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
Every now and then we stumble across something our friends in the media have written about life in the industry and we beg them to allow us to post it here on our blog. Sometimes they say no, but this time our pal Scott Fugger said yes! What follows is a piece Scott wrote about his experiences as a blogger, as well as what he feels it means to be a music blog in 2016. Whether you’re new to blogging or a veteran of the online writing game, there is something in the following post that everyone can enjoy.
If there’s one thing we know it’s that the music industry is constantly changing. It may not be clear how, why, or what’s next, but this beast never stays the same for long. What it means to be a music blog today is vastly different from what it was five years ago and in many ways even from this same time last year. With 36vultures going through structural changes and a refocus on original content, what better way to kick the year off than by discussing what a music blog can and should be?
The basic building blocks of any music site are simple: news, reviews, interviews, and features. These four things build up the substance of what is created and ultimately delivered to the audience. On a deeper level, the goals of a blog are greater – to expose others to up and coming artists, to spark conversation, and to become an extension of the personal tastes of both the staff and the readers.
With so much news continuously coming from so many bands it is impossible to report on everything. For those who enjoy a wide range of music, the unfortunate truth is that this leads to a fragmented music news experience. No one website will ever be able to deliver all of the news that you, let alone every single one of their readers, want. But is that such a bad thing? Now that social media is commonplace it is possible for fans to get up to the minute updates right from the source – the bands and labels themselves. This fosters a stronger connection by opening the possibility for great interaction as well as allowing each person to decide specifically whose information they want to see. There is, of course, always the fear of missing out on some extremely important news, which means it is still useful to canvas a variety of blogs for news stories. Throwing away the idea of covering everything blogs then necessarily focus on the news that is most important to its audience and creators; thus each site is able become a unique extension of its viewers’ personal tastes and creating a community around it. However, because news is simply a basic requirement, blogs must find a way to also make a name for themselves in other ways and to actually make a statement.
In this digital age of streaming, anyone can listen to anything with a few taps of a screen meaning that reviews in their traditional sense become somewhat pointless. Why would someone care what you think about the new big album when they can just listen to it themselves? This doesn’t mean reviews should be thrown out altogether, just that those who write them need to find creative ways to dig deeper. Just like any other type of article, a review should have a hook that makes it special. It’s not enough to say the music is good or bad while talking vaguely about the sounds coming out of the stereo. Readers are looking for a more analytical approach because most of them come in with already formed opinions. A more in-depth look at the lyrical content, an interesting point about the structure of a song in relation to the album as a whole, or a personal connection that has come out through the music are just some options for this. If something can be offered that puts the music in a different light or causes critical thinking and introspection can cause a review to be worthwhile both to be written and to be read. Similarly when reviewing an up and coming band it is important to discuss why the band is worth sinking time into and persuading others to do so while still allowing for a back and forth, furthering the conversation. Ideally a review, like a persuasive essay, isn’t just “I think this and you should too,” but a summary of assertions that are backed up and logically presented.
Property of Zack is dead, long live Property of Zack. Since their relaunch at the start of 2015 original content has become more important than ever. The site revolutionized themselves by completely removing reviews, cutting back on news, and focusing on real, substantive content. It may not have been the first website to do it, but it made waves that were felt throughout the Internet. While anyone with an Internet connection has the ability to start a blog in mere minutes, original content is what draws in readers and keep them coming back. Features and interviews offer the opportunity to shine the spotlight and give a deeper look at important artists and subjects. Interviews with artist can quickly become mundane for both the artists and readers. No band wants to be asked the same questions over and over again and no fans want to read them. When interviewers do research and plan their questions, but also allow the conversation to flow musicians really open up, revealing more of themselves than even they expected and creating a fresh, enjoyable story to bring to those who read it. Additionally, breaking new ground in features produces a similarly enticing experience. Making predictions, bringing new thoughts and ideas into others’ minds, and keeping them up to date on the cutting edge is how to do this. The most meaningful connections happen through education, the voicing opinions, and encouraging others to join the conversation. Articles like this allow sites to show off their own unique and unified voice. This in turn leads to a passionate fanbase of likeminded readers, much like the lyrics of a song do for any band.
Many of the major outlets fall into these traps out of necessity. They serve too large an audience, which leads to an overwhelming amount of news items, each only relevant to a small portion of their readership. While some articles may have proper substance, they do not shine through in the same way they would otherwise. Chasing the bigger bands and web traffic may be what makes them money, but it is also their downfall. Much like independent bands, independent websites now have the chance to shine. 2016 is the year of the passionate, individualized blog. Do it for the music, do it for the readers, and do it for the love.
Earlier today, the pop-up you see in the image above appeared while I was watching the latest Kanye West video on the popular music blog Hip Hop N More. At first, I thought the message was a mistake. I thought I had possible clicked a link to a mobile version of the site, or that the site had an app it wanted me to download, but I soon realized both ideas were wrong. In fact, I had made no mistake at all. The above pop-up was promoting a new platform that creates push notifications whenever new content is posted to a site. It’s 100% optional, and it only works for users of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, but it could very well be the next great user retention tool for online stores and blogs alike.
Created by PushCrew, a new startup still establishing their presence online, these blog based push notifications are being marketed as a way to engage your subscribers with your communication even when they are not present on your website. The tool is easy to install, requiring just moments of time, and once live requires very little upkeep. I’ll let this explainer video show you what I mean:
Sounds pretty simple, right? Certainly seems that way.
I never saw myself as someone who would consider push notifications of any kind to be a good idea, but in an age where traffic often still determines whether or not writers get paid anything at all for their work I’m coming around to the idea at an alarming rate. After all, whether or not users actually engage with this tool is entirely up to them, so content creators should not think twice about making such tools available to their audience. These notifications will make a bigger impression than Twitter or Facebook on users, and every single notification will automatically link back to your site, thus furthering your visits per post with each click.
It’s worth noting that Hip Hop N More is not the only site using this technology in the music world. So far, we’ve found more than a dozen sites covering half a dozen genres that all allow users to opt-in for notification through PushCrew technology. One site in particular, I Care If You Listen, even appeared in a case study that ran on the company’s blog. Here’s an excerpt:
Thomas is on a PushCrew free account. (PushCrew free account lets you send unlimited notifications to upto 500 subscribers forever.) So far, he’s sent more than 20 notifications with click-rate hovering in the range of 4% to 18%
I Care If You Listen is a music blog that Thomas has been running for more than 5 years now. On Twitter, he has a strong following of more than 60k subscribers. And an active email list to whom he regularly pushes out updates.
He found PushCrew and decided to give the free account a shot. He has a little over 150 subscribers in his PushCrew account. The best click-rate that he got was 18.18% and the average click rate stands at 11.29%. In each of his notifications, he uses UTM parameters in the landing page URL so he can trace all metrics about his subscribers in Google Analytics. I asked if the metrics were any better or if they’re following the same pattern as other communication platforms to which he replied, “I’ve been able to see better engagement from the notifications, in terms of bounce rate (lower), pages per sessions and session durations (both higher). People engage slightly more with our content coming from a push notification.”
Time will tell whether or not website push notifications catch on, but for the time being you might want to consider implementing PushCrew technology on your music blog. After all, who does it hurt? People who don’t want it never have to use it, and those that do can have it for free. Everyone wins!
We are now more than one full week into the new year, and there is a decent chance some of you reading this have already failed to stay true to your new year’s resolution. If so, do not fret. Millions make resolutions on or around January 1 that they are unable to maintain for a variety of reasons, and countless more never even try to make a change in their lives. The fact you recognize your desire to be better than you are today is the first step towards achieving meaningful change, and with a little hard work and dedication we believe you can accomplish practically anything. That may sound a bit too altruistic for some, but our experience has proven this to be true, especially in the world of entertainment.
As writers, we should each be striving to improve our skills with each passing day. We should be hunting for stories and other creative challenges that take us out of our comfort zone and force us to approach our audience from new or unfamiliar angles that, in time, will give us a greatest perspective on the world of music. Desiring this and doing this are two very different things, and we have found that the hardest part for most writers is finding place to start. So, with this in mind, we have come up with three creative challenges that will better your ability to not only discuss music, but appreciate it as well.
Spend more time with music released by independent artists
Everyone trying to quote/unquote ‘make it’ in the world of music has a dream of landing a job that finds them covering the biggest releases and having their words positive reactions used in future marketing materials. After all, how cool would it be to have your words printed on a sticker that was stuck to the next album from your favorite band? It would be awesome, that’s how cool it would be.
That said, if you want to further establish yourself as a unique voice in the world of music criticism in 2016 we advise that you stray from the Billboard charts and spend more time seeking out the next big thing. A&R used to be a job that one or more people held at essentially every record label, but in the age of social media most A&R work is done by the influential voices that drive internet discussion. You no doubt receive dozens of pitches from aspiring musicians every week, so take advantage of that fact and use your inbox as a source for new music discovery. Find something great and write about it. Not just once, but every chance you get until you’re sick of discussing that band. Use whatever knowledge you have regarding how to break artists in the modern day and apply it to your coverage of that artist. Interview them, list their best work, cover their tours, and most importantly, share how their art makes you feel. If you can help even one person to discover a new talent they love, others will follow.
Choose an upcoming release to know nothing about
Many artists rely on singles to sell albums because they don’t believe the record as a whole would be considered quite as good as one really catchy song. This is why most artists release the best song off their record first, as they believe many in the press won’t give their new album a second thought unless they’re hooked by some earlier marketing materials. While this may be true for some, it’s kind of a shame that artists today don’t believe people will care about their albums if the singles don’t dominate conversation and radio play for weeks, or even months on end.
This year, choose one release you know you will be interested in and do everything in your power to avoid its promotional cycle. Skip the singles, the cover art, and any interview that aims to build hype for the release until the entire album has been made available for your consumption. Then, and only then, give the record a listen. Allow yourself to become fully emerged in that artist’s world of sound without any preconceived notions of what it will sound like or how it will make you feel. Let the art speak for itself, and then share that experience with those around you.
Read one music critic you disagree with regularly
We struggle with this challenge more than probably any other task in this feature. It’s not that we don’t enjoy reading, as we very much do, but it takes a lot for us to sit and read something we don’t necessarily agree with and accept it as valid criticism. That fact is probably true for anyone in life, but there is an added degree of necessity to do so when it is comes to being a great critic. After all, your goal as a music writer is to sell people on music they may or may not be interested in. Sure, some readers will be fans of the artists you’re covering, but hopefully there are also many who are newcomers or who are otherwise new to that particular artist. Your job as a critic is to express your opinion in such a way that it influences buying or listening habits. The same can be said for your competition, which is why it’s important that you know their work and understand what gives it meaning to those who read it.
You don’t have to be sold on something you don’t enjoy when reading the work of a critic with opinions different than your own, but you should be able to understand the good and bad qualities of their writing. Furthermore, you should be able to deconstruct their work, compare it to your own, and see what, if any similarities there may be. Perhaps you disagree on certain artists, but you both tend to use the same phrasing when describing something you enjoy, or maybe you both use far too many adjectives in your work. Whatever the case, there is more to learn about yourself and the industry at large from enjoying the work of your peers than there is in the comments section of your last article. You become a better writer by reading the work of other writers. Never forget this fact.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him onTwitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
The new year is about to begin and right now you’re more than likely staring at a barren inbox praying some pitch or announcement rolls through to give you an excuse to post something before the ball drops. We tried to warn you about the holiday slowdown, but every year without fail there is a large outcry from hungry bloggers in search of something worth sharing with their readers, and after the year most sites experienced it’s not hard to understand why. 2015 found many beginning to question the role of music blogs, as they have year after year since the initial boom of social media, but the last twelve months were particularly bad because of how many sites – both old and new – could not find the funding needed to keep their journalistic endeavors afloat. The lack of money in music writing has been a problem for over a decade at this point, but things seemed to come to some sort of head as fall gave way to a warmer than usual winter.
With all this in mind, we believe 2016 is going to be an important year for the world of music blogs. Whether your site is old or new, everyone attempting to make their mark online is going to have to rethink the way they operate, and that extends from editors all the way to the smallest contributors. Simply creating timely content is no longer enough to bring in hits, and even if it were those hits are probably nowhere near large enough to generate the kind of income needed to cover operational costs. There is more to running a successful online publication than simply being able to keep your site online, but all too often that is the most great content producers can hope to accomplish, and that is heartbreaking shame. We cannot provide you with anymore income than what you’re making from writing right now, but if you follows these tips in the new year we do believe your work in journalism will continue to thrive.
Focus on quality over quantity (AKA Death to copypasta)
We lost the ability to keep track of just how many pitches were hitting our inbox in 2015. The amount of bands being promoted by smart publicists who now how to write a good email has long surpassed the blogging industry’s ability to cover everything, but things seemed to be a little more out of control than usual as of late. Still, not a day went by that we didn’t see writer after writer copying and pasting every press release they could to create what they call ‘news’ posts on their individual sites. While we’re sure the publicists behind these mailings appreciate the support, this content has next to know journalistic value and rarely, if ever, contributes to a site’s overall traffic in a meaningful way. You can rest assured that if you’re taking the easy route of copy/paste that atlas a dozen other sites will do the same, and if you’re all running the same headline with the exact same information contained in each post then why should anyone bother to visit your particular site?
Make 2016 is the year of original content. Cover the news that matters to your audience (which you can decipher by learning to follow analytics), but focus the majority of your time on crafting content that cannot be found anywhere else online. It doesn’t matter if the final result is short or long, just make it yours. The artists we love earn our admiration for doing something that no one else can replicate and the same reasoning extends to the sites we frequent. Your blog should be a unique music destination, and that begins with quality original content.
Sources. Sources. Sources. (AKA Don’t be a dick)
Most the bloggers I speak with on a regular basis share their concerns over never being credited for the work they do. They don’t expect to get paid, or at least not at first, but whenever someone manages to learn a tasty exclusive through an interview or intelligent research they realize most, if not all sites who run the headline after them will not link to their original article. This is especially frustrating for small sites, as they rely the most on word of mouth to grow, and even if they have the best writers online there is no way they can scale their operation without people giving a damn about their existence.
The only way any site will be able to develop a real readership in 2016 will be if writers learn to respect and give credit to their peers. If you cover an exclusive someone else broke, make sure to give them credit. Doing so not only makes you look more professional, but it sends a message to another writer that you appreciate their hustle. That can of respect can go a long way toward developing both the brand of your site, as well as your personal efforts in music. It’s no more difficult than treating others the way you want to be treated, but you would be surprised how few have adopted this idea up to this point.
Leverage emerging technology
Twitter and Instagram takeovers were everywhere in music blogging over the last year, but with live broadcast services like Periscope becoming commonplace it’s time for blogs to think more creatively about their social media based exclusives. Live broadcast offers users a very unique way to interact with their musical heroes in real time, but right now very few outlets have adopted these services in their coverage of the industry. This will change in time however, and anyone hoping to stay ahead of the curve would be wise to begin planning their use of these platforms now.
For example, when covering festivals in 2016 it’s not hard to imagine blogs of all sizes running brief interviews or acoustic performances that air only on live broadcast networks. Likewise, we believe artist Q&As will be very popular on these services. The ability to not only see, but interact with talent in real time is something no other platform can offer. Artists don’t necessarily need blogs to use these tools, but through collaborations they (and you) can reach a new audience.
Innovative Brand Development
It’s hard to imagine many angles for digital features that haven’t been covered, so heading into the new year the sites that hope to develop their connection with readers will need to break the mold with their outreach. While it can be tempting to rely on the internet for everything you do and need, we suggest thinking of what can be done in the real world (otherwise known as ‘offline’) to help grow your site.
Two old school example of this that still have a lot of value are hosting or sponsoring local shows and releasing site-generated compilations. These efforts promote your site’s dedication to helping aspiring artists further their careers, as well as showcase your personal taste in music. The people who come to events you sponsor or host will see your name and align your site with the style of music being played. The same concept extends to the compilation, which tells listeners they can find more music like that featured on the track list on your outlet. If people feel strongly for the music they may learn to feel strongly for your writing, as the success of one can aide the success of the other.
Don’t Shy Away From Honesty
The one thing that cannot be taught to someone trying to navigate the waters of early music writing is that the quickest path to longterm success is found through accepting yourself for who you are as a person and a consumer of music. The reason this cannot be taught is because no one who has yet to embrace their true selves can force such a change to take place on command. It must happen naturally, and any writer trying to force their true selves onto paper or a blog post will only become frustrated at how unoriginal their words sound. Like all great art, great music writing comes from a pure place that worries not about clicks or finances. The best music writers, or perhaps I should say the best writers in general, are those who are unabashedly themselves in everything they do. They share with readers personal details both big and small that make their work, no matter how strange the subject, more relatable to consumers. That accessibility is what will convert blog visitors to dedicated readers, and it’s what will give readers a reason to tell their friends about your work.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
Christmas is just days away at this point, and as a music news writer you have no doubt noticed a major drop in the number of press releases and pitches hitting your inbox. Many PR firms, as well as many record labels, take off the last few weeks of the year, if not longer. It is a long-standing corporate tradition that is both a gift and a curse to blog owners, and so far this year seems no different. On the one hand, you have less emails to keep up with and far more time to relax. That said, the lack of breaking news almost always means a dip in traffic, which is the kind of thing that keeps most serious editors awake at night.
Though this certainly won’t prevent you from worrying about the longterm impact from the drop in traffic try reminding yourself when things get slow that these dips impact virtually everyone in music journalism. Culturally speaking, there is very little emphasis placed on entertainment news and the tour plans of emerging musicians around this time. We as Americans are conditioned to view the time immediately before Christmas, as well as the days leading into the new year, as something intended for family gatherings, get togethers with old friends, and generally strengthening the bonds within their individual communities. People are not reading your review the new album from Before Their Eyes because they do not care, but rather because they have been trained through years of advertising, lessons from parents, and countless other avenues to focus more attention on themselves and their immediate surroundings. You are likely the exact same way, even if you don’t notice it. The only difference between you and them is that you understand what it is like to rely on the number of unique clicks given to any one site or page in order to make it through the day without hating yourself.
I wish I could say that the holiday dip gets easier to handle with each passing year, but sometimes I believe the opposite may be true. When you first start out, the importance of day to day traffic is not as big as, say, how you perform over an entire month. You are happy that anyone is reading your work at all, or at least you should be, so dips come and go without much thought given to the reason for their occurrence. As you begin to build your professional profile however, the frustration you feel towards negative changes in traffic only continues to build. It is at that point that traffic becomes a true addiction for most bloggers, outpacing alcohol and prescription pills in the rate at which they can make or break a person’s day. You begin relying on numbers to justify your work rather than the feeling of accomplishment writing about music well typically provides. When that happens, and it hits almost everyone who finds the smallest bit of success, it is hard to not feel like the world is telling you they no longer care. You feel as if you are a hobby, or maybe even something less, and that the vast majority of internet users would be perfectly fine living life whether or not your site ever existed.
Of course, this is all big and lofty stuff that holds little real weight, but in the mind of a creative person trying to use their voice to share their vision or perspective of the world around them it can feel like a 10-ton boulder weighing on their shoulders all day long. The dip inn traffic sets off an internal struggle between the belief one is doing what they were put on this planet to do and the horrifying notion they may have chased a fruitless hobby to the point of no return. This is admittedly a selfish thought, but that is the way the mind works for many writers. They feel every change in traffic directly correlates to something that was first birthed in the deepest canals of their brain. Every success is because of them, but so is every failure, and allowing themselves to believe that is true can often worsen an already fragile sense of self worth. Writers typically believe they are good, even if they won’t admit it to others, but it is a lot easier to believe with data. When data says differently, that initial blind faith is hard to maintain.
My battles with the holiday traffic dip have been epic since day one. Like many young writers, I believed the easiest way to create more traffic was to have more posts. More content would equate to more unique readers, at least in my inexperienced mind, so I would spend long hours writing about artists – many of whom I did not even care for – who had for new or even recent updates that we had previously not run. I was a news madman, but for all my effort the results were typically about the same. A day with twenty articles and a day with forty articles would only be separated by about 500 uniques, which made the value of those extra twenty posts incredibly small. Ever worse, I knew how much time with family and those I love had been sacrificed in order for them to be created. I was losing on all fronts and feeling even worse about myself than I had just knowing the dip existed.
Two years ago, things started to change, but certainly not as fast as I might have hoped. Instead of driving myself insane by sacrificing large amounts of time for content that very few people would enjoy, regardless of that content’s quality, I decided to use the holiday slowdown as an opportunity to plan the year ahead. Admittedly I did not plan as well as I might have liked, but for the first time in over half a decade of blogging I had found an outlet for my frustrations that allowed me to constructively combat my own demons, as well as the drop in uniques, all while focusing on the one hobby/job/passion/interest I have carried the last decade of my life. It was not perfect by any means, but it was more productive and beneficial than any of my previous late December breakdowns, and I am hoping to improve upon those efforts in the weeks ahead while I set to planning what this blog will do in the new year.
When we started the month of December I had no plans to write this article, as we wrote a similar entry last year, but as I noticed students posting about final exams winding down and saw numerous friends begin complaining about traffic I had a change of heart. I saw myself in those were frustrated, and I wanted to reach out in hopes of easing their worried minds. Let me tell you right now that anyone thinking that the dip they see in traffic around this time is a direct result of something they did is wrong, and that perspective is coming from someone who has spent many holidays being hard on themselves for not producing stronger traffic during Christmas Break. You are worth more than you know, and so is the work you are doing to promote the art and artists you love. That is true whether or not your analytics surpasses your expectations, and it always will be as long as you do not allow yourself to get lost in data. You didn’t start writing to become obsessed with who is or is not reading you work, so don’t let it distract you now. Be the best writer you can possibly be and the rest will follow.
Believe me, young writers, when I tell you that the world has not forgotten about you. The audience you have built remains dedicated, your work remains consistent, and the support you have from the rest of the blogging community is as strong as it has ever been. Instead of letting the holiday slowdown throw you and your emotions for a loop, accept that traffic dips and focus your efforts on creating a more productive new year. Don’t waste time with stories no one will read or social media efforts that will find only minimal traction and look to the future. Build a content calendar, draft requests for 2016 album releases, apply to SXSW, and/or something else altogether. Whatever you do – stay positive. The world is not ending and your talent is not going unnoticed. People simply have other priorities right now, and in less than two weeks things will return more or less to normal. Just breathe.
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.
As someone who spends a lot of time writing about the life of those attempting to make a living online, it’s always refreshing to encounter an individual who is more focused on their authenticity than financial gain. There is nothing wrong with wishing to be successful, and there is certainly nothing wrong with wishing your site could be your full time job, but if you’re creating content because you believe it will lead to financial success then you are destined to fail. Success in writing only comes after you have learned to be confident in using your voice to express your opinion regardless of how it impacts your potential for clicks on any given day.
Tina Roumeliotis, founder of The Daily Listening, understands the importance of creating something first and foremost because it’s what you want to do. She knows that longterm success for any website is usually determined by page views, but right now her main focus is creating quality content she and the rest of her staff actually want to read. That is the kind of thing we admire here at the Haulix blog, and just a few weeks ago we asked Tina to share her journey in music with us. You can read highlights from our conversation below.
2015 has been a year where many music blogs have disappeared from the internet, but thanks to outlets like The Daily Listening we are confident there will still be great original content for music fans to enjoy for many years to come. We highly recommend you follow TDL on Twitter and Like their official Facebook.
H: Hello, Tina. Would you please help us begin by introducing yourself and your site to our readers?
T: Hey there! I’m Tina Roumeliotis. I’m from New York and I am the founding-editor-in-chief of The Daily Listening. TDL is a new music site dedicated to cultivating a community of music enthusiasts. I also write for BUZZNET while contributing to a few other sites around the web.
H: You’re active in music beyond the work done on The Daily Listening, but it seems safe to say that is your online hub. What drove you to launch a site all your own in a time when competition for clicks amongst blogs is at an all time high?
T: Very good question! I have been writing for BUZZNET for 3 years now and I just felt it was time to branch out and start something of my own. I am so grateful for everything BUZZNET has allowed me to achieve. I had always wanted to write, especially about music, but I was at a standstill, not really knowing how or where I should start. I spent a lot of time asking people around me for advice but I’ve always found that most of them weren’t too keen on sharing any information, which ultimately frustrated me and left me feeling very lost and isolated. Then BUZZNET came along and I was psyched that I had the opportunity to join a user-generated community where my work was being featured daily. It really heightened my confidence and showed me what I was made of, plus being featured so often really pushed me to step up my game. I really didn’t have anyone in my ear telling me what I should or shouldn’t write about so everything I’ve learned and accomplished over the years has been an independent journey. I had been looking for a paying job in my field for quite some time (honestly, I still am) and I found that I just didn’t fit in to their boxes of what a music journalist should be. Having access to all of that freedom opened my eyes to what I could achieve on my own. I think it spoiled me a little in the sense that I value the opportunity to work independently and be in charge.
As for the competition for clicks, it’s quite overwhelming when you think about it. Before TDL launched, I researched tons of blogs and almost backed out for fear of just being another fish in the sea. But then, as always, while listening to a new record, I was reminded of why I had to do this. We’re only 4 months old, and while my goal is to do everything in my power to make the site a success, I refuse to “sell out,” so to speak just for a page view. My mission is to be genuine while still being 100% professional. If readers would rather read a snarky review with a misleading title over a heartfelt, personal one, so be it. I don’t necessarily view other blogs as competition but rather something we all have in common. Like, “Oh hey! I started my own site so I can ramble about music, too! Right on!”
H: For people who have never visited your site before, how do you describe the content found on The Daily Listening?
T: Our content is 100% authentic. We don’t do gimmicks nor do we partake in any gloss. It’s not about the scene or what everyone says you should be listening to but about what is heard and how music ignites that spark in us. My main goal with this site is to bring back those real, honest conversations about music and our personal stories of connection that have been sadly concealed with how a song sounds or how much it’s selling rather than how it makes you feel. We do touch on the sound of course, but it shouldn’t be the main focus.
Here’s a little breakdown of our main columns:
– Daily Discovery is a way to shine a light on new artists we’ve recently discovered while Get Stoked About is a segment on those on-the-rise artists who are about to take the world by storm.
– Our Listening Party segment is all about curling up in bed or wherever you choose to relax while streaming an album front to back without any distractions. We also give artists the chance to talk about their new release, if possible.
– In Retrospect has been a big one this year being that so many albums are celebrating their 10th and 20th anniversary. We dive into those albums while sharing our own personal stories of what they mean to us, how they impacted the music industry and how they helped shape us into who we are today.
– The Staff Musings segment is basically just a free for all. I tell my writers all the time that if a song pops up from like 5 or 10 years ago and it ignites something in you, write about it. Music, no matter when it was released, is always relevant in my book, so if there’s a meaningful, personal story they want to share, I’m all for it.
– Our monthly mixtapes are a new, fun addition as well. A best of the month, if you will.
H: We mentioned this a moment ago, but there is a great deal of competition amongst blogs covering the same areas of music as you. What do you believe sets your site apart?
T: What sets The Daily Listening apart from most blogs is that deep down we are all just music nerds on our bedroom floors, diving into an album with lyric booklet in hand, discovering our own truths. We’re not trying to impress anyone or show off how cool we are, but if we do impress someone, we’re honored. Haha. To me, music is so personal so when I share my discoveries with the world, it’s almost as if I’m handing you my diary. Of course, two people could listen to the same song and not feel it the way the other has but that’s what makes it so special.
I think the biggest thing for me is refusing to partake in the age-old debate of negativity, which I’ve discussed in Our Policy up on the site. I’ve noticed a lot of pretentiousness in music journalism where a writer feels that their opinion is superior to anyone else’s while completely disrespecting an artist’s time and effort on a project. I’ve lost a lot of respect for certain sites who display that attitude and I think it serves no purpose. There is enough negativity on the internet and I don’t intend on contributing to it. To me, it’s also about the connection between writer and publicist/band. Our job is to share their music with the world and by being immature, you’re not only hurting your own reputation but the reputation of said artist. Kindness really is the only way to go and I hope people see that when they visit the site.
H: The first thing I noticed about your work was your passion for writing. So many young bloggers today believe throwing up an embed and post title counts as being a ‘journalist,’ but you seem to be taking a traditional, far more editorial leaning approach to content. Would you say this is true? Why is the written word so important to you?
T: Oh my gosh, thank you so much! I really appreciate that! I would definitely agree. Although it’s been said that attention spans are at an all time low recently, I really appreciate when someone dives into an album or a song while sharing their perspective on it in a more lengthy piece. It bothers me to learn that a two-sentence article was written by someone who got paid for it yet here I am pouring my heart out for free. I’ve always dreamed of being a magazine editor and to have my work actually published in an actual magazine or newspaper that I can hold with my hands would be the epitome of awesome for me.
I think I was a born a writer, to be honest. I’ve always been introverted and very much in tune with my emotions. I’m always in my head, even while listening to music so that kind of fueled my passion to write about music. The written word is so important because, like music, it holds so much impact. What we choose to write about and put into the world has the potential to reach so many people who need reassurance; to know they’re not alone and that everything they’re feeling is valid. It’s a way to feel out the noise in your head while developing your character. So at the end of the day words really can make an impact. Plus, just the word ‘editorial’ alone makes my inner nerd all giddy. 😛
H: Are there blogs, dead or alive, that inspired the type of content found on The Daily Listening. If so, who?
T: Hmm. Not really, to be honest. I think my music collection and the pitches I receive in my inbox inspires our content. Of course there are a few blogs I adore but mostly I just do my own thing. Oddly enough, it seems to be resonating.
H: How large is your team of contributors? Are you looking to add to the team?
T: As of right now we have 7 contributors, including myself. I’m so proud of each and every one of my writers and I feel so lucky that I was able to find like-minded individuals who share the same values. We are always looking to add to our team so check out the site for more info!
H: With that in mind, how would you describe your ideal Daily Listening team member?
T: The ideal Daily Listening team member is:
– Obsessed with music (duh)
– Willing to dig deeper than what Top 40 feeds us
– Enjoys writing and sharing personal stories of how a song/album changed or helped their lives in any way
– Enthusiastic
– Down-to-earth and respectful
– Eager to learn
H: A lot of sites exist solely to promote music, which I guess is accomplished anytime a post is made, but when you think about the life of a site over the longterm simply helping people discover music is not a very hard goal to achieve. When you think of The Daily Listening as a company or publication, what goals do you have for its future? Where is all this headed?
T: Good question! As of right now, it is just me and my writers from around the world coming together to “share stories around the campfire” as I like to refer to it. I ultimately started the site because I had been talking about it for quite some time and I got sick of hearing myself talk about it so I went and did it. The mere thought of it turning into a “company,” not gonna lie, makes me starry-eyed as everything I’ve ever dreamed dances in front of me. But at the same time, I’m not not afraid to admit that I’m still a rookie. I’m still learning the ropes of the industry; figuring out what I do and don’t want and how I can create the life that I’ve always wanted. I don’t fit into this scene. I absolutely knew that the day I wrote my first article. So it’s basically about gaining more confidence to be more assertive so I don’t wind up regretting anything down the line. I think we’re headed towards good things, though.
H: I noticed that there does not currently appear to be any kind of advertising on The Daily Listening. Do you have plans to monetize your efforts in the future? If so, can you please shed some light on how you plan to accomplish that?
T: Like I’ve previously stated, we’re only 4 months old. I definitely want to start having some advertising on the site in the near future, but like I said, I’ve never really owned my own site before, so I’m still in the beginning stages of learning everything I need to know to take TDL further. It would be awesome to have some money coming in for a change. 😛
H: Money isn’t everything, obviously, but it is good to have personal goals outside of simply building the best site possible. What are your professionals goals with the site? Do you hope this leads to something bigger, or do you want The Daily Listening to become your full-time role in music?
T: I definitely want to be known for The Daily Listening, along with my previous work but I’m always open to new opportunities. Let’s be honest, whether you respect the big names or not, there’s always going to be a major part of you that hopes for that amount of success for your own endeavors. At this point though, I’m focusing on educating myself more on the business aspects so that I’m ready if something should appear on the table in the future. I’m a big fan of the saying, “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” I often feel so overwhelmed with where I think I should be at this point in my life but then I have to remind myself to take it one step at a time.
H: Without going too in-depth, please walk us through your content planning efforts.
T: Sometimes I feel like I plan content in my sleep haha! I have a special notebook where I write out everything that needs to be covered for the week and so forth. It’s best to write everything out so things don’t get overwhelming, especially when your inbox looks like a scene from Hoarders! As for the pitches I receive, not everyone gets to be featured so I always tell people that the worst I will say to you is, “No, I’m just not feeling it.” I do listen to everything that’s sent my way, though and its all a matter of what perks my ears up, etc.
H: What advice would you offer any young or aspiring writers who may be reading this feature now?
T: First off, you’re in the right place! Keep reading Haulix because this is the place for everything you’re going to need to start your career in the music industry. Second, keep this at the forefront of your mind: There is a future in what you love. As a kid running home from school every day to catch TRL, I never imagined I’d ever get to do what I am doing. The fact that I managed to do it on my own is even more mind-blowing.
Find a place that allows you the freedom that I found with BUZZNET. Having your work displayed is the best way to hone your craft and step up your game. When the right people take notice, it can lead to incredible things.
Don’t ask for permission to accomplish your dreams. You have everything you need to get started. Contact PR agencies, record labels, or even bands themselves and start making those personal connections. It may be intimidating but remember who you are and what you stand for. Eventually, those people will be seeking you out and asking you to feature some of the best up-and-coming acts out there!
Most of all, don’t do it just to be a part of the scene. Cultivate your own voice and don’t try to mimic what the others are doing. There is a time and a place for everything so keep it classy, always.
Your word is the most important thing you can ever give a client. Be kind, respectful and professional all of the time.
If you’re looking for a place to start your career, The Daily Listening is a safe, friendly community to begin! Check out our site for more info and I’d be more than happy to chat and help out in any way! 🙂
Last but not least, don’t forget to enjoy the music. Sometimes we get so wrapped up on what we’re going to say about it that we forget to turn off our devices and just listen.
H: Where do you see yourself in a year? How about in 5 years?
T: Ahhh, this question always sends me into a freak out. If you were to tell me a year ago I’d be maintaining my own site, I’d have probably told you that you’re crazy. In a year, I hope to find myself in a place where I don’t have to worry as much. Finding a place where I feel like I belong has been a battle throughout most of my life, so I hope to be in a job that appreciates everything I have to offer. I don’t like the feeling of settling for something because I feel like I have no other prospects. As for 5 years…let’s just say I hope to not be where I am right now haha. I have ideas. It’s just going to take a lot more time, blood, sweat and tears to get there. All in due time. 🙂
H: I think that covers everything. Before I let you go, are there any additional thoughts you would like to share with our audience?
Before we begin, let me just say that if you’re getting into music writing to make money you have undertaken a fool’s errand. There are far easier, much less aggravating ways to earn a few dollars, and most don’t even require you to formulate original ideas on a regular basis. Music writing is a passion project through and through, with the return rarely matching the work put in, but for those who manage to cultivate a community of dedicated readers there are ways to profit from your endeavors. You might not make it rich. In fact, I can almost promise you that will never happen, but if you work hard and prove yourself to be an upstanding industry professional there is money to be earned.
What follows are a series of tips and tricks for generating income with your music writing efforts that I have learned over the better part of the last decade. Some are obvious, others require a willingness to be honest with your readers in a way some might not be comfortable with, and still others will require a good relationship with the labels and publicists you interact with on a regular basis. I cannot tell you which will work best for you, but there is no reason you cannot try them all. Experimentation is great way to learn what does and doesn’t work for your site. Keep an open mind, be patient, and in time at least one of the following methods will help cover the numerous costs associated with being a music writer in 2015.
GOOGLE ADSENSE
Remember when I said some of these suggestions would be a bit obvious? Google Adsense has been the most reliable source of traffic based income for as long as I can remember. Anyone with a site can signup, and approval of your site usually happens within 24-hours. The return for clicks and views is incredibly low, but that is simply the state of the digital advertising market today. For those looking to dip their toes in the monetization game, this is the perfect place to start. Just don’t be surprised if it takes a long, long time to see any substantial return. Click here to learn more.
DISQUS
Disqus is a commenting system used by most music blogs operating today. The company behind the platform has developed a special program that rewards site owners with cash in exchange for comments and little a bit of ad space. This feature involves the use of a discovery box, which is a native place where your visitors finds related post on your blog or website, as well as the internet as a whole. You can set how much exposure these related posts get within your Disqus admin control, but know that you make more with increased exposure. Click here to learn more.
SPONSORED POSTS
For those who believe they are the best dealers of ad space on their site, Sponsored Posts may be the way to go. A sponsored blog post is a blog post which you are paid publish on your blog. It may be written by you or by the advertisers. It could be about anything, from a list of reason why one brand of headphones is better than another, to a preview of the most anticipated acts at a particular festival. The person buying the sponsored post will usually dictate the type of content they want to receive, but it may be on you to create the post. Every situation is different, as is the rate people are willing to pay for such placement.
In accordance with FTC regulations you should always mention that it’s a sponsored blog post, usually at the end of the post with a byline such as: “This blog post was sponsored by (sponsor name here)”
The biggest issue with sponsored posts is usually that bloggers do not know what to charge sponsors, and as a result they end up doing a lot of work for very little money. If you choose to pursue this path of monetization, know what you want going in, and make sure you have the analytics and facts needed to back up such a request.
AD NETWORKS
Ad Networks are one of the more reliable ways to generate money for your site without running the risk of having ads from companies/products you don’t know appearing on your front page. Sites enter into revenue sharing agreements with ad networks, typically allowing the network to take a sizable cut in exchange for curating and placing relevant ads on the site. Some networks deal with genres, while others deal with industries as a whole. Some of our favorite ad networks include Blast Beat and The Laugh Network.
PATREON
This may be our favorite form of monetization in existence today, if only because it does not require third party ads or content to appear on your site. Patreon is essentially a digital tip jar where readers can pledge to contribute monthly to your site’s continued existence. For as little as $2 a month anyone can become a supporter of your organization. Signup only takes a few minutes and, unlike most services Patreon does not take a single cent from your contributions. You do, however, have to pay taxes once the funds received surpasses $600 in a single year. Click here for some tips and tricks to help maximize your Patreon experience.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
The alternative music scene was rocked over the weekend by the news popular music blog PropertyOfZack will cease operations at some point in the coming days. This marks the end of the site’s six-year existence, which saw it flourish from an unknown Tumblr entity into one of the most recognized alternative music blogs in the world. During that time, founder Zack Zarrillo and his team of contributors broke major stories, introduced the world to bands who would later captivate the entire scene, and somehow found a way to make an entire new generation of music news readers appreciate well-written editorials. Things were not always easy, but the site found a way to continue on. That is, until now.
Writing to readers of the site in the post that announced plans to end POZ’s run, Zarrillo explained his decision by stating:
“My life is in a period of deep change and instead of risking integrity, happiness, or feeling guilt – I would rather PropertyOfZack say goodbye the right way. Timing is everything, after all. I haven’t looked at our traffic in many months, but I appreciate the dedicated daily, weekly, or monthly readers of the site now more than ever. I’d rather bid you a proper farewell than a lackluster finale. Burn out, not fade away.”
I see a variation of that quote, “it’s better to burn out than to fade away,” at least once a month. Most who use it probably don’t realize it was made famous in Kurt Cobain’s suicide note, and even less probably know that its origin is actually from the song “My My, Hey Hey” by Neil Young. It’s rumored that Young based the line off president Millard Fillmore’s famous quote, “It’s better to wear out than rust out,” but that rumor has never really been confirmed or denied. The point is, many people have used this sentiment to represent many different types of change throughout time. In the case of Kurt Cobain, it seems he believed his life were better ended on his own terms than by the slow process of decay the rest of us endure day in and day out until we expire. For Zack, the phrase means something else altogether.
I actually spoke with Zack just before the news of POZ’s end was made public. When I asked him to explain his decision making process to me, he summarized his thoughts and feelings by simply stating that it ‘felt right.’ He told me he had learned a long time ago to listen to himself and what his heart or mind was trying to say. Sometimes he fought those notions, but when he did he often found his body was right all along. He even fought himself over closing POZ before now, and in that instance he convinced himself it were better if the site lived. This time however, he knew fighting himself would be the wrong move. The time had come to say goodbye, and it was up to him to find the strength within himself to make the knowledge of that fact public.
All this discussion lead me to ask myself when I might step away. I’ve certainly had the thought cross my mind that my time could be better spent doing something that actually provided me with income or really any form of sustenance. While others my age have spent years developing a skill for a particular career I’ve been blogging about bands, many of whom don’t even know I exist, and attending an untold number of shows. This isn’t to say I haven’t had my fair share of fun, because I certainly have, but I have also noticed the way many of my peers seem to have gotten a bit further along with so-called adulthood than myself. Sometimes I wonder if that’s a good or bad thing. Maybe the fact I’m able to stay firmly planted within youth culture through my writing is a good thing. Maybe it’s keeping me young while everyone else my age has begun to transform into the lame, mostly middle-class parents they will eventually become. I can’t really tell you either way, but I can say the internal debate is ongoing.
Several people have approached me in the past week and asked me about my thoughts regarding Zack’s decision, and to each I typically reply that I cannot speak for Zack. My experience in writing has always been a personal one. The reason I started was because something inside was telling me I needed to do so, and I expect there are many writers working today who would say something similar if the question of why they began was asked of them. To write, or at least to write well, you have to give something of yourself to your readers. You have to sacrifice your time and leverage your abilities without any idea whether or not anyone else will care what happens as a result. You might write the greatest book known to man or you might spend your life churning our listicles that are forgotten almost as quickly as they are consumed. As long as you’re content with your position, or as long as you’re working to better yourself, the opinions of others should not matter. Others cannot give you success. They cannot fill that void inside that you believe writing will help cure. That is your responsibility and yours alone, so the same can be said for the decision to walk away.
The best advice that can be offered to anyone questioning whether or not they should remain in music writing is urging that person to listen to heart. That may sound corny to the nihilists and pessimists among us, but it’s the absolute truth. You know you better than anyone could hope to, even if you don’t always believe that fact, and only you can determine when is the right time to walk away from music journalism. If you feel there is more work to be done or something that simply must be said, then do whatever you must to satisfy that itch. On the other hand, if something tells you it’s time to move on, then move on. After all, you can always return.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
