Tag: music journalists

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How To Become a Better Music Writer In One Month

music writer

The Music Writer Exercise is coming, and you would be a fool to ignore the opportunities it presents.

As the saying goes, everyone is a critic. The age of social media has given everyone a voice to talk about everything they experience. One glance at Facebook or Twitter at any time of day will reveal countless opinions about everything, from entertainment to fast food. You don’t need a degree or any amount of experience to classify yourself as a critic, just like you don’t necessarily need any measurement tools to claim you’re an influencer. Did your friend do something because you suggested it? Congratulations. You’re an influencer.

Being a music writer in 2020 is a strange thing. You believe your passion for music and your knowledge of its history are so great that people should take an interest in your perspective on an industry that millions try and fail to join annually. Everything a music writer attempts today is challenging to achieve. Successfully pitching stories is hard, securing exclusive access or content is hard, and finding an audience for your work often feels impossible. That said, there may be no more excellent feeling in this life than writing something you believe in that connects with people, even if “people” turns out to be someone you’ve known for years.

Writing about music is a passion many possess, and we want to make you better at conveying your thoughts on artists and songs with a challenge. Music Writer Exercise, otherwise known as #MWE, is a month-long writing challenge that will expand your palette and improve your wordplay. Watch the video below for more information.

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Editorials News Writing Tips

How writers can build better relationships with publicists

Networking is everything in music, but it can also be a waste of time if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Publicists are the gatekeepers to working with (the majority of) your favorite artists. New and emerging talent may post their personal emails online for people to contact them directly, but most established acts have representation. If you currently write about music you already know this to be true, but it bears repeating nonetheless.

A great publicist can completely change the trajectory of an artist’s career by helping curate an image and brand that positions talent for success through exposure and engagement. How that success can be achieved is different for every artist, but publicists worth their cost can uncover the most likely path to success for their clients.

With this in mind, it is important for writers to know a few things about publicists before attempting to establish contact:

  • No two publicists are the same.
  • Flattery will get you far in this life, but sending the same outreach to every person you hope to work with or want to notice your work won’t have the same effect.
  • Do you think you get a lot of emails? Publicists get more. Way more. Don’t waste their time.
  • People help people who help them first. Don’t ask for handouts if you haven’t done anything to support the talent the publicist promotes. 
  • Before you get upset or disappointed about an unreturned email, take a moment and consider how many press releases or album advances you receive. Do you reply to every email you receive, or do you prioritize the most important messages and do your best to address the rest? Do you only reply to what works for you and delete the rest? Publicists are no different.
  • Unless you’re running or working at one of the most influential publications/platforms in your genre, you will not always be a top priority.
  • Publicists talk to other publicists. Treat one poorly or drop the ball on things you agreed to cover and word will get out. Your reputation will dictate the access you receive. 

Getting close with publicists is an uphill battle. You are always going to be competing with your peers for attention, but you should never look at other writers as foes. Everyone is trying their best to help the artists they love get ahead, and that is a beautiful thing. Just because you are not provided an opportunity to interview someone or attend a specific tour does not mean you are not appreciated. It just means the demand was high, and you have room left to grow. Even those who DO get those opportunities have room to grow.

If you are reaching out to a publicist for the first time, or if you are trying to setup something with a publicist you’ve known for years, do your best to provide them with something beneficial in return. For example, write about the artists on a tour before you request tickets, and in your request mention what you plan to write in the future. Provide them with as much coverage as possible to make it clear you’re not using the access they can grant to have a good time. Let them know you are requesting access because you’re a professional hoping to work, then make good on that promise and do the work.

You should also keep an eye on publicity rosters for emerging talent who might not attract attention from major outlets. Covering those artists can show publicists that you are serious about the work you do as a writer. It tells them you recognize the fact that everyone is doing their best to get ahead, and that you are just as invested in their success as you are yours. 

The big things to avoid are lies and deception. Publicists can identify someone trying to game the system or earn undo favor from a mile away. You will not be able to fool them into thinking you are bigger than you are or that you can make things happen that are not in your control. Publicists are the kings and queens of spin, which means you cannot try to beat them at their own game. Be honest and deliver, it’s that simple.

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Artist Advice Editorials News

The truth about music journalism and how to get covered in 2019

Getting press in music is harder than ever before, but with a few simple steps, you can develop a meaningful relationship with industry gatekeepers.

The competition for attention in music is fierce. Whether you’re seeking to reach consumers directly or trying to get press from genre gatekeepers, there is a countless number of competing talents vying for the same thing at any given moment. Those artists lucky enough to get ahead do so first and foremost because they possess that intangible ‘it’ factor that draws people in, but that alone doesn’t make a career. The only way to continually move forward, both with fans and members of the press, is through engagement.

You can find a million articles about engaging your audience, but far less tell you how to support the members of the press and music community who find time in their busy schedules to promote your work. It’s not hard to do so, but it does take time, and hopefully you will make the decision to engage that content more often after reading this post.

But first, a few hard truths about music journalism and promotion in 2019:

  • The vast majority of publications are writing less news posts because the traffic those posts receive is declining with each passing year. Most people get their news from artists via social media, which for many makes sharing anything that is not ‘a scoop’ or an otherwise exclusive/cool piece of information a waste of time.
  • Many publications, especially larger outlets like Rolling Stone, are featuring less new talent now than ever before. The reasons for this are numerous and unique to each site, but one common argument against new music coverage is that it often fails to generate traffic. The lucky few who do receive attention from these outlets earn their appearance by first developing a dedicated following online or creating something that is undeniably special. 
  • The term ‘exclusive’ means very little in 2019. There was a time when exclusivity existed online, but these days, most content can be embedded anywhere in a matter of seconds. What matters most is the information surrounding the content. For example, appearing in Rolling Stone may be a cool thing to brag about, but if a smaller site can offer more compelling writing to accompany your latest creation that site could potentially play a larger role in earning you new fans than RS.
  • Some sites will say yes to anything. Traffic is king online, and many sites are scrambling to grow their daily readership by any means necessary in hopes they can make a few pennies more from people viewing ads. That desperation leads many to agree to anything pitched their way, which in itself is not a bad thing. Promoting new music from young artists is something to be admired in a time when many don’t make time to do so. However, many sites who agree to everything put very little time into making any one piece of content special. 
  • Writers help artists they like before anyone else. If you’re lucky, someone with influence will discover your music and take an active role in promoting it without being asked. Most artists, however, are not that lucky. You should constantly be following and engaging with writers and publications online, as well as engaging with their content. Make yourself recognizable to them without coming across as someone trying to get something in return. Journalists are inundated with requests all day long, so try to not be another person in a long line of anonymous voices screaming into someone’s inbox for attention. In other words, be a decent human who treats others like they matter. 

Got it? Good. Back to the matter at hand.

If you can overcome the immense competition for the media’s competition it is in your best interest to show appreciation for the content creator’s work. It should be clear from the points above, but the market for coverage of new artists and music from largely unknown talent is quite small. Getting someone to pay for that coverage is basically impossible, which is why so many of the best new music writing and promotion comes from people working for free out of their home, dorm, etc. They write about the music they’re passionate about, and that passion is what their audience wants. It should be what you want, too. 

Whenever you’re lucky enough to receive positive coverage you should — at the very least — engage with the content in some small way (like, favorite, heart, etc.). That small act, which takes just seconds, tells the writer you see what they’re doing and you appreciate their effort. It tells them the time they spent crafting content to help promote your music instead of someone else was not time wasted, and it makes them feel as though they are part of something bigger than themselves. They are now part of your journey, and that connection to your career may very well lead them to cover you more in the future.

You will get further ahead if you actively engage with the content through sharing or commenting on content related to your group. These actions show appreciation for the content, but it also adds something of a personal touch, especially if shares are accompanied by original text. Like parents always tell us, saying “thank you” and being polite will get you far in this life. In music, showing appreciation through promotion and direct engagement tells writers that you respect their craft as much as they respect your art. It sends a message that their content is seen and felt, which is the same thing you are searching for as an artist.

Virtually anyone can get covered once or twice, but the key to consistent press coverage is networking and the relationships you develop over time. It’s work, but it’s work that’s well worth the effort required.

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News

Let Writers Know When You Appreciate Their Work

Hello, everyone! Thank you for carving out a piece of your busy day to investigate and discuss the state of music journalism with us. We have been meaning to run the following piece for a few weeks, but for whatever reason we woke up today knowing the time had come to finally push it live. It’s a bit of a personal piece, but there is a message everyone can learn from as well.

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

The funny thing about making a career in music journalism is that you have as many personal struggles to overcome as you those facing the industry as a whole. You have to get over your own ego, find a way to retain some semblance of self-confidence in your work even when the world doesn’t seem to agree, and nail down the same basic grammar concepts that have tripped you up since high school all while worry about whether or not there will even been room in the entertainment business for you to make your mark and support yourself. Job growth has been shrinking while the number of blogs, zines, and similar publications has grown profoundly, and it’s not great secret that trend shows no signs of changing anytime soon. All this weighs on writers at every level, from those Judy starting out with a blog or Tumblr all their own, to those crossing their fingers the next morning editorial meeting at their publication doesn’t come with a fresh round of layoffs. Even those that seem to be riding high on a string of popular articles and a booming social media following are typically stressed over increasing their monthly income and more often than not have taken up a side gig offering PR and/or marketing services to artists on the rise.

I don’t mean to take the wind out of anyone’s sails or turn a truly passionate person away from their pursuit of a career in music writing, but it would be wrong of me to not make light of the stress, hard times, uncertainty, and other not so pleasant things that often come with this line of work. There are days it all presses on you to the point it’s impossible to create, and other times it may not bother you at all. Your friends in writing will go through this as well, though how each experiences this stress and tries to cope will vary from person to person. Some eventually decide they have had enough and move on to other careers, but others find the persistent risk of complete failure too enticing to resist. The chance things could all fall apart if their creativity one day gives out actually drives them to work harder, which is both insane and somehow incredibly admirable. They’re willing to put it all on the line for their dreams, regardless of the outcome.

The reason I bring all this up is because we live in an age where there are far too many people who wake every day with the drive and talent needed to be a professional writer, but none of the external support needed to make their dream a reality. Talent will get you far in this business, and a willingness to bend your ethics may get you even further, but without a support system even the best writers will eventually fold under pressure. And trust me, everyone feels the pressure. It’s present in every hour of every day, whether it be brought on by a rush to grab the latest headlines as fast as possible or a desire to finish your latest feature before the subject falls out of Twitter’s trending topics. It’s present in the up to the minute reporting available from Google Analytics, as well as the presence of every new music site that appears online, and you should already be well aware of the fact it’s found in the social media follower count of each writer and the publication(s) they contribute to. The pressure for success, let alone continued improvement in a situation where the odds are stacked against you, is enough to drive even the most brilliant minds to their breaking point. There is very little anyone can do to make lighten the weight of all these matters, but you can be a beacon of hope for writer’s that gives them the strength needed to forge ahead.

You may think writers and content creators receive an outpouring of support from people who read their work because they have a large Twitter following or because they always sound cheerful on a podcast, but in fact that is rarely the case. The vast majority of writers working today, especially those trying to make their way through the often impossible to overcome world of unpaid labor, rarely receive messages of support from people they do not know. In fact, even the people they do know only support their efforts in passing. After all, they have their own dreams and goals to be concerned with, which is perfectly understandable. You have goals as well, I’m sure, but you also spend time browsing music news, reading reviews, listening to podcasts, and sharing all the media you only know exists because a music site brought it to your attention. The only reason you’re able to do all that without putting a large amount of time and effort into research yourself is because someone – a music writer – took the time to review the latest round of press releases, select the most interesting material, craft original content to describe and accompany that material, then published their creation onto the world wide web. Those efforts may have taken anywhere from five minutes to several days or weeks to complete given the depth and quality of content being shared, and nine times out of ten it’s only one of dozens, if not hundreds of posts that individual had to create that particular month. If they’re lucky, and I mean really lucky, they may see some small compensation of this work, but more and more often the people creating the majority of content found on music sites do so without reward or payment. They create because they’re passionate about discussing music, and they hope that with enough traffic someone will give them the opportunity to do that for a living. They may also work in music already and simply be hoping to retain their position in life. Either way, they’re very much focused on trying to further chase their dream of writing professionally and they need your support to make it happen.

Everyone is busy these days, but when you find time to browse music sites and enjoy the latest entertainment headlines you need to also make time to appreciate the people responsible for making that content available to you. It’s true there are countless other blogs that will likely run a lot of the same stories found on whatever site you choose to visit, but for whatever reason you enjoy that particular site’s way of presenting information and you should let them know you feel that way. Writer’s spend their days crafting digital creations out of ideas they made up and push into the world wide web without any idea who, if anyone, would see the final result. They tell themselves people who visit their work enjoy what they find, unless of course they complain, but truth be told writers have no real way of knowing whether or not their efforts matter to anyone unless someone speaks up. A simple “Thank you” would suffice, or even a share of their content across your personal social networks. Those few key strokes and/or clicks require essentially nothing from you, yet may make a world of difference to someone sacrificing time and sanity in pursuit of music journalism.

The next time you’re reading an article online and you find yourself enjoying the words presented by the contributing author, please do me a favor and let that person know you enjoyed their work. It doesn’t have to be a profound or lengthy message, just reach out and let them know whatever it is you just read was an enjoyable piece of content. It may seem like nothing to you, but it will make their entire day. Hell, you may even make their entire week.

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