Tag: Journalism

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Three tips for music writers in 2018

Music Writing, Music Blogging, Music Journalism

The music business in 2018 would be virtually unrecognizable to the music business of 2000. In less than two decades the industry we all love has undergone an extended transformation that has placed an emphasis on access rather than ownership, created a glut of festivals, and brought into question the necessity of quote/unquote ‘music journalists’. When algorithms can predict success better than even the most gifted ears and everyone with an opinion is able to share their thoughts on social media do we really have a need for full-time music writers?

The answer, as always, is yes. There may be more people talking about music than ever before, as well as more way to access music, but that does not mean the quality of conversation around the art form is at its peak. As long as there are great artists creating impossibly catchy songs that ultimately never receive the praise or support they deserve there is still work to be done on the part of music journalists. There is and will always be a need for people to amplify the voice of artists on the rise, as well as a need for experienced listeners to help those short on time make worthwhile discoveries.

While there is a lot to be said for how music blogs and publications can better themselves in 2018 (click here to learn more), there is also quite a bit you should be taking it upon yourself to do in order to get ahead. What follows are three tips to keep in mind as we begin to navigate the uncertain months ahead. The future is always unpredictable, but there is a lot you can do right now to increase your chances of a better tomorrow. If you have any questions, just email me: james@haulix.com.

Storytelling matters now more than ever

There was time not long ago when the vast majority of music blogs created just two pieces of content: Reviews and news. The reviews were written hurriedly by young critics trying to make their name by praising or trashing talent, while the news often amounted to little more than copy/pasted press releases tweaked just enough to not be outright plagiarism. Some of this content was good, but most was immediately disposable.

Some of those sites still exist today, but most have died due to an inability to grow their audience. If the content your creating is immediately disposable then the same can be said for your site. If, however, you are able to find a way to create unique content that no one else can offer then you may be able to set yourself apart.

To do this, we suggest telling more stories. Find an artist you believe in, regardless of popularity, and tell their story. Tell your story about telling their story. Tell the story of their fans and why they choose to care about this artist instead of the other million-plus in existence. Find an angle that interests you and share it with the world. Take chances. Maybe what you uncover isn’t necessarily new or groundbreaking information, but as long as it is honest and well-written it will entertain.

Maintain your archives, both public and private

Here’s a nightmare scenario most writers never consider: What happens to your content in the event a hacker attacks the site(s) where you contribute? What happens if the owner of that site suddenly loses interest in the publication and deletes it? What happens if for whatever reason your content disappears before you or anyone else thinks to save a copy elsewhere?

The answer is always the same: Your content is gone forever.

In 2018, there are no longer any acceptable excuses for failing to maintain a personal archive. Too many sites have gone under and too many people have complained over social media about now permanently lost work for you to fall in line with those who the easily avoidable mistake of not keeping track of your work. After all, who else do you expect to do it? No one cares more about your career in writing than you, so you must be the one to look after and ensure its legacy.

In addition to saving your work offline, we also suggest you maintain a catalog of links to the currently active content you consider to be your ‘best’ work. Services like Contently make this easy and cost-effective. Again, there is no excuse for your archives being a mess. Get it together!

You need a website

Every time we create a post offering advice to individual professionals we make it a point to emphasize the need for a personal website. It doesn’t matter if you own a blog with a hundred contributors or you contribute to a hundred blogs, every single person trying to make it in the music business should have their own website. The reasons why are as endless as your imagination, but the main reason is that you need a place where you and your work can be the focus of everyone’s attention. You need a place where your absolute best work is displayed, as well as a place where people can learn more about you and whether or not you are available for freelance work. A personal website can be anything you want it to be. Just make sure you have one.

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News

A simple solution to writer’s block

If there is one thing that unites musicians and the people who write about them it is the constant struggle to maintain their creativity. It does not matter if you are a blogger or fronting the world’s biggest band, there will be times in this life when you are not able to create at a level you feel is good enough. Call it writer’s block or some kind of mental hurdle, the name doesn’t matter nearly as much as the recognition this resistance is both real and universal. Everyone who attempt to create anything faces these struggles, but that understanding doesn’t make your ability to complete your work any easier.

On a recent episode of his podcast, comedian Joey ‘Coco’ Diaz was speaking with fellow comic Tom Segura about longevity in stand up. Both Joey and Segura are headliners in comedy today, but it took years of hard work and thousands of jokes in order to reach that level. Still, both men constantly find themselves at a creative impasse. While talking about this on air Diaz mentioned advice he once received from legendary comedian Paul Mooney when discussing his creative hurdles. Mooney’s advice was summaries in three simple words: Go get entertained.

I know what some of you are thinking: Get entertained? But I have deadlines! There are people counting on me to finish this thing and it needs to be something great and it needs to be done now!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you’re so stuck that you’re reading articles like this about overcoming mental blocks then the chance of your work being completed to the best of your abilities in the next hour or so is highly unlikely. You have thought about the thoughts you are trying to think too much, which is to say you’ve begun to work yourself in circles. You’re chasing ghosts of ideas you thought you might have at a time other than right now and no amount of searching is going to make them miraculously appear.

Your brain, like your biceps or any other muscle, can only work so much before it needs to rest. In order to work more efficiently your brain needs exercise, which in the case of creative people includes inspiration in the form of experiences. You are the sum total of everything you have experienced up to this point, and those experiences have now become both your source of inspiration and – hopefully – income. In order to continue feeling inspired to create you need to continue taking in new experiences. I say this not just for your work, but for your sanity. You can drive yourself crazy starring at an empty canvas or you can go out, see or hear or touch or taste or smell something that moves you, then immediately feel the need to purposefully create once more.

This may read like common sense to some readers, but the up and comers still trying to get their foot in the door will think it’s crazy because they’ve been taught this industry does not allow for breaks. Who has time to watch a television show, let alone a two-hour feature film, when emails are flowing like water at all hours of the day. Add to this the need to maintain social channels, which can require posting up to (if not more than) ten separate feeds on any given day, and we haven’t even addressed the actual work any creative is trying to accomplish. Writing songs or stories takes time, but so does finding inspiration, and far too often we forget that fact.

You are only human, and your brain is only a muscle. In order to perform at your best you have to rest and exercise, but physically and mentally, on a daily basis. It’s both that simple and that hard, but like any other meaningful routine in life it is worth the effort.

So the next time you find yourself banging your head against a wall while trying to create your next masterpiece try taking a step back for an hour, night, or even a couple days. See a movie, go on a hike, or just put on your favorite records. Spend time remembering why you love the thing you do so you can then share that love with the world at large. We’ll be here, ready and waiting to experience what you decide to share.

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Job Board News

New openings (October 9, 2017)

Director of Publicity (Anti Records – Los Angeles)

This person will represent the ANTI- label to digital and print media.
Must have good relationships with journalists from all strata of media and a good working knowledge of the many styles of music that the Anti label represents. Must also have good writing skills and be proficient in modern productivity and communication software.

This is a full time position with excellent benefits. Salary commensurate with experience.

Account Manager (Crowd Surf – Los Agneles) 

Account manager will be responsible for managing relationships between Crowd Surf and its clients and artists. This person will oversee the positive and constant growth of online statistics and subscribers, maximize online content, create relationships between artists, platforms, products and fans/consumers and increase, as well as, help create additional revenue streams for our clients.

Program Manager, Brand Partnerships (Pandora – Oakland) 

We’re seeking a West Coast Program Manager to work in our Santa Monica or Oakland office to focus on the post sale management and execution of custom online stations and offline event experiences for key advertisers.  The right individual will be accountable for understanding every aspect from the concept creation stage to launch and maintenance; this includes keeping the sales lead(s), sales development, Events and Industry Relations (MMG), Design, Content and Client Services teams on-track and on-time with all of their tasks and deliverables. They will also support the sales force and relevant support teams with pre-sale/post-sales communication during the entire campaign. Programs include custom content stations, custom events, Franchise / Pandora lead events, and more.

As the lead conductor of these programs, you will be responsible for the flawless execution of customized programming experiences that consumers love that meet brand objectives.

Executive Assistant (Epitaph/Anti Records – Los Angeles)

The ideal person for for this job would be able to provide high-level administrative support to the General Manager of Epitaph / ANTI- in overseeing the operation of our Sales and Marketing departments.  They would interface with artists/managers, handle information requests, assist in preparation of marketing plans/agendas, and maintain a working knowledge of executives’ duties, so as to be able to effectively schedule appointments and calls.  Candidates must possess great follow through and attention to detail.

This is a full time position with excellent benefits. Salary commensurate with experience. 

Senior Marketing Manager (SeriesFest – Denver) 

Develop and manage the year-round marketing and advertising plan for SeriesFest. This individual is detail oriented, able to think independently and exercise judgement in order to identify marketing opportunities, create compelling marketing campaigns and handle requests and issues that vary across internal and external partners. This individual will work remotely most of the time.

Senior Marketing Associate, Events (NPR – Washington D.C.) 

NPM (National Public Media) is looking for a Senior Marketing Associate, Events to support a full suite of integrated marketing activity and collateral associated with sponsored events including but not limited to: sponsored event activation, development of event sales packages, response to event-focused RFPs, event sales material management, email marketing, and overall brand management for both NPR Events. The Senior Marketing Associate, Events will be part of a collaborative team, working with NPM employees across the country to meet daily deadlines, while supporting the Marketing team’s ongoing goals and long-term projects.

Coordinator, Creative Content (Sony – Culver City, CA) 

Responsible for shooting and editing original content for SPA marketing and publicity including:

  • Social media (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, production blogs…) including but not limited to Inside Sony Pictures Animation videos and One Minute Job Descriptions
  • Designing custom teasers to promote projects and push video views
  • Bonus DVD featurette content e.g. behind the scenes vignettes
  • Contribute ideas for improving and repurposing studio content

Marketing Assistant (Crowd Surf – Nashville, TN) 

Crowd Surf is a digital marketing firm in the entertainment industry. We are currently looking to hire a full-time marketing assistant to work in our Nashville office. If you have a passion for musical artists + marketing experience, we would love to see your resume!

Music Consultant (WMG – London) 

The Music Consultant is responsible for developing and maintaining an extensive portfolio of clients in TV Programming & Advertising and maximising the use of the catalogue in these areas.

Promotions Assistant (iHeartMedia – Toledo, OH) 

Assists the promotions or marketing departments with daily activities that promote the station(s), clients or events.  Provides programming and control board support to On-Air Talent.

Librarian-Reference Specialist, Music (Legislative Branch – Washington D.C.) 

The Music Division in the Collections and Services Directorate is the Library’s primary gateway to the collections and reference services dealing with the subjects of music, theater, and dance. These collections consist of books, serials, and scores; and special collections that include scores, correspondence, writings and business papers, iconography, and musical instruments. The incumbent reports directly to the Head, Reader Services Section. The incumbent may be an authority in a specialized field of music and is an expert in digital reference service. Performs duties which encompass very complex and wide ranging reference, research, and outreach assignments in his/her field of specialization. Plans comprehensive, in-depth means by which to improve and support all automated reference activities. Librarians respond to inquiries that are received in person, by telephone, by correspondence and by electronic media. These requests originate from Congress, foreign and U.S. Government agencies, national and international academics and scholars, research and scientific institutions, the professional and business communities and from the general public. Maintains current and extensive knowledge of trends in his/her specialized area in the fields of music or performing arts and of advances in the area of reference librarianship.

Campaign Specialist (Pandora – Kansas City, MO) 

The Campaign Specialist will partner directly with Sales Account Executives and will be responsible for working internally and externally to ensure that we execute strategically and flawlessly for our advertising partners. The right individual will be a key contributor in Pandora’s Client Services team and responsible for operational development, implementing, maintaining and enhancing these campaigns.  This position involves sales and client support, project management, execution and reporting.   

Junior Designer, Marketing (NPR – Washington D.C.) 

The Junior Designer works with the Junior Copywriter and the Marketing team, and will play an active role in creative brainstorms, concept development, and project kick-offs. S/he will be responsible for event collateral (posters, programs, event banners, website graphics, etc.), small campaigns (website images, web ads, print ads, iTunes promotional pieces), stationary, posters, product development for the shop.npr.org, and additional projects.

Brand Manager (Townsquare Media – Twin Falls, ID) 

Brand Manager and PM Drive for Classic Rocker: 983 The Snake. A Townsquare Media Brand Manager is the brand captain for their radio station. You will develop relationships with your on air team, the sales department and sales management and your Operations Manager. You will carry your radio stations brand forward on air and in the digital world and be a leader for your Brand.

Integrated Marketing Strategist (The Fader – NYC) 

As FADER’s brand marketing efforts grow, we are looking for hard working, driven, creative and collaborative members to join our expanding team. We are looking for an Integrated Marketing Strategist who can ideate strategic, creative platforms for our company and the brands that we work with. The ideal candidate must demonstrate a strong understanding and insight into brand marketing from a publisher perspective, and be passionate about music and the lifestyle surrounding it.

The candidate will have commitment and passion about our mission to make brands matter in culture. You live and breathe music, the lifestyle around it, and are excited by the prospect of building things for both our brand partners and our own business. You are entrepreneurial and highly-energized.

The Integrated Marketing Strategist at FADER acts as a primary point person in the creative development of integrated marketing partnerships. This position reports to the VP of Strategy. 

Creative Strategist (Soundcloud – San Francisco) 

You’ll work in close collaboration with the Brand Revenue team (Sales & Account Management) and interface in a cross-functional capacity on a number of projects with Creative Services, Content and Legal to create engaging brand partner solutions. In this combination strategy and design role, you to take ownership of each project from the early pre-sales strategy and ideation phase and see it through to the campaigns final execution. In addition, youll be driving the communication of the Brand Revenue teams needs and expectations across other product and content stakeholders.

Marketing Director (Charleston Symphony Orchestra – Charleston, SC) 

The Marketing Director is a senior staff member who oversees external communications for the organization and is responsible for all concert performance revenue of $1.7 Million. Responsibilities include development and implementation of subscription and single ticket campaigns, managing advertising and media sponsorships, overseeing public relations and supervising telemarketing. Working closely with the senior management team, the Marketing Director implements strategies that result in subscriber satisfaction and retention, expanded audiences and increased public awareness. The Director works closely with the Development Director to create meaningful patron experiences across the symphony family.

Account Director, Music (The Marketing Arm – Chicago, IL) 

The Marketing Arm is seeking a proven, dynamic Account Director to guide the Music work for one of the agency’s largest clients. The newly created position requires a powerful combination of leadership skills that can guide a multi-dimensional team; experience with multi-channel, consumer-centric marketing and a personal interest in Music.

The Account Director will be the strategic liaison for clients, internal teams and partner agencies while also supervising multi-channel engagement execution. Candidate must be a creative and strategic thought leader with the ability to deliver integrated thinking; demonstrate a positive, do-what-it-takes attitude; be a natural connector who develops strong relationships among various groups, and anticipate and solve problems while being highly organized. 

On Air PD (iHeartMedia – Toledo, OH) 

iHeartMedia Toledo has immediate opening for On Air Program Director. Ideal candidate has multi-format experience both programming and on the air in Rock, CHR, AC, or Country formats. Leads all aspects of radio station’s on-air experience in a leadership and operations role, responsible for talent, content, programming, and online presence. Creates, produces and announces topics on the radio, including music, entertainment, politics, news, weather, sports, traffic and other topics of interest.

Advertising Sales Specialist (Cumulus Media – Saginaw, MI) 

CUMULUS MEDIA – Saginaw is seeking a talented Sales Representative who thrives in a fast-paced working environment. We are identifying highly competitive individuals with a proven track record of over-achieving sales goals. In return, we offer a unique career opportunity: one where you are given a challenging mission, world-class tools to help you succeed, and the chance to realize your full potential as a sale’s professional.

Older posts (7+ Days)

Copyright Coordinator, Music Publishing (FOX – Los Angeles)

Fox Music is looking to hire a Copyright Coordinator to work in our studio music publishing department. This role will interact with many areas of the studio with regards to film and television copyright including music cue sheets, CWR work registrations and US Copyright Office filings.

Associate Brand Manager (Sound United – Vista, CA)

Reporting to the Director of Brand Management, the Associate Brand Manager, will assist in developing overall brand vision and strategy. This position will oversee the management and execution of core projects associated with the brand at the category, product or channel level. Associate Brand Manager will assist in the development and evolution of the brand, product portfolio, and overall strategy while maintaining focus on the day-to-day activities relating to brand management. The position will be located at our worldwide headquarters in Vista, CA.

The selected candidate will assist in the development and execution of the brand strategy and key product and consumer messages. all initiatives across all consumer-facing channels. S/he will be responsible for analyzing brand, category and product-level performance metrics, making recommendations and implementing all necessary actions in a cross-functional manner with the product development organization.

This role will work closely with other functional areas to bring ideas to execution. Ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams (design, marketing, PR, engineering, sales, and more) to ensure world-class situation analysis, solution development and execution. Experience working with global cross-functional teams, dealers, and key stakeholders.

Market Dev Specialist West US (Shure – USA)

Under Supervision of the Sr. Sales Manager, the Market Development Specialist II plans, programs, and participates in field events to support sales growth for Shure products in the retail market segments including MI, CE, and Pro Audio segments. Trains and evangelizes to independent sales reps, key customers, distributors and influential end users on product(s) as prioritized by Sales and Marketing leadership. Collects customer leads and useful feedback on Shure’s products, programs, and services and reports findings to Product and Sales and Marketing Management regularly.

Director, On-Air Promotions (Spectrum – Tampa, FL)

This position will take charge of managing a creative team that develops creative promos and branded content, from conception to completion. Qualified candidates will have experience managing a staff of promotion producers, strong writing/production skills and an understanding of the brand. At its core, this position is responsible for analysis, discussion and oversight of the implementation of brand strategies, and objectives set forth.

Marketing Director (Coach House Concert Hall – San Juan Capistrano, CA)

Proficiency with ticketing sites such as TicketWeb and Goldstar.Skills with Social Media, preferably Business Manager for each: Facebook/Instagram/Twitter. Good written and verbal communication skills. Proficiency in Microsoft Outlook. Multi-tasking capabilities. Able to work at least 30 hours a week. Experience in the music industry is required and interest in live music a must – as you are often needed at the shows here at the venue.

Digital Marketing Manager (Apple – Culver City, CA)

Apple Services is seeking an experienced Digital Marketing Specialist that has a deep passion for culture and music. This role will be responsible for driving the growth, development, execution, and measurement of multi-platform digital strategies across the services businesses; Apple Music, iTunes, Books, News, Podcasts, iCloud and more. This person will work closely with teammates in the Digital Marketing organization as well as cross functionally with Product Marketing, Production, Engineering, Analytics and internal and external creative/advertising agencies.

Social Media Marketing Coordinator (The Keynote Group – Charleston, SC)

We are seeking a results-driven individual to execute client social media and related efforts to drive exposure, credibility and market presence. The ideal candidate would have a minimum of two years’ experience.

Advertising Copywriter (Pandora – Oakland, CA)

We have an exciting opportunity for an Advertising Copywriter to join our team. You will play a critical role in growing Pandora’s voice through audio advertising copywriting and production coordination support within our Audio Creative team. You must be a skilled writer with good organizational skills. You’ll work closely with company partners and clients to balance advertising goals with strategic brand initiatives.

The ideal candidate is a creative thinker who understands brands, ideas, and digital. You would also be an expert communicator, versatile writer, flexible collaborator, and innovative thinker who flourishes in a high-growth, fast-paced creative environment. We are looking to build our outstanding creative team, and this role will be crucial to our future growth and success.

Product Manager, Digital Media (Apple – Santa Clara Valley, CA)

The Product Manager, Digital Media will assist in defining and marketing new features, media types, products, and services as part of the Apple Music and iTunes team. Strong understanding of technology, the process of software engineering and UI design, plus a keen sense of diplomacy. It is also beneficial to have a passion for music and digital media. Contribute to product positioning, messaging, introduction, maintenance, and/or obsolescence of these features, media types, products, and services.

Marketing and Publicity Manager (Music Box Films – Chicago, IL)

Music Box Films seeks a motivated, resourceful individual with excellent written and verbal communications skills to join our marketing team as Marketing and Publicity Manager.

Music Box Films is a Chicago-based independent film distribution company that specializes in foreign language, documentary and American independent releases. Our acquisitions are highly curated to appeal to the so-called art house movie segment whose core demographic is an educated and culturally aware audience.

Creative Copywriter (Issuu –  Palo Alto, CA)

Copywriter is an important and impactful role within issuu’s marketing organization. Collaborating with product and design, this role will focus on ensuring a unified, ownable voice across all issuu’s communication channels. This role requires flexibility, intellectual and operational agility, and a strong bias for action. This is an exciting opportunity to put your well honed writing skills and boundless creative energy to work in an environment filled with passionate people, exceptional talent and a truly unique mission. This position reports directly to the VP Marketing.

Account Executive (Townsquare Media Group – Davenport, IA)

Are you Commission Driven? Have a sense of what it takes to win? If you want to grow professionally, can move at the speed of light and still have fun – Well then we want to talk to you! Townsquare Media Quad Cities is looking for a dynamic sales executive to join our media and digital advertising team. You will be selling local advertising for our innovative stations as well as given a large active account list upon starting.

Digital Advertising Manager (AltPress – Cleveland, OH)

Alternative Press Media is looking for a confident, self-motivated individual to join our staff in Cleveland as a Digital Advertising Manager This candidate should have an in-depth knowledge of contemporary young adult culture, including the areas of music, movies & television, online, style and technology trends.

PR Account Executive (FYI Brand Group – Los Angeles)

FYI has an immediate need for a dynamic and enthusiastic PR Account Executive to join the LA Team. The AE will gain hands on public relations experience working within our lifestyle brands, social good and sports divisions. Working closely with the Account Coordinator and company CEO, we are looking for a hard-working, business minded go-getter who is able to thrive in a fast paced and ever-changing work environment with the skill-set to manage multiple accounts. Salary commensurate upon experience.

Campaign Specialist (Pandora – Oakland, CA)

The Campaign Specialist will partner directly with Sales Account Executives and will be responsible for working internally and externally to ensure that we execute strategically and flawlessly for our advertising partners. The right individual will be a key contributor in Pandora’s Client Services team and responsible for operational development, implementing, maintaining and enhancing these campaigns.  This position involves sales and client support, project management, execution and reporting.  

Commercial Music Publishing Partnerships Manager (Facebook – Menlo Park, CA)

Facebook is seeking a Commercial Music Publishing Partnerships Manager who is passionate about the changing music ecosystem, technology and supporting our goal of connecting people through social media, the mobile eco-system and business strategy. This role will develop and guide management of Facebook’s commercial relationships with music publishers and societies, as well as collaborate with our product and media partnerships teams to ensure a coordinated and best-in-class music partner management structure. The position is full-time and based in our main office in Menlo Park, CA or New York, NY.

Digital Brand Manager (NBC – Universal City, CA)

The Digital Marketing Brand Manager is responsible for liaising with the social media, digital, media and publicity agencies and/or internal stakeholders on all the UPHE acquisitions, ensuring that their respective work products are delivered on time and according to strategy. This position oversees the creation and distribution of digital marketing materials, as well as handling special projects as assigned by the Vice President of Marketing, UPHE Content Group.

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News

Blog Tips: Language matters when covering assault

Often in music journalism it feels as though every step forward is immediately followed by half a step back. A rather harmless example of this would be people learning that diversity in content offerings often breeds better engagement, but then they spread themselves too thin trying to cover too much and the quality of their content begins to slide. This is a minor setback that is easy to fix, but not all things are this easy to change.

Over the last few years music journalism as a whole has increasingly taken notice of wrongdoing within the music industry as it relates to assault, unwanted advances, and related problems. The attention paid to these cases has helped make more people aware of the issues being faced in our global music community, but all too often the language used does not correctly describe the events that happened. The most recent example of this involves Molly Rankin, vocalist for the band Alvvays, who was nearly assaulted mid-performance by a male concert goer in Belgium. The man rushed the stage in the middle of a song and tried to surprise Rankin with a kiss, but she moved out of the way before he could have his way with her. You can view the incident in question below (it begins at the 3:35 mark).

No one in the music community has condoned this man’s behavior. What they have done, however, is underplayed the seriousness of his actions by using the wrong language in their story. Here are a few examples:

So a common thread here? All these sites promote the story as a man ‘trying to kiss’ a woman he never met who does not know who he is and certainly did not ask for his affection. That is not an attempted kiss. That is an attempted assault.

Assault, more specifically sexual assault, is defined as a sexual act in which a person is coerced or physically forced to engage against their will, or non-consensual sexual touching of a person. You may not personally believe kissing count as a sexual act, but for many it does, and insisting someone kiss you against their will is an act of sexual violence.

When writers use the wrong language to cover instances of assault or other crimes they are (perhaps inadvertently) normalizing the behavior. They are downplaying the seriousness of the allegations, or in this case the actual events, with language that infers the situation has some quality of lightness. Rankin may have been able to laugh off this bizarre instance, but that is no reason to think she’s okay with the fact it happened. It’s never okay, and as journalists reporting on the events specificity is key in helping audiences understand what makes such actions inappropriate.

Women in music – or anywhere else – owe men nothing, yet again and again we read stories like this where guys take their shot because they don’t see the harm in taking a chance. As influencers on this culture it is the responsibility of every writer to take action against wrongdoing and urge their readers to do the same. 

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News

The difference between good and bad content

There are a lot of music blogs in existence today, yet many will tell you that interest in music writing has long started to wane. People claim services like Spotify and Apple Music, which are increasingly adding editorial efforts to their platforms, have replaced the space once populated by music nerds with a their own URL. Who needs a blog for discovery when a streaming service algorithm will auto-populate discovery playlists for you every week? Who needs critics when everyone with Facebook or Twitter has the ability to blast their thoughts on any and everything to the world at large? Who needs….you get the point.

As a career music writer I will be the first to admit that the vast majority of music writing is completely disposable. As more and more artist compete for our attention blogs have increasingly turned to regurgitating press releases as a means of constant content creation. The transition from classic journalism to clickbait and/or what essentially amounts to embed posting has been something no one could have predicted in the age before the internet. Writers have been trained to see clicks as the determining factor in quality, which in turn has placed less focus on the stories being told and more emphasis on timeliness. It’s a vicious, unending cycle that makes for lazy writing and forgettable content. If your only goal is to be the first to share something, why would anyone look to you for anything more.

The hard truth is that sites who promote themselves as being the fastest or ‘first’ to share new content are indeed on the way out. There is simply no competing with platforms owned by global corporations capable of hiring as many writers as they need to chug out links, tour dates, and embedded media. That said, there remains and always will be a place for legitimate music journalism. People love stories, especially those stories about artists who travel from town to town sharing their creativity with the world. It doesn’t matter if it’s a new artist or someone trying to preserve their legacy, a good story told well will always have an audience.

The problem is, or at least one of the major problems are, that most writers – and many young consumers – have been trained to think of entertainment writing as a vehicle for promotion rather than one of understanding. The content being churned out each and every day revolves largely around making people aware of the latest thing someone has done and whether or not it is any good. Great music journalism bridges the gap between author and reader in a meaningful way by offering perspective and/or understanding about the artist being discussed. Unfortunately, most music journalism barely qualifies as good because it merely spins promotional messaging and never thinks to dive deeper. The reader has no reason to care about the author because the words being shared mirror the messaging the artist (or their representation) is using on their social feeds. This lack of an originality hurts two-fold because it fails to establish a reason for the reader to care about the author and it fails to offer any insight whatsoever into the media being shared. It’s no different than junk mail alerting you to a sale. You appreciate the notification, but you don’t necessarily need it in your life.

Bad music writing often amounts to a lack of detail. Think of any author whose work you have enjoyed and you’re likely to find the reason you care about their craft is in the way they share their perspective on the subject at hand. They dig deeper than “_______ did ______ to promote _____” and ask the questions that really matter. These include, but are not limited to: Why do you create? What is the meaning of your art? What motivates you? What are hoping to accomplish with your art? Is there a message people should be receiving? Is making music everything you thought it would be? How are you changing as a person, and what impact has that made on your art?

There will come a time in the not too distant future where content factories posing as blogs go the way of the dinosaurs. Those sites and writers who survive will do so because they offer engaging, original content that strives to further connect readers with the talent they love and those they have yet to discover. Make sure you are standing on the right side of history.

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News

Blog Tips: The Playlist Will Never Die

Never underestimate how fast the world can change. The move from home phones to cell phones, to smart phones took less than twenty years. Our primary means of consuming news changed from print to digital in what is ultimately the blink of an eye as far as the history books are concerned. Heck, less than a hundred years ago it took week for a message to be sent from one country to the next, but now in the digital age we can send mail to space and back again within seconds.

Music is no different. Columbia Records, the oldest label in the world, launched in 1887. In less than 150 years the industry has undergone more evolutions than anyone can count, changing much faster than most realize. Within the 60 years you could have recorded a single and drove it from radio station to radio station in hopes of getting it played. Today you need an entire team of people who understand radio to even have your song considered.

And let’s not even deep dive the changes in music journalism. The image most carry of a young writer rubbing shoulders with their rock idols a la Almost Famous is a thing of the distant past. Today’s writers are more often than not laptop junkies who maintain a healthy photography hobby on the side (or they’re photography junkies with a writing hobby – it’s 50/50) who make next to nothing writing articles read by anywhere from tens of people to millions. Every one of them is constantly searching for the next original thought or undiscovered gem that might catapult them a bit further into the arena of those who actually get paid to write about music.

While I encourage you to always keep your passion for the next big story strong, it’s important to know that as much as things seem to change there is a lot that remains the same. One of those things is playlists, and in the digital age it is easier than ever to cultivate and engage with a community through playlist curation. In fact, the Music Business Association recently called playlists ‘more popular than the album.’ Ouch.

The biggest problem you’re going to face when deciding to integrate weekly playlists into your writing is deciding which one of the big four streaming companies are you going to build your content on. Spotify has the largest share of the market by a vast margin at the moment, but Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon each have millions of monthly subscribers. Ask your readers what they use and follow their lead.

As for the playlists themselves, the easy access to most music throughout modern history makes gathering simpler than most daily chores, which is all the reason you need to create as many playlists as your mind and collaborators can imagine. At the very least you should be creating weekly discovery playlists based on the coverage you plan to run. Take all the reviews and editorials you’ve got lined up and channel them into an eclectic collection of sound to help further promote the focus of your work. In doing so you’ll not only better engage your audience, but you’ll also make a lot of publicists and independent artists very happy.

But you should never do the bare minimum unless it’s absolutely necessary. Get creative. When the possibilities are endless you can be both extremely niche and shamelessly generic at the same time. Collect the 25 best love songs of the last 25 years right alongside a list of every song played during a car chase in a Fast and Furious film. Invite musicians, industry professionals, actors, and anyone else of interest to create playlists for your audience, and use those playlists to promote any coverage of that artist person you have on your site.

In an age where the options for consuming news and entertainment are endless the best tactic for reaching consumers is to play into their own interests and behaviors. People are more likely to start their day with music than a quick search of your latest blog posts, so take your brand and focus to them through the streaming playlist curation. If you can establish yourself as a great playlist curator people will seek out your other work. You can even add links to the description that promotes specific content on your site.

It has never been easier to showcase your taste than it is now, so quit hoping you 1000-word discovery of the week essay will get a million reads and build me a list of every song and artist my life is missing.

James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Coordinator at Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine and the host of the Inside Music Podcast. If you enjoyed the words above James would like you to follow him on Twitter.

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News

The ongoing need for a music media revolution

For the better part of the last decade I have spent up to fourteen hours a day staring at phone and computer screens in hopes of writing something people would want to read. Sometimes I have found success and other times I have not, but through it all one thing has remained unflinchingly true: Getting paid for writing well is incredibly hard. It doesn’t matter if your article or blog post got an artists signed or convinced several hundred people to buy a record they otherwise wouldn’t have given a minute of their time, unless you play by a very specific set of rules, you are going to have a hard time making anything other than memories as a digital music writer.

This makes no sense. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world, if not more, read music news online every day. Maybe they check out tour dates, or maybe they watch music videos when they should be working, but they all rely on people like me and my many writer friends to create content for them to consume. We, like many journalists struggling to pay bills in the digital age, feel there should be a way to harness their need for content to create profitable careers.

If you’re a reader and not a writer you probably assume advertising keeps your favorite site online, and that may be true, but depending on the size of those sites the income received from ads can vary from pennies to thousands of dollars per month. When that money is not enough to cover costs, and it usually is not, many sites will turn to marketing companies that supply paid content for the site to run in return for a few extra bucks. Some companies will pay sites $300 or more per month to run a handful of articles with links and SEO terms intended to help a third party company get more notoriety. Sometimes the content these companies provide is false, or at least incomplete, but in order to get paid the content must run more or less as it was received. Publishers agree to this because they, like their writers, need more to stay afloat.

When publishers find themselves in positions where they are entirely dependent on advertisers and/or paid content they inadvertently hinder their publication’s ability to grow (and by grow I mean cultivate more readers, increase digital reach, and generally raise their level of notoriety). Writers are no longer allowed to cover what they believe is important until they have met whatever agreements they have with their financiers. They are also unable to be as honest in their writing as they would like to be if their publisher believes a negative comment or review might cause advertisers to stop working with them. It’s not uncommon for a site or magazine to choose not to cover and album or event because someone at the top of the company food chain believes negativity may scare away potential advertisers. It doesn’t matter if that negativity is based on fact or if an opinion is honest because money is the ultimate deciding factor in what content gets published.

The restraints placed on writers do not stop at saying whether or not something is worthwhile. Many writers, myself included, have also been encouraged to place less importance on discovery articles because new (unknown) talent doesn’t drive clicks or ad sales. It doesn’t matter if the person you want to cover is the greatest songwriter of their generation or the next act to sell out Madison Square Garden until advertisers feel the same way. It’s a completely backwards approach to covering the best of what’s next, but it’s unfortunately become the norm. Publishers would rather cover artists who have found a way to make themselves known without the support of their magazine, and then hop on their hype train, rather than helping establish the talent’s identity in the first place because it’s more cost-effective to be a follower.

A perfect example of this approach to publishing in action is the career of Chance The Rapper. I cannot think of rap writer who hasn’t been following Chance for four years or more, yet many of the biggest outlets only started covering his career within the last 24 months. The reason for this is not a lack of pitching from writers, but rather a perceived lack of interest from people who negotiate ad sales. Online publications can be far more flexible than print, as all writing is often viewed as potentially good ‘content’ as long as it brings in clicks and doesn’t take too much time away from assigned articles. But you have probably noticed that is also beginning to change as the fragmentation of how and people consume media is more splintered now than ever before with no signs of reversing anytime soon.

And don’t get me wrong,the relatively recent burst of new ways to consume news and opinion is legitimately amazing. We are more interconnected now as a global species than at any other point in recorded history. The ability to express ideas to anyone willing to listen has never been easier or more accessible than it is at this very moment, which is why it is so important that we develop methods and platforms that allow writers of all varieties to find and tell the stories that really matter rather than the ones tied to someone’s click-generated bottom line. The corner of the internet populated by entertainment news and opinion may have been born from fandom before it was considered a business, but for countless writers, editors, site founders, and photographers around the world it is a full-time job that lacks any ability whatsoever to guarantee a return for time invested.

I wish I could tell you that I had a solution. For many months I’ve talked to friends and colleagues about these issues, and to be honest we haven’t made much progress towards finding a reasonable solution. Though we all yearn to see some shift in the respect and recognition given to those who cover the increasingly vast world of entertainment so everyone else can stay on top of what’s new we have long learned to not hold our breath. Things have gone from bad to worse, with the rates for advertising in all forms falling as the competition for those ads grows, and through it all thousands download software that prevents what ads publications can run from even being seen (and therefore helping the site).

Our culture seems to understand that following Star Wars on Twitter and calling yourself a supporter is not the same as buying a ticket to actually see a Star Wars film. Yet many do not understand the same logic applies to the sites and writers who deliver up to the minute Star Wars information on a daily basis. The same can be said for music, sports, or any other form of entertainment. Our culture demands access to the things we love 24/7, yet people seem to believe the people who service that demand don’t deserve much, if any, recognition. Even if a writer breaks a major story there is little to no credit to be found, in part because anything that goes viral is copied, screenshot, or otherwise duplicated and spread without any ties to its source. Remember ‘The Dress’ debate of last year? Buzzfeed was the source of that discussion (they found it on Tumblr), but as the picture went viral the person behind the photo didn’t seem to matter. I’m not saying that author deserve a pulitzer or anything of the sort, but some kind of recognition for creating a topic of global conversation should be given to them.

I’m not saying that every writer deserves minimum wage. The vast majority of people creating content online can barely string together sentences, let alone do so without more than one or two grammatical errors. That said, for those of us who have done the work required to be proficient in writing there needs to be an alternative to what we experience in the job field right now. Getting paid anything is a miracle, and getting paid enough to not have a side job is starting to sound like a feat equal to spotting a Sasquatch. We get the journalism we deserve, and by that I mean we get the journalism we deem worthy of our support. If you know a writer or a group of writers whose work you enjoy and want to see more of then you need to help us, the writers, find a way to continue creating without having to worry about whether or not our words will eventually leave us bankrupt. We can built a better future for everyone, but in order to make it a reality we must work together.

If you want to start supporting writing right now you can always contribute directly to the author of this post through PayPal: http://bit.ly/supportjames

James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records (RIP). 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.

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News

How to handle ‘leaked’ news

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. 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. 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.

This post was contributed to the Haulix blog by Jason Tate, founder of Chorus.fm.

Categories
News


Music Writing 101: Coverage Confirmations

If the first goal of every young music writer is to gain access to albums from their favorite artists before those records arrive in stores, then the second goal is usually to see those artists in concert without paying the cover charge. Yes, free admission to concerts and festivals is one of the perks of writing about music, but just like advance access to music it’s a perk that doesn’t necessarily have to be extended to you.

No show or event is truly free to writers. Your currency in these exchanges is your voice and whatever audience (aka reach) you have through the outlet that shares your work. Upon receiving confirmation that you have been added to the list of any event you are entering into an agreement that you both will attend said event and that you will write about that event in a timely manner. For example, if you attend Van’s Warped Tour on Monday after promising a review to PR then it should not take a week or more to post that review online. If it does you will risk straining your relationship with the PR that granted you access in the first place. More importantly, you will develop a reputation that extends beyond that one relationship and follows you where you go in music. The industry may seem large to outsiders, but it’s actually quite small, and everyone who knows anyone will come to learn of your lack of follow through.

This is about good business as much as it is respect. People will get upset if publicists do not reply to their requests in a timely manner, but see no problem dragging their feet to complete content that was promised in advance of receiving a coverage confirmation. Those who respect others and their time/work will in turn receive the same respect.

Rey Roldan, founder of Reybee Inc., recently wrote the following on coverage requests and confirmations from the perspective of a publicist:

If you request music or tickets from a publicist and promise or confirm coverage, it’s your duty to make good on it… and if, for some reason or another, you can’t keep your side of the deal, it’s only respectful to let the publicist know. Don’t ghost them.

It’s understandable if you hated the show or the music and you don’t want to cover it because of that reason. But let the publicist know, so they don’t constantly hound you for the link.

If you confirm an interview date and time but something comes up and you can’t make it, let the publicist know ASAP. Don’t wait for the time of your interview to tell them that it’s a no-go. It only makes the publicist look bad and could create tension in your relationship moving forward.

If you get confirmation of guest list or photopasses to a show (especially the bigger, higher profile shows) and can’t make it, let the publicist know as soon as your can. There’s a chance that the publicist can use your spot to give to another writer/photographer who was cut from the list. We publicists do sometimes check guest lists after the show to see who showed up and who didn’t.

If you are requesting tickets to a show with multiple artists, either send one email with all the publicists on copy or make sure if you get confirmed on one list to let the other publicists know you’re all set. If you are on multiple lists for the same show, it can prevent other writers/photographers from covering that show. Or if we publicists cross-check our lists and see you on it more than once (or worse yet, see multiple names for the same outlet on different lists), it looks bad for you and/or your outlet.

Making relationships in this industry can be difficult. Maintaining them is easy. Just don’t fuck them up.

Respect and follow-through are everything in this business. Do your best to follow the golden rule (treat others as you want to be treated) and you’ll do just fine.

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Job Board News


Tear it down. Start again.

Not long ago, my life fell apart. In a matter of weeks I found myself with no relationship, no office, no apartment, and no real plan of what I was going to do next. I moved back in with my parents, who were thrilled to see their son for more than two days in a row for the first time in years, and setup a desk in the back of their living room. I’m sitting in that same place now as I write this post.

I could not have anticipated most of the changes that came my way, and I certainly could not have guessed how many would seemingly happen all at once. Depression came knocking, but I refused to answer the door. It never has anything productive to offer anyways.

Deep down I knew if there were a way to keep my life and career in tact it would have to come from within, even if I did not know where to find it.

To focus, I stopped…..

-Talking to people who didn’t help me create value.

-Opening Facebook/Twitter.

-Paying attention to politics 24/7.

-Watching T.V. and Netflix.

-Going out to eat.

-Making excuses to spend money just so I had something to do

-Writing about things I knew I did not care about

The first few days were the hardest. Instead of thinking about my situation or the work in front of me I wanted to check in with the rest of the world. The news makes things seem so terrible right now, and to some extent they legitimately are, but I found a sense of escape in occupying my time with the woes of the planet. I escaped further by engaging in conversations about these things, all of which would inevitably amount to nothing more than me agreeing with people who agree with me on things we’ve likely always agreed on. I wasn’t helping them or the planet, and I certainly wasn’t helping myself.

Then I heard a song. I would share it now, but the truth is that the particular track doesn’t matter nearly as much as the spark it ignited within me. I couldn’t shake the song. I couldn’t shake the band. I wanted to know everything about the music and I wanted to tell people everything I was able to learn. Passion had found me while I was busy trying to run from it and here I was, back where I always wanted to be.

When I wrote about that song I felt the freedom that only comes from doing the thing you love for no reason other than your love of doing it. That is what really matters, after all. Money, fame, popularity, even jobs will eventually disappear. The only real reason anyone has to pursue something is because it makes them feel alive. It gives them purpose.

As this realization sat in I began to evaluate how I came to such a conclusion. I thought about my fight with myself to avoid work and the mounting personal problems that needed addressing, as well as why I fought so hard to ignore them. That inner monologue then turned into a post about that subject, which gave way to another, and another, and now to this post.

I had made a classic mistake that many of us encounter when things go awry in our lives: I lost focus of what made me feel alive. Instead of running from that fact I chose to write about it, which in turn helped me find my way back to the thing that first ignited my passion for music and writing in the first place. All the chaos that had kept me up at night stressing over what the future might hold had transformed – through no one’s doing other than my own – into material that would serve as the path I followed back to finding my center in life once more.

There is a great country song that features the hook, “If you’re going through hell, keep on goin’”. That may sound simple to many of you reading this now, but in reality it is not. Keeping on, or in other words moving forward when life gets tough is one of the hardest things we as people must learn to do. If we fail to do so life has a way of consuming us and making us feel small, insignificant, and even stupid, but believe me when I tell you that is not the case with you or I. We are better than that. YOU are better than that. Believe in yourself and stay true to what you know. The rest will still need to be sorted, but as long as you maintain personal your course in life things will inevitably work out. Choose to move forward and wake up every day with the goal of doing just that. After all, what is the alternative?

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