that podcast episode is that I will not post links to album leaks on our homepage. If a singular song leaks, I will, however, link to where it can be found. I will also immediately update that post to point toward where the song can be legally streamed or purchased the moment it’s available. This, to me, is probably the toughest call of all. I’m not specifically fond of linking to where someone can hear music if the band doesn’t want that music heard yet. At the same time, as I mentioned above, I do believe in my duty to inform our readers that a song is available to hear. I know that the band or label can normally have the sound file removed from somewhere like YouTube or Tumblr, but I am also aware that it’s sort of passing the buck. When this happens with a band I have a really great relationship with I can feel my hands get clammy and my stomach tie up in knots. This is where I have to try and be objective and realize that if I would post about the YouTube song “leak” of a band I didn’t like or consider friends, I need to be consistent in how I handle the situation with those I do.

Information About An Album / Tour Guidelines

These situations feel easier for me because it’s information and not music that is leaking. I understand a band, label, or publicist’s desire to control the information that comes out around certain big press announcements. I can empathize with all parties when they talk about how they get bummed out when information comes out before they’re ready.1This goes double when the band has had something special planned for the announcement or if they wanted to maximize the hype around information to coincide with a pre-sale or similar endeavor. I still struggle because I understand that without the bands making music, or going on tour, or being interesting to fans, we obviously don’t have a website; they are the lifeblood to the content that we cover. However, I am also cognizant of my duty to our readers: to present them with accurate and up to the minute reporting on things they are interested in reading. This is where all I’ve talked about above comes into play: I have to trust myself and my decision to write as though I’m our website’s number one fan.

Embargoes

When it comes to information that’s been embargoed, that is, given to us to post at a specific time but not before — I honor these completely. For example, I had the Yellowcard track listing before it was leaked today. Now, when something is embargoed that means I absolutely won’t be the source of the information, and I personally will not confirm something even if I know it to be true. I will present the information as “alleged” or “reported by” — and make it clear that I’m not confirming or denying the embargoed news. I am very careful about my words when I make a post on the website. If the information surfaces via another blog, or Amazon, or something that is not from us, then I will post about what has happened. This can create a weird scenario because, obviously, I wouldn’t post flat out false information. For example, I obviously knew the track listing being posted today was correct. I had not, however, seen the album artwork for Lift a Sail and made sure to note where the information was coming from, where I saw it, and that nothing was confirmed. It’s important to read how I word things because I always try to be as honest and upfront as possible about where information is coming from and what we currently know. I pick my words carefully. These situations, where information has hit the internet and I know the (embargoed) truth, are always complicated.

Off the Record

If someone tells me something off the record: I’m the only person that will ever know it. I don’t tell other staff, friends, or family. I usually will ask if this is information that can’t be attributed to the source and can be used as “background” or if it’s flat out never to be reported information. If it’s just for “background” — I’ll wait until I have multiple sources to run anything but without source attribution. I won’t give up a source, so you can either believe me or not in those situations, but my track record is pretty damn good.

When I cracked open my writing app and a beer tonight, I didn’t expect to write as much as I just did. But it feels good to have put it all down. These are the things that sit in my head and I have very few people I can discuss them with in any detail, let alone actually talk the theory behind them with. Thanks for reading if you made it this far — I venture the next long post will be about actual music.2

  1. The AP.net Tour routing and bands (Say Anything!) were leaked early by PunkNews.org years and years ago. I’ve been on both ends of this.↩
  2. Maybe about that new Yellowcard album? Eh? It’s growing toward a top three album of the year for me at this point, I really do love where they took it.↩
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Journalism Tips #28: Something To Consider Before Firing An Unpaid Contributor

Hello, everyone! Our Journalism Tips series has been moving around a lot in recent weeks, but today it is back once again to help strengthen the music blogging community. This entry was created in response to an email received late last week, which we detail at length below. If you have ever had troubles maintaining a good team of contributors, this post may be for you.

This blog exists to promote the future of the music industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your music-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

The old saying “good help is hard to find these days” never seems to go out of style. When applied to the world of blogging, I believe the phrase should be altered slightly to include the words “especially when there is not pay involved.” 90% of music blogs, if not more, are maintained by people who see little to no financial return for their efforts. The people who contribute to sites they do not own have an even higher likelihood of not getting paid, which is something that puts many blog owners in a very tough position. Editors want to motivate their team members, but when they have nothing to offer them except momentary attention from the internet and a few extra lines on a resume that can be incredibly difficult to accomplish. Everyone wants to believe that people get into music because they are passionate about art and promoting the artistic creations of others, but people also need to make a living, and there comes a point where that need begins to outweigh whatever desires one may have to pursue unpaid work.

The reason I tell you all this is because of a message I received just last week. A letter came in from a site owner seeking advice about letting go of a longtime contributor who was incredibly talented, but had in recent months become increasingly inactive. The individual in question would not participate in development chats, never offered to help others, and saw no problem in using the access the site had given them to pitch bigger outlets for paid work. The most recent example of this occurred when the writer asked the editor for credentials to a fest, which were granted. The editor was informed after notifying the contributor of their access that the contributor had taken their acceptance message and used it to get a paid writing gig from a bigger, more recognizable outlet. The contributor swore the editor’s site would still be the focus of their efforts, but when the event happened the contributor did their paid work and turned it in days before delivering a single message to the site that had originally granted them credentials to the event. In the mind of the editor, this was the final straw.

Having spent the past half decade running an entertainment news blog of my own, my immediate reaction to this message was to take the side of the editor. After all, it’s only because of their site that the contributor was able to gain access to the event, and even after confronting the person in question they were told something that was, in fact, a lie. The editor has every reason to feel betrayed, and if they feel they can no longer trust the contributor then they should definitely part ways as soon as possible. You have to follow your heart in these matters. Always.

That said, after my knee-jerk reaction subsided I began to sympathize with the contributor. It’s true they betrayed the site they signed up to help and there is no way around that, but if all their efforts in journalism up to this point have been to secure paying gigs then they must leap at whatever opportunities come their way. More importantly, an editor who is unable to pay their contributing staff must realize that if their team is talented they will eventually want to progress in their professional careers. Otherwise, why would they be contributing in the first place?

Any blog owner and/or editor who runs a site that does not pay its contributors needs to realize their publication is, at best a launching pad to bigger and better things within the music industry. Your site(s) may be great and they bring in a ton of traffic, but unless you have the finances needed to pay your team they will eventually need to move on to other outlets who are capable of better supporting their efforts. This is not a bad thing as much as it is a fact of life, and any site owner who does not understand that is only doing a disservice to themselves. The fact your staff may one day leave should be all the motivation you need to work towards finding ways to turn your writing efforts into a sustainable business. Countless magazines have come and gone in the last hundred years, and many more will do the same in the century ahead. There is no reason your site cannot be a profitable outlet, but until that time comes you need to realize that not every person needs your site the way you, the owner/editor, does. They can and will find other outlets, paid or not. The best you can do is support your team and work alongside them to promote a better, more financially beneficial future to anyone involved.

I’m not saying that blog owners and editors need to keep everyone, nor am I saying that it’s okay to slack off. Every contributor has deadlines and every deadline should be met, but editors need to be consciously aware of the fact that contributors have personal journeys they are on as well. They are people are with dreams and aspirations that extend beyond making your blog the next Rolling Stone, but for the time being they are willing to help chase your dreams as long as they can pursue theirs as well. If you support one another, both will succeed. If you do not communicate, or if you fail to understand the other’s point of view, everyone will struggle to get ahead.

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Journalism Tips #27: A Beginner’s Guide To Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Hello, everyone. If you have been a longtime reader of this blog you may recall that our Journalism Tips series used to run each and every Saturday afternoon. With the recent launch of our podcast, however, that column has spent the past few weeks on vacation. That is, until today.

This blog exists to promote the future of the music industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your music-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

There was a time in the distant digital past when a writer did not necessarily need to understand search engine optimization (SEO) in order to be successful online. Today, that kind of digital ignorance will only lead to a writer’s continued ambiguity in the world of music. In order to be successful online in 2014 you must have at least a basic grasp on SEO, but if not there are many, many resources available to help get you started. We cannot claim to have mastered this process ourselves, but we have done our best to gather the basic information you need to know in order to start creating content with a higher likelihood of landing on the front page of Google, Bing, and whatever search engines rise in the future. I’m not sure this will be a series, but if response demands it we will certainly share more.

What is SEO and why does it matter if I do it well?

To phrase things in the simplest way possible, search engine optimization (SEO) refers to the process of maximizing the number of visitors to a particular website by ensuring that the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine. Sites with strong SEO often find themselves on the first page of Google’s search results, which in the world of blogging is kind of like winning the lottery. In fact, a 2013 study from ad network Chitika revealed that 92% of all search engine traffic goes to sites on the first page of results, with the top result receiving 35% of all clicks. Here is a chart showcasing the average percentage of clicks received by search results based on where they appear on the page:

[chart]

The findings of this report were similar to another report Chitika released in 2010. An excerpt from the latest report reads, “While being the number one result on a Google search results page is obviously important, these numbers show just how big of an advantage websites of this type have over any competitors listed below them. The importance of SEO for online business is seemingly quantified by these latest statistics, which, judging by their similarity to those observed as part of the 2010 study, are not likely to change significantly in the near future.”

What affects a search?

Good question. Ready for a bad answer? Only Google knows the truth. The search engine company has revealed that their system takes into account more than 200 different factors to help it determine the results for each query. The full list of factors have never been published, but seasoned professionals have made some great guesses over the last decade. Moz, for example, surveys the opinions of dozens of search marketers every two years to better understand the working of search engine algorithms. They use this data to aide sites in understanding what helps and hurts their site’s visibility in search engines. It’s not ‘proof’ to what search engines use when ranking, nor is it by any means a ‘hard science,’ but it does reflect the characteristics of websites and pages who rank highest in search engine results.

Moz competed their most recent survey in 2013, speaking with over 120 search marketers about their opinions on over 80 ranking factors. The top three factors for Google results were Page Authority, +1’s, and the number of Unique clocks linking to the individual page. Click here to view the full list.

What the heck is page authority?

You’re full of good questions today. Page authority, as explained by our friends at Drumbeat Marketing, is an SEO term used to describe the probability that a specific page from your site will be found on a search engine. Page authority is based on a logarithmic scale from 0 to 100 and deals with the relevance of information and links within site pages to one another. Higher page authority means greater chances of your page showing up on search engines, and that your page will be placed closer to the top of the search results. Note that page authority is related to the pages within sites, not the site itself. You can learn more about page authority and how to improve the ranking of your site, here.

So how do I improve SEO through my website?

I thought you would never ask! Definition are kind of boring, I know, but in order to properly understand SEO you need to also understand the terminology associated with it. You’re here to learn about creating pages that will rank high, however, and that’s what I’m going to tell you about.

There are many factors that affect SEO when crafting a new article or page for your website. Fortunately for us, our friends at Spin Media have created a very easy to read and implement guide that should help you change your content creation practices in no time at all:

Title

• 70 characters or less is ideal

• Front-load keywords when possible

Description

• Keyword-rich summary of story in ‘Descrip-on’ field under All In One SEO Pack (if applicable)

• Use up to 350 characters, put keywords in first 160

Images

• File name descrip-ve of -tle, no stop words

• Hyphens between words in file name (no other special characters)

• Cap-on and Descrip-on fields same as file name

• Alt text: Slight varia-on on file name, no hyphens

Linking

• Internal link to relevant content in every piece

• External links to highly authorita-ve sources

• Link on keywords for anchor text, rather than source name

• Link with full URL, star-ng with hXp

• Use rel=“nofollow” in links to sketchy sources

(Ex: example)

Body copy

• Repeat keywords in first 1-2 sentences

• Fluid, gramma-cally sound wri-ng

Other

• Use bold and italics to emphasize key terms when natural

• Use keyword-specific tags

As I said in the introduction, this feature is intended to help you get started with your SEO efforts. There are literally hundreds of sites dedicated to optimization, and there are at least a hundred different thoughts on the best methods to properly optimize your efforts. In order to find out what works best for your site you may need to try a few different approaches. Watch your analytics and make changes wherever necessary. We will definitely post another SEO guide if there is a demand, but for now you can gain further insight through this free PDF on SEO released by Google earlier this year.

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Journalism Tips #25 – ‘You Need To Have A Plan’

Thank you for joining us for another installment in our our ongoing Journalism Tips series. We started this column as a way to help aspiring writers get their start in music, but over the couple months we have been evolving into a place writers come to have their questions about life in the business answered. Today we are running a special editorial by our very own James Shotwell about the importance of having a plan. If you have any questions about developing as a writer/blogger in music, please do not hesitate email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

The greatest piece of advice I believe anyone can give you on the topic of finding success in the music industry is to find something you love doing and do it the absolute best of your abilities. Work hard each day and, eventually, people will take notice. I cannot guarantee you will find work in your desired area of the business right away, but through focused determination anything is possible as long as you give it your all. 

The second best piece of advice, which I realized recently that we rarely ever discuss, is the importance of having a plan. Yes, just like a football team, construction project, or army heading into battle, you and whoever you choose to work with in your pursuit of a career in entertainment must have a plan if you ever hope to get anywhere. If not, you will be doomed to eventually begin spinning your wheels, stunted by your own lack of motivation.

So, what should this plan entail? For starters, what you hope to accomplish. Every website that is regularly updated today exists because someone walking the planet had a vision for something that they did not believe could be found in the world. This could be as simple as a place for a particular individual or group of individuals to share opinions, or it could be something much more grand, like a political movement or call for social change. Whatever the case, it’s best to have some idea what you want before you ever begin to craft content. The world does not need another corner of the net dedicated to copying and pasting entire press releases. There are literally thousands of sites like that already, and to be perfectly honest most have no audience at all. If you want an audience, you need a purpose, and in order for your work to serve a purpose you need a plan.

Planning your web presence can be as simple or complex as you desire, but for the sake of making life easier over the long haul I advise writing every thought and idea you have down up front before you decide anything. Weigh the pros and cons of your various ideas, click around to see what type of competition exists, and then purchase your very own URL. Before you can build an audience you need to know who you are as a website. Why do you exist? What do you feature? Why do you feature it? Additionally, what do you hope to get from your site? If the answer is money, you might as well go to school and find a degree in something with a demand for skilled laborers. Music writing is about passion, and those trying to conquer the blogosphere with any other motivations will eventually be exposed for the frauds they are.

I started my first music site, Under The Gun Review, because I believed there was no one in the world who thought about music the way I did, and for whatever reason I felt that gave me all the reason needed to start my own blog. For the first few months, this was all the reason my site needed to exist. It was a fresh voice in the crowded world of music writing, but a fresh voice nonetheless. As months became one full years of writing, however, I realized that in order to grow my efforts would need to do more than simply vent whatever words were swimming around in my mind. If I wanted to become a true member of the music writing community I was going to need to write stories others had never thought to write, interview bands no one had interviewed, and do everything in my power to share the best bands no one had listened to with everyone with a desire to discover something new. I needed to be the bridge between the average music fan and the best sounds the world had to offer outside, which was a task I gladly accepted (after essentially making it for myself).

As soon as I realized I had been writing for the wrong reasons, things began to change. My views increased, networking became easier, and other aspiring writing professionals were coming out of the woodwork to contribute to my blog. People were happy to learn that someone still cared enough about undiscovered music to spend their day writing about the ‘best of the rest’ so those who knew nothing beyond what was played on terrestrial radio could have an outlet for new sounds. My site grew, as it continues to do, and I found myself becoming far happier with my work. 

Sometimes I reflect on how I spent that first year of my life as a so-called music writer, and more often than not I feel a bit like a fool because I believed I could create something that existed for my own selfish desires and make other people care. I learned, as so many do every single day on this planet, that the true rewards in life comes from doing things for others. The best part of my work week as a music blogger now is finding a band or album or song that is relatively unknown and sharing it with anyone will to listen. I don’t care if the post receives twenty clicks or two-thousand, though the latter is always appreciated. As long as I know I am putting my all into the words I am writing and that I am being honest in the things I say then I am overjoyed that anyone, let alone more than one person cares enough to read it.

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Journalism Tips #20: ‘Making The Most Of Your Summer Festival Coverage’

Thank you for joining us for another installment in our our ongoing Journalism Tips series. We started this column as a way to help aspiring writers get their start in music, but over the couple months we have been evolving into a place writers come to have their questions about life in the business answered. Today we are continuing that effort with a response to a question posed by multiple readers in regard to how writers can make the most of festival coverage when seemingly everyone who calls themselves press is granted access. If you have any questions about developing as a writer/blogger in music, please do not hesitate email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

Ahhh. The ever-so formidable task of mastering festival coverage. It’s not easy, running around like a chicken with your head cut off for 12-18 hours on end — making sure every must-see band has been seen, every must-shake hand has been touched and every must-interview act has been chatted with. Not only must you balance every minute of your time and energy, but you must focus that energy to make sure you are creating better content than every other writer on the scene. What does it take for you to stand out during this festival season? Here are five questions I ask myself when going into all types of festivals:

1. What story hasn’t been told before?

Every blog, ‘zine and YouTube account is going to give you the typical, “Must See” lists for festivals, and this is okay. It’s cool to give your thoughts on what the standout acts are. But why not push this idea further? Instead of the “Five Must-See Acts at the Vans Warped Tour,” why not the “Five Songs to Crowd Surf to at the Vans Warped Tour?” Centralize your ideas — make your thoughts unique and insightful. This doesn’t need to pertain to solely preview content — think about different angles for every aspect of the festival.

2. What questions haven’t been asked yet?

If you’re interviewing a band on a festival bill, odds are the act is going through an extreme press run. Don’t waste the band’s time with monotonous questions the likes of “where did you get your band name?” or “how did you all meet?” Goodness, what a waste of time. You [probably] have a smartphone…Google different interviews, visit Wikipedia, or at least read the band’s bio before stepping into the box. Dig into insightful conversation with the musician and you all might actually learn something from one another. And better yet — the artist might actually want to work with you again in the future. A good musician always knows when you’re skidding through an interview and it is a bad reflection on everyone involved. Always do your homework. Don’t be afraid to step away from even insightful and traditional interviews to have a little fun with the artists. Does the band want to talk about the best food to eat on the road? Great! Grab that opportunity and create the best damn “must eat places according to this band” piece possible.

3. What can I do to stay ahead?

Okay: you’ve done amazing preview pieces, you’ve locked in the best interviews, you’ve relentlessly prepared for those interviews and you’ve just landed at the festival. What now? Staying ahead and in your element is tough. Typically, festivals offer the best distractions possible. Food, booze, after parties and sideshows are all fantastic for fans, but you’re at this festival for generate content. Stay in communication with your publicists or tour manager. Embrace the notion of being a public figure. Live tweet sets and daily agendas, reach out to other professionals you know will be in attendance and do you best to not make an ass of yourself (it happens to everyone at least once). Do daily write-ups and reviews of what you’re experiencing at the festival to give the outside world an idea of what’s taking place.  Make the most of every second. Stay focused and make great impressions but don’t forget to have fun and enjoy the fantastic music you’re getting to cover.

4. How do I sum it all up?

Congratulations, you killed your interviews and you made it home safely. Now, time for post-festival coverage. Again – tailor to your audience and strive to be unique in your post-festival coverage. Everyone will have a photo gallery and everyone will have the “best of” lists going live. Try to step back and think about the bigger picture. What really was the best part of the festival? Embrace the entire community you were apart of, not just the music. At this point of your coverage, more than ever, it’s time to be a journalist and tell a story.

5. What about next time?

Be sure to send the required follow up message upon returning home and be timely in turning your interviews around. Never take on too many interviews or you’ll dilute your product and slow down the process. Five well-thought out interviews stand out against fifteen half-hearted interviews any day. Make sure all of the appropriate parties know you are turning your content around in a timely fashion and thank them for the opportunity. Always be humble.

Want to chat more about killer festival coverage? Tweet me @callinghomematt!

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Journalism Tips #19: ‘3 MORE Ways Writers Annoy Publicists’

Thank you for joining us for another installment in our our ongoing Journalism Tips series. We started this column as a way to help aspiring writers get their start in music, but over the couple months we have been evolving into a place writers come to have their questions about life in the business answered. Today we are continuing that effort with a response to a question posed by multiple readers in regard to how writers can better themselves professionally. If you have any questions about developing as a writer/blogger in music, please do not hesitate email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

Last week, we spent the entirety of our Journalism Tips column discussing three major ways music writers annoy publicists. The reaction to that post was so strong that we decided to run another, and if your response remains strong a third is not out of the question. The purpose of these lists is not to make journalists feel bad, but rather to highlight aspects of the way we all do business that could stand to be improved. Whether or not someone takes it upon ourselves to make changes is entirely up to the individual reading this article, but at least we can rest knowing you are more aware of the common mistakes so many of us make.

Without further ado, here are 3 MORE ways music writers drive publicists crazy:

1. Requesting event coverage within 72 hours of the event.

Music writers, especially those new to the industry, tend to get so caught up in the day-to-day events of the music business that they often forget to plan future coverage far enough in advance to guarantee they actually receive the accreditation they seek. Instead, they wait for an email or Twitter reminder to inform them of events happening in the immediate future and turn to publicists for last minute access, which in turn forces the publicist(s) to drop whatever they are working on to try and get an answer to a question they most likely should not even ask this late in the game.

No one believes bloggers and other music writers are lying when they claim to have very little free time for future planning, but it’s incredibly rude for writers to assume everyone else exists to help them whenever they find the time to put in a request. I am willing to go out on a limb and say every single person working full time in publicity today is far more busy than any single writer or blogger could ever pretend to be, and the fact anyone who isn’t Rolling Stone or Pitchfork is ever granted passes for a show, let alone access to artists, is a testament to just how hard PR people work on a daily basis. In order for them to perform to the best of their ability, however, they need writers they can depend on, specifically those who recognize their struggle and make an effort to place coverage requests in a more timely manner. If you can be that person for the publicists in your life, they will do what they can to make things better/easier for you. Remember: Everyone advances faster when we work together, and in order to do that we must respect one another’s role in this industry.

2. Delaying exclusive content to the point it must be given to another outlet, then turning around and complaining about losing the exclusive.

This one is a little more specific than some of the other grievances we have shared, but it’s something I see happen on a near-weekly basis, typically in cases involving smaller/unsigned/indie bands. Sites looking to boost the number of features they’re able to run agree to do an exclusive with a relatively unknown band who somehow managed to land decent representation, and in the time between that agreement and the negotiated launch date a plethora of additional, likely bigger opportunities arrive that cause the exclusive to be shelved or postponed. This may seem like no big deal to the writer, as they believe good content will perform well no matter what day it runs, but for publicists who have planned a specific promotional push for content expected to launch on a specific date it can be one of the most aggravating experiences they have face in their career. They have clients they want to make happy, and more importantly those clients have fans they want to make happy, but that cannot happen unless you hold up your end of the agreement as a writer and run the content on time. If you fail to do this and notice you exclusive appearing on another site, the only person you have to blame is yourself. Never blame publicists for your own lack of professionalism.

3. Sharing pre-release music/media with people other than the intended recipient

You had to know this point was going to be made eventually, right? Haulix specializes in digital distribution and fighting music piracy, which is a long way of saying we work with a number of record labels and publicists around the globe every day. When these professionals want to share unreleased/advance music with members of the press they upload and watermark the music using our system, then distribute those material to select members of the global writing community. By ‘select members,’ I mean to say they go through their entire contact list and select the individual people they want to stream, download, and otherwise engage with their content prior to it being made available for public consumption. What they do not intend to do in these instances, however, is share watermarked advanced music with someone who then turns around and shares that same music with the ten-thirty people they have writing for their music blog. This is not only breaking one of the very few stipulations agreed to by the writer when accepting the media files, but also dramatically increases the likelihood of music leaking.

Listen, we get it. We understand it’s incredibly simple to receive an email inviting you to something and then forward it to others you believe you can trust so that they too may enjoy whatever advance you have just received, but it’s also incredibly stupid. For starters, just because someone contributes to your blog does not necessarily mean they can be trusted with unreleased music. If they receive music from you and it leaks, they will not be held responsible. You, however, will be held fully accountable for the leak and may even face criminal prosecution as a result.

You know what is just as easy as forwarding advanced music to people who are not supposed to have it? Emailing a publicist or record label and requesting that a second copy of the record be sent to whoever on your site is covering the album/artist in the near future. This not only protects you, but it also allows the publicist to better track who has access to music and what type of coverage they are planning to create. It’s a win-win for everyone.

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