Tag: Music Writing

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Advice All Music Writers Should Follow in 2019

Music Writers, Music Journalism, 2019, Advice, Tips

The music business in 2019 would be virtually unrecognizable to the music business of 2000. In less than two decades the industry we all love has undergone an extensive transformation that has emphasized 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 can share their thoughts on social media do we 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 great artists are 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 useful discoveries.

While there is a lot to be said for how music blogs and publications can better themselves in 2019, there is also quite a bit you should be taking it upon yourself to do 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, 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 not to 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 can 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 shares 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 2019, 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 site. 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 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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18 Problems Facing Music Blogs Today (And How To Solve Them)

Music blogs were once widely considered an integral part of any music promotion effort. Before the age of streaming services, dedicated genre flans turned to blogs for new song premieres, new artists, and tour information.

Opinions have changed in recent years. While some blogs are still considered gatekeepers to specific areas of music, many more have been written off as unnecessary or uninteresting (often both). Those criticisms, along with others, have birthed think-pieces, podcasts, and YouTube videos that question the relevancy of the blog market as a whole.

But such criticisms are short-sighted. Much like cassettes and vinyl before them, blogs may not be as vital as they once were, but that does not mean they are dead and gone. There are countless blogs operating today, with more launching every month. People still dream of becoming music journalists, and some even get paid to write about music regularly.

With that in mind, let’s explore the problems music blogs face today, many of which have only arisen in recent years.

1. Interviews are mostly irrelevant in the social media age. Why read an interview with someone who already shares every detail of their life on multiple social media platforms 24/7? What can blogs deliver that they can’t?

2. There will always be a need for a “water cooler” where the conversation on a band/genre takes place, but now there are more avenues for discourse than ever before. Blogs, podcasts, YouTube, Instagram live, etc.

3. Many sites have thrived by regurgitating press releases as fast as possible, but no one is faster than the artists who have likely scheduled the same announcement across all channels in advance of release.

4. Sameness is a disease that has plagued many sites for years. What does any blog offer that no one else can, and how are blogs utilizing that uniqueness to engage music fans?

5. When everyone can share their opinion all the time, why should anyone listen to a blog? Just because someone writes 1000 words on a new album doesn’t mean their perspective is better than what someone else can fit into a tweet. Creativity always wins.

6. Simply sharing content is not enough to build an audience. Where is a blog’s branding? Where is their investment? How are they making their content their own and not just another use of the same promo image every other site uses for the exact same coverage?

7. Single platform sites are dinosaurs. Does the blog have a podcast? How about a YouTube channel? Are they creating unique content for their Instagram and Twitter, or is everything the same everywhere?

8. Have sites made any effort to promote their content beyond having their contributors share links tagging talent? Artists are more inclined to engage fans than they are to try pleasing a blog that relies on them to bring clicks. Where is the authority?

9. Speaking of original content, does the blog edit their posts? Are they developing a voice? Do they curate image galleries rather than posting 50+ photos from a show they covered in 250 words, most of which can be summarized with “it was cool”?

10. What about your community? Has the site identified the type of person who reads their content? If so, have they asked readers why they choose that publication over the competition? Have they asked their audience who they want to know more about?

11. What is a site’s focus? Everyone listens to a little bit of everything, but no site is proficient or knowledgeable about every genre. Sites hoping to succeed need to identify what coverage performs the best and minimize the rest. Blogs shouldn’t trend hop just because Lil Whatstheirname is suddenly buzz-worthy.

12. Does everyone really need a site of their own, or would they be better suited for partnering with another site to create one powerhouse force? Is it ego or necessity that dictates that decision?

13. As far as advertising and promotion, what is a site’s target market? How did they identify them? What can they offer that group that other sites can’t or won’t?

14. Too many sites lack clear goals. Many are trying to be Rolling Stone, but that is a terrible decision because the business model of Rolling Stone is no longer working for that publication in today’s world. Sites need to set attainable goals and manage their expectations along the way.

15. If they do start a YouTube Channel or podcast, why? How are they working to differentiate that content from what already exists? The more specific sites can be the better. No one needs more “people who like everything talking about everything they like.”

16. Networking matters. What kind of relationships are new sites developing with PR/Labels/Artists? Are they saying yes to everything? If so, stop that. Are they only saying yes if they promise to promote? If so, top that. Are they working together to create the best possible content that can help everyone? If so, do more of that.

17. Too many sites dream big but act small. If blogs try something new, they MUST put their all into it. Why should anyone else give a damn about what a website is doing if the site owners don’t give a damn? Quality breeds community.

18. Blogs need to listen to the music community more. Find a need and fill it. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a complete list of tours currently happening in any specific genre? How about a playlist with all the new material from any one genre each week? These ideas and many more are waiting to be utilized.

These problems don’t even begin to address the problem of monetization, or they need to pay contributors, but both these issues can be solved AFTER an audience has been developed.

Blogs will never die, but it’s likely many sites that exist right now won’t be around in five years’ time. If you want to survive then you must adapt. Constant evolution based on analysis of trends and tastes will inevitably give way to longevity. Complacency only leads to death.

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Here’s your chance to write the next great music novel

November is National Novel Writing Month

As the old saying goes, everyone has a story to tell. Some may be tales of triumph or perhaps one of great tragedy, but all are worthy of being shared with the world at large.

November is National Novel Writing Month, otherwise known as NaNoWriMo18. Started by For the next thirty days, creative minds around the world will be doing their best to create the next great book. There are no financial commitments to make, nor meetings to attend. All you have to do is write. Get your thoughts out of your head and onto the paper (or your favorite word processor).

That said, there are tools to help you, as well as a place to seek support for your ideas. The official National Novel Writing Month website is an excellent place to start. By signing up for a free account, writers can access features that help track their progress, as well as materials that will help bring their creativity to life. You can also search the #NaNoWriMo18 hashtag, which is used on all social platforms to connect people and boost morale. Here’s a small peek at the type of material you can find:

We have some advice of our own if you’d like to hear it:

1. Do not worry about grammar while writing your first draft. Worrying about details like that can stall your progress. Just write.

2. Don’t set unreasonable goals. You don’t know what the rest of the month will hold. Do the best you can every day and accept that as being enough.

3. Dream big. If you have a story that is unlike anything you’ve ever seen, tell it. If your story is bold and provocative, write it out. Take risks and have fun.

We are going to participate as well. If you want to trade ideas or drafts, email james@haulix.com.

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How Plagiarism is Treated In Music Writing Today

Plagiarism is a plague in the music business.

We live in the age of content overload. It is impossible for most people to keep up with a single feed, let alone multiple accounts across numerous platforms. Add to this the thousands of websites publishing tens of thousands of articles, each vying for the almighty click, and it’s no wonder people in 2018 would still believe people might not notice plagiarism. After all, nobody has time for everything.

Professionals never plagiarize. Professionals believe their purpose is to create, so they would never think to copy the work of another because it could never be a fitting representation of their creativity.

The amateur, however, lacks this mindset. The rookie wants to create and impress at the same. They take on more than they can handle and refuse to disappoint. They mean well but cannot follow through on their commitments because they have not yet developed the skills needed to do so. They also haven’t been able to realize and admit this to themselves.

Here’s the reality of plagiarism in music writing in 2018

Every music publicist worth working with has become a master of Google alerts and traditional online research. There is not a single post about their clients they cannot find because proving they got coverage for their client is crucial to their continued success. In short, they see everything.

When a new post appears that resembles or outright steals from another post, that publicist then contacts the author of the original post, as well as their editor. Together, those three decide how they wish to proceed.

There are three ways these situations tend to be handled:

1. No one does anything, and the plagiarized post remains up.

2. The editor of the offending site is contacted and made aware of the situation, thus transferring the responsibility of taking action to them and their website.

3. The alleged plagiarizer is contacted directly, often by the publicist who discovered the similarities or the editor of the site whose content was stolen, demanding answers

Of these options, the second method of response tends to be the most beneficial. Once the editor of the offending site is made aware of the problem they typically remove the plagiarized post and confront their writer. More often than not, the offending writer is then removed from the site’s contributor pool.

…But the fallout does not end there.

The music industry is small, and the music journalism community is even smaller. It is not a lie to say everyone knows everyone, even if we do not know one another on a personal level. As soon as plagiarism allegation arise the offender – otherwise known as the plagiarizer – may find it challenging to continue pursuing their work in music writing. After all, what site would want to work with someone who steals other writers’ work? What publicist or label or artist would wish to work with someone incapable of creating original content to cover their latest release?

Many who plagiarize claim they did so not out of a desire to mislead, but rather to make their deadlines and otherwise please those who demand they produce content. While this reasoning is understandable to an extent, it does not make stealing okay or otherwise acceptable. It is far more professional to admit you are incapable of meeting a deadline or otherwise finishing something you were assigned than it is to lie about how you completed the work. Lies will get you nowhere in the business. Just don’t it.

To avoid plagiarizing others works, even when you think your thoughts are original, please try these services:

Grammarly: Used by writing and business professionals worldwide, Grammarly aspires to improve your writing better through in-depth analysis. Not only can the service identify plagiarized works, but it can also help you tell your story more interestingly and originally. There are free and premium versions of the software.

Plagiarism Checker: Provided by SmallSEOTools, this site allows you to paste your written work and have it checked for plagiarism. It’s free. https://smallseotools.com/plagiarism-checker/

BibMe: An emerging service in the grammar world, BibMe offers plagiarism review and grammar checking for writers of all types.

If you would like to learn more about plagiarism, as well as gain insight on how to emphasize the importance of originality in creative effort, we also recommend spending time at plagiarism.org.

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Who reads your music blog?

Music blogs are plentiful, but who reads them?

Search the name of virtually any artist or group on social media, and you are bound to find people discussing that act. Opinions on music are a dime a dozen, and when it comes to bands, everyone already knows their value is even less. Still, young music writers around the globe cut corners on a daily basis to be among the first to cover the latest news about the biggest acts in their area of interest. It doesn’t matter if their site has few to no visitors or if much larger publications beat them to the punch, they want to ensure that their readers learn the latest breaking news directly from them.

But who is the audience for the average blog, and who visits websites for news before scrolling social media?

Music publications, especially those lacking funding, rarely build their audience through coverage of talent that is covered by every other zine, blog, or Twitter feed in the world. Music publications gain readers by delivering the stories no one else can. They earn trust through curating a profoundly entertaining and highly engaging conversation around music that they believe deserves recognition.

Covering everything that is popular in music will satisfy people, but it won’t captivate them. If you want people to continue coming back, you need to seek out the stories no one is telling about the musicians that everyone will want to know six months from now. Your job is to hook people with music made by others. There is a finite amount of people who read music sites, and the vast majority are using the same hook to lure readers. Why do that when you can stand out? Why offer what everyone else offers when you can be the alternative?

When you align yourself with artists on the rise, you align yourself with dreamers, and that is – in many ways – your audience. You want people who listen to music and dream of lives not yet lead. You want to provide the soundtrack to their next great escape, and you want to tell them why it’s going to change their lives before they even realize what is happening to them. You want to be a source of discovery, not regurgitation, which continually introduces new sounds and ideas into someone’s life. If you can accomplish one or both of those things, you can make a reader for life. Better yet, you’ll create an ambassador for your work that helps carry word of your writing to places you’ve yet to reach.

So, who reads music blogs? People just like you. People who think the radio is dead and the music they hear everyone else enjoying is stupid, dull, or just plain awful. Be yourself and readers will find you. Do what everyone else is doing, and they will pass you by in search of a more authentic voice.

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A beginner’s guide to producing quality music festival coverage

Lil Yachty performs at Breakaway Festival in Columbus, Ohio (2017). Photo credit: Ben Howell

This post comes to us from Matt Leimkuhler, a writer for the Des Moines Register.

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

1. What story hasn’t been told before?

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

2. What questions haven’t been asked yet?

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

3. What can I do to stay ahead?

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

4. How do I sum it all up?

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

5. What about next time?

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

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Want to build your portfolio? Write for The 405!

The internet is filled with music blogs that promise to help aspiring professionals get their foot in the door of the industry. Most of these blogs cannot actually guarantee exposure to the movers and shakers of the business, nor can they promise contributors will ever see a return for their work. The terms ‘credit’ and ‘exposure’ are often included in pitches from these sites as if your mounting student loan debt can be paid by such things, but in reality, it’s all a ploy. Sites like that want, no, need free help to continue shoveling out content that is immediately forgotten because they lack both an original voice and audience. They’re scrambling for clicks, and by working for them, you will only end up doing the same.

The 405 is something else. Run by actual professionals who know a thing or two about how the industry works, The 405 has been delivering quality content to music fans around the globe for years. The site has been home to dozens of writers who have gone on to contribute to Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and other leading publications, as well as contributors who would later find work in the business side of music. The 405 is the hub for conversation and fandom all other sites claim to be, and right now they are seeking contributors. Interested? Read on…

Who The 405 is looking for

We’re currently looking for music reviewers, art writers, fashion lovers, new music enthusiasts, film buffs, techies, and people willing to write about the weird and wonderful things around us.

Fancy pitching an idea/article/essay?

We love receiving article pitches, we really do. If it’s just an idea, please send a couple of paragraphs explaining what you aim to achieve. If it’s already written, please include it in the body of your email, or as a Google Doc (make sure we have permission to view it). It doesn’t need to be music related. It just needs to be interesting.

Republishing

Every so often we highlight great writing, even if it’s been published before, so if you have a great feature that you feel could do well on our platform, feel free to send us a link.

Internships

Yes, we occasionally take on interns. Please email us for more information.

Still interested?

Send an email to hello@thefourohfive.com.

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Join the 2018 Music Writing Exercise this February!

Music journalist Gary Suarez developed a great exercise for music writers at every level of the profession in early 2015 that has since been revisited every year since. We plan to participate and hope the rest of you will as well. Here are the rules:

Each day in February, listen to 1 full album you’ve never heard, from start to finish. Once complete, write one tweet about the album you just heard and tag it with #MWE so others can follow your efforts.

You can choose any album you wish, but if you’re stumped please do not hesitate to ask us and other for recommendations. In fact, we may post some on here just in case.

Are you in? Tweet us and share your list. Here’s what we will be listening to:

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What happens when you steal someone’s work?

We live in the age of content overload. It is impossible for most people to keep up with a single feed, let alone multiple accounts across numerous platforms. Add to this the thousands of websites publishing tens of thousands of articles, each vying for the almighty click, and it’s no wonder people in 2018 would still believe people might not notice plagiarism. After all, nobody has time for everything.

Professionals never plagiarize. Professionals believe their purpose is to create, so they would never think to copy the work of another because it could never be a fitting representation of their own creativity.

The amateur, however, lacks this mindset. The amateur wants to create and impress at the same. They take on more than they can handle and refuse to disappoint. They mean well but lack the ability to follow through on their commitments because they have not yet developed the skills needed to do so. They also haven’t been able to realize and/or admit this to themselves.

Here’s the reality of plagiarism in music writing in 2018…

Every music publicist worth working with has become a master of Google alerts and traditional online research. There is not a single post about their clients they cannot find because proving they got coverage for their client is crucial to their continued success. In short, they see everything.

When a new post appears that resembles or outright steals from another post, that publicist then contacts the author of the original post, as well as their editor. Together, those three decide how they wish to proceed.

There are three ways these situations tend to be handled:

1. No one does anything and the plagiarized post remains up.

2. The editor of the offending site is contacted and made aware of the situation, thus transferring the responsibility of taking action to them and their site.

3. The alleged plagiarizer is contacted directly, often by the publicist who discovered the similarities or the editor of the site whose content was stolen, demanding answers

Of these options, the second method of response tends to be the most beneficial. Once the editor of the offending site is made aware of the problem they typically remove the plagiarized post and confront their writer. More often than not, the offending writer is then removed from the site’s contributor pool.

…But the fallout does not end there.

The music industry is small, and the music journalism community is even smaller. It is not a lie to say everyone knows everyone, even if they don’t know them on a personal level. As soon as plagiarism allegation arise the offender – otherwise known as the plagiarizer – may find it difficult to continue pursuing their work in music writing. After all, what site would want to work with someone who steals other writers’ work? What publicist or label or artist would want someone incapable of creating original content to cover their latest release?

Many who plagiarize claim they did so not out of a desire to mislead, but rather to make their deadlines and otherwise please those who demand they produce content. While this reasoning is understandable to an extent it does not make stealing okay or otherwise acceptable. It is far more professional to admit you are incapable of meeting a deadline or otherwise finishing something you were assigned than it is to lie about how you completed the work. Lies will get you nowhere in the business. Just don’t it.

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Three tips for music writers in 2018

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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