Tag: Tips and Tricks

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3 Steps to Success in the Music Business

Today’s music industry professional is rarely responsible for just a single task. If the person in question is working publicity they more than likely have their hands in social media efforts as well. Likewise, if someone is working in artist management they may also help with booking, promotion, or any one of a dozen other tasks a band or artist must complete in order to grow their brand.

Most aspiring professionals people we meet in our journeys tell us they want to be more than one thing. Everyone wants to do something in music, and most are willing to do anything you need done as long as they can squeeze it in between whatever other projects or jobs they may have at that time.

While it’s true that a working knowledge of many different roles in music makes it a bit easier to find work, those who make a career out of their time in music eventually realize there are three things we all must do in order to succeed:

Decide what you want

This is easier said than done, but it must be done. Doing a little bit of everything can be fun and create opportunities you never imagined, but in order to find a position that lasts longer than a few days, weeks, months or years you will need some kind of specialty. This can be any role in music, but for the sake of simplicity and ease of growth it should be just one role. If you want to be a manager, drop everything else and focus on managing an artist until you’ve taken their career as far as you are able. If you want to be a writer, wake up every morning and start pitching stories. If you want to work in PR, find a band you believe in and help them become the next band we believe in.

Make a Plan

Anyone can make a plan for success, but not all plans are the same. Before Haulix was founded we settled on a simple goal, “to streamline secure promotional distribution.” You could say our plan was as easy as building a an original platform, but in truth there were hundreds of tiny, incremental steps we had to take — and still continue to take — in order to be the company we are today.

We cannot make your plan for you, but we can reference an old saying that holds true to this day that may help:

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Your plan should not focus on taking leaps and bounds toward your goals, but steps. Every day you should be doing something, no matter how small, to work toward where and who you want to be.

Plans not only make reaching your goals easier, but they also help you stay on track. If you rely on your motivation on any given day to get work done you will inevitably give in to laziness and begin slacking off. It happens to all of us! This is why we make plans.

Go for it

A plan is only good if you put it into action. The two steps we outlined above mean nothing if you fail to act on this third step because it is, by far, the most important of the set. In order to achieve the level of success you want in this business you have to take it upon yourself to move mountains and create opportunities. No one is going to do the work for you, and even if they do — someone will eventually realize you don’t know what you’re doing. This industry depends on self-starters in order to function. It’s among the top things every employer is looking for, along with creativity, drive, leadership, and flexibility. If you can show the world you are willing to do the work required to be successful then success will slowly begin to come your way. If you continue to do well, more will follow.

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How to send a killer email to anyone in the music industry

The following post is the latest in our ongoing collaborative series with the fine folks at Sonicbids.

I’ve been to a lot of music conferences. At nearly every single workshop or Q&A session, the question is asked: “What are the dos and don’ts of sending emails to industry people?” Most of the time, the answers are pretty generic and simple, but to be honest, it’s a good question. A lot of people suck at sending emails.

I’ve spent quite a few years learning the ropes of the music industry, and in that time, my band and I have developed a pretty solid email game (if I do say so myself). In fact, we’ve literally received compliments on the detail, efficiency, and organization of our emails.

After you’ve read this guide, you should have a clear idea of how to send a killer email to anyone in the music industry. If you have questions, leave them in the comments below, and I’ll do my best to answer them.

1. Be concise

Have you ever met somebody who tells really long stories with way too much detail? Don’t be that guy. Aim to send an email that includes as much detail as possible in as few words. For example, if I’m trying to book an opening slot, I’ll put this in the subject line:

Subject: May 21st – Opening Slot Inquiry – The Middle Coast

Right away, whoever is receiving this email knows what I’m asking for, who’s asking for it, and on which date.

Then, in the body of the email, I’ll say something as simple as this:

Hey there Dave!

My name is Liam, I play in a Canadian band called The Middle Coast.

We would love to jump on the opening slot for the May 21st show at Your Cool Bar with This Cool Band.

I’ve included live video and a link to our EPK where you can stream our unreleased record below.

Thanks for your time,

Liam

Fifty-nine words. That’s all you need. You don’t need to include your bio. You don’t need to include 20 different press quotes. You don’t need to pander and ask this person a bunch of questions about his or her personal life. You don’t need to humblebrag. Just be straight to the point and professional.

2. Be up front and tell people what you want

When you send an email, you’re hopefully sending it with some sort of goal in mind. You need to tell people what you’re emailing them about, otherwise they won’t give it a second glance. I get it – you don’t want to play all your cards, and you don’t want to look desperate. But if you don’t tell people what you’re looking for out of this email, you’re probably not going to get a reply.

An example: I have a friend who runs a label and manages bands. He gets a ton of emails every week from people, and many of them simply say, “Hello, check out my music.”

Concise, but not enough information. You need to tell people what they’re looking at. When I send my music to someone at a label, my email would typically look something like this:

Subject: The Middle Coast – The Basement, July 1 – Unreleased Record

Again, telling people who they’re talking to, letting them know that I’m playing a show in their city, and that I have an unreleased record.

Hey there Laura,

My name is Liam Duncan, I play in a Canadian band called The Middle Coast.

We are just wrapping up production on our debut album with Bigwig Producer. We play ‘70s-inspired pop with big harmonies and great hooks. You can stream the album in its entirety at the streaming link below.

We are building our team for this release, and would appreciate your consideration.

You can catch us in Your City, TN at the Basement on July 1st. I can put you on the guest list.

Thanks for your time,

Liam

Laura now knows where I’m from, what kind of music to expect, who produced the album, what we’re looking to do, and has a streaming link for the entire record. Perfect. If she likes what she hears, she’ll come to the show.

3. Have a detailed email signature that includes your EPK

The vast majority of the information anyone could need from me is in the email signature that accompanies almost every single email I send. This is a screenshot of exactly what it looks like:

As you can see, I’ve included a description of what you’ll find in our electronic press kit (EPK), which is more helpful than simply linking “EPK.” I also included a Facebook link, because everyone wants to see it anyway. And last, but certainly not least, I list our website and a personal phone number.

Every important piece of information can be found in this email signature. All our social media links are in the EPK, as well as more video, press, biographies, downloadable promo pics, and downloadable tech/hospitality riders.

People love that they don’t need to go searching for every single bit of information. It shows that we are organized, professional, and have been around the block a few times.

4. Don’t send attachments

MP3 attachments take up space in people’s inboxes. They can slow down an email app and are otherwise just annoying. Most people prefer streaming links. Make your songs in the EPK downloadable, just in case they do want to download your music. Or send them a Dropbox link.

5. Don’t be afraid to follow up

You should never be afraid to follow up with someone you’ve emailed. If you’ve followed this advice, your email should be very polite, professional, up front, and concise, so there’s no reason for you to be shy about following up. I think following up once every 10 days or so is reasonable.

6. Be nice

It seems weird to me that musicians are ever rude or arrogant, because pretty much everyone I know is very nice. Yet I hear countless stories from people in the industry about artists who throw a fit when they don’t get what they want or are just plain rude.

The least you can do is be polite and professional. You don’t need to suck up to anyone and you don’t need to be shy, but you do need to be friendly, accommodating, and polite.

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5 Ways To Ensure Your Band Is Making The Most Of Instagram

Instagram has long been the go-to platform for anyone hoping to share photos and short videos of their lives with the internet, but in recent weeks the company has gone to new lengths improve brand relations and provide long-desired improvements to their platform (account toggling, video view counts). Social media tips and tricks are talked to death as is, but considering these new innovations now seems as good a time as any for a quick refresher on how artists can make the most of their IG marketing efforts. Whether you’re new to the platform (which probably means you’re also a new artist – HELLO!) or simply trying to figure out if having an IG account even matters for your musical endeavors, the followings tips offer easy to apply techniques that we guarantee will deliver results.

Strategize first, post second.

Your band or solo music account is not your personal account and it should not be treated as such. Where the former offers spontaneous insight into your life, the latter needs to offer a far more focused look at your life. Before you can begin to do that in a meaningful way you should first decide what it is you want the world to see and how you want those images to reflect the music you create. Who are you as an artist? What do you represent? Be real with your audience and those who connect will engage regularly in the content you share. More importantly, they feel as if they know you in a way simply hearing your art does not allow.

When you do post, make sure you provide fans with quality content

The basic outline for musicians on Instagram is the same everywhere you look, and that’s because it works. You want to share your journey from the bottom to the top, along with all the highs and lows that ensure in between. You want to share the place where you write, the studio where you record, life in your van (be careful on this one), life on stage, life in the green room (this one too), and the day you make your big signing announcement, as well as various newsworthy tidbits like tours and song premieres. Your brand’s Instagram should sell your music through photos and video the way your music sells people when they hear it through speakers or headphones. This is the visual representation of yourself as an artist, and as more users begin to follow each post’s impact on your overall image will grow in perpetuity.

As always, communication is key.

Did you really think you could get away with simply posting images and videos on Instagram? Fans are going to react to the things you post and you should respond whenever possible. Talk to the people who care enough to talk to you (except the haters – never engage those trolls), and be sure to @them so they know you are speaking directly to them despite being connected solely through the internet.

Use meaningful hashtags. Yes, hashtags can and should have meaning.

We’ve all had our fair share of fun with #silly and #meaningless hashtag use, but if you want to make the most of your Instagram following you would be wise to take the pound sign a bit more serious moving forward. A hashtag can make people aware of a new album, tour, single, or any other development you could hope to market. 

Hashtags can also bring people together. Take defunct emo rock deities My Chemical Romance, for example. Their fans, the creatively named MCRmy, uses #MCRmy whenever posting about the band online. Fans then use this hashtag to connect with others who enjoy the group, which in turns strengthens the fan base as a whole. Black Veil Brides’ fans have used a similar technique, with followers of that group posting #BVBarmy in their tweets and IG posts. Again, fans connect with each other while also sharing fun or meaningful media related to the group. The brand is spread, as is news about new albums and tours, all while fans are connecting with one another and developing a community built upon mutual admiration for the band. Everyone wins!

Make your Instagram a unique destination

While Ingstgram does allow users to share posts on other social media platforms it’s important to remember that not everyone will be connected with your brand on every site or app. With that mind, you should make an effort to treat each online community as its own hub for your group. Do not assume the people on Facebook know about the promotion you have on your IG and do not assume people on IG will want to give you a ‘Like’ on Facebook. Some of them probably don’t even have a Facebook! 

Make your IG community a unique place to engage with your music and fans will begin to view it as something special, which it is. This will aide in developing your online community, as well as increase overall engagement with your audience. It also means more work, but it’s worth it.

James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.

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Should Artists Pay to Get Access to Influencers?

This post is the latest in our ongoing content collaboration with Sonicbids. Enjoy.

Your music isn’t being heard by bloggers, journalists, editors, or those in positions of power within the industry. Either you’ve been pitching them yourself, or you’ve hired a PR firm to reach out and get them to listen, but for some reason, it just isn’t getting through. You’re spending time or money (or both), but not getting any real results. Should you scale back your expectations for a response from the media and the industry? That might be possible; it depends on what they were to begin with. Should you stop trying to get your music heard by influencers? Of course not! Just because things aren’t working right now doesn’t mean you quit – you just might want to change tactics.

The truth

Those people you’ve been sending your music to – the journalists, bloggers, and everybody in all the different facets of the music industry – are pitched constantly, and usually indiscriminately. Ask anybody at a well-known publication or who works for a successful label, and they’ll tell you about the incredible amount of music that gets sent to them every day. I, for example, receive somewhere between 150 and 200 emails a day with new music, and I rarely even cover that space, so I can hardly imagine what the inboxes of some other writers looks like.

While you may not want to hear it, here’s the truth: there just isn’t enough time in the day for everybody to hear all the music they “should,” and no matter how good it is, there’s a really good chance that people are simply going to skip past your new single or album. With hundreds of submissions and only so many hours, it’s extremely tough for almost any artist to be heard these days, let alone newcomers and unknowns.

A solution

First, you should keep pitching your stuff to the people you think should hear it, and you should be smart about it. Make sure you’re contacting the “right” people (those who might actually be interested in it), or make sure your PR team is doing just that.

In addition to the tried-and-true methods, you may want to start investigating a new online world that allows you to pay people to listen to your music. Now, I can already hear some musicians and singers groaning and getting upset about this idea, and I understand. Making music, recording it, touring, and all the other responsibilities and necessities that come along with being a professional musician are all expensive and the income is sparse, so why would you pay for one more thing, especially when it’s something you shouldn’t have to pay for?

My reasoning is twofold: first, realize that you already are paying for people to hear your music. You’re either paying PR people to reach out to press for you, or you’re doing it yourself, which is taking up time you could be using to make new music, creating stronger relationships with fans, or pretty much anything else. Both of these options are costing you, but they may not be giving you a good return on your investment.

The second part of my reasoning is that while you may not want to hear that this is going to cost you, it does, and that’s just the world we live in. If you’ve decided that getting these groups of people to hear your music is really that important, put your money where your mouth is or start reprioritizing what you want and what you “need.”

How to do it

I am certainly not suggesting you start emailing bloggers and A&R execs and begin offering them cash for plays, because that’s not how this works, and you probably won’t make any friends. In the past few years, a handful of platforms have popped up that are actively recruiting writers and industry people to join.

Fluence is the best option for this, and it’s pretty easy to get started. Influencers set their hourly rate, and when you submit a song and choose who you’d like to hear it, the site automatically calculates an exact cost per listen. For example, most three- to four-minute songs I listen to cost the musician around $5. From there, the influencer gives feedback, and they’re encouraged to share the track on social media. Newer sites like Promeo have also popped up, and the idea is gaining traction with people in the industry and up-and-coming musicians, so it’s likely that both of these sites will grow, and that some new ones may continue to emerge in the future.

Now, will this ensure press coverage or a record deal? No. Is it certain that the editor-in-chief of Rolling Stone or the CEO of Sony is going to hear your new single? Nope, sorry. The idea of paying people to listen to your music is one that’s really best for those just beginning in the industry and who simply need a way to get their foot in the door. It’s all about getting the momentum going, so once a few cool bloggers have heard your track and shared it, you can go from there (and to be honest, it’ll probably cost less than a several-month-long PR campaign).

Readers – what do you think? Sound off in the comments below!

Hugh McIntyre is a freelance pop music journalist in NYC by way of Boston. He has written for Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, and MTV, as well as various magazines and blogs around the world. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of the blog Pop! Bang! Boom! which is dedicated to the genre of pop in all of its glory.

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An Introduction To Concert Photography – Part 6: The Best Gear For You

Hello, everyone! After an extended break we have returned with the latest installment in our ongoing series aimed at informing aspiring music photographers about the realities of life in the industry. If you missed one of the previous columns, you can catch up using this link. If not, welcome back! We’re happy you stuck around.

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

The best camera you have is the one on you. For years I’ve thought that saying was the biggest cliche in the history of photography. I’ve debated and fought this countless times. My iPhone isn’t nearly as good as the guy with a Canon 5D MKIII. I’d even take a Rebel series camera of my that. I’m here to say that I was wrong. 
On December 30th, I was privileged enough to see Patti Smith in concert at Webster Hall. I tried to apply for press countless times for the show, but was met with rejection each time. Patti Smith does not allow photographers; something that I think is very hypocritical as Patti Smith is a photographer herself and even had a relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe, an incredible photographer. 
The day prior, Patti Smith also performed at Webster Hall, and a had surprise opener in Michael Stipe of R.E.M. It was his first public performance in years. With the idea that he would perform again the next day, I immediately looked up the guidelines for the venue and found out they did not have a camera policy, so I brought in a Fuji mirrorless camera, a camera which most would not even fathom calling optimal gear for a show. I wasn’t shooting for anyone, but just myself because of my love for R.E.M. Don’t get me wrong, I got the ticket for Patti Smith, but I LOVE R.E.M.
I got to the venue early and was about 6 rows back. I snapped less than 150 shots the entire show and thought nothing of it. I had a few shots I liked, but nothing that I would even consider my best work. Just shots to say, “Hey, I saw Michael Stipe and Patti Smith!”
 I posted one photo on a message board and got an email later that night from Rolling Stone Magazine asking for images from the show. Why would they want a shot from a little Fuji. I sent them 15 of my best shots of the show and they bought the usage for them. What? Why? … I didn’t even use my gear.
Maybe it’s because I’m thick skulled, but I couldn’t imagine not published anywhere without my pro-gear. Maybe I’m spoiled in that thought, but regardless if a magazine like Rolling Stone took a photo that wasn’t on quality equipment then anyone really would. This was a point and shoot camera after all.
In the past, I’ve been guilty of judging people by equipment. I’m here to say that I was wrong. 
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A Few Tips On Customizing Your Haulix Promo Invitations

Hello, everyone. We are thrilled to have you join us this day, or whatever day you happen to come across this article. We typically fill our weeks with band advice and editorials on life in the industry, but today we are switching gears to offer some advice to our clients. Don’t worry, our regularly scheduled programming will resume tomorrow.

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

One of the features available to clients that we receive the most feedback about is the ability to customize email invitations and promo pages. We have done everything in our power to make these pages completely customizable, but until today we never took the time to walk through each element of the design process. Let’s begin, shall we?

EMAIL INVITATIONS

Email invitations are the lifeblood of Haulix because they are what we and our clients depend on in order to bring journalists to our platform. Our development team has purposely designed a sleek base template to simplify the invitation creation process for those short on time, but with a little effort these same invites can be fully customized to fit your every need.

Tip #1 – Filter your contact list.

The latest feature to be unveiled by our development team enables clients to filter their contact lists in order to better understand who is engaging with their content. When creating a new promo, select one of the filter options at the top of the ‘select contacts’ contacts to see people who viewed your contacts in the past, as well as those who actually stream and/or downloaded your content. This should provide additional clarity as to what outlets cover your artists most often.

Tip #2 – Add a personal touch

After you’ve selected the contact(s) you wish to invite your new promo, click submit and you will find yourself on the ‘generate invitation’ page. This section of the design process deals with the message that will be included in the email body. The basic email customizations are in place (reply-to, subject, etc.), as well as a text box that offers clients an opportunity to personalize each invitation. Make each journalist feel welcome through use of this area, and take advantage of our placeholder hot keys ([=FirstName] [=PromoUrl]) to expedite the process. You can also select whether or not recipients are presented with a watermark disclaimer. We encourage clients to use this disclaimer, but it’s ultimately up to you.

Tip #3 – Use a little color

After your invitation has been generated it’s time to add a splash of your personal style and taste to the design. The final page of the email invitation creation process allows clients to customize the colors of their promo. I prefer black, red, and white, but the possibilities are pretty much endless. Here is an example:

Tip #4 – Add a header and background image

This is probably the most underutilized customization we offer, but the way it makes invitations pop is second to none. Header and background images turn every invite into a billboard for your latest release, and when mirrored on the actual promo page itself goes a long way towards making sure journalists remembers your latest/upcoming release. Here are guides for the image sizes required from both email invites and promo pages. The width limits are EXACT. We hope to add a bit more flexibility in the future, but for now we ask that everyone do their best to work within those limits.

EMAIL:

PROMO:

We cannot guarantee the use of these tips will translate to increased clicks on your invitations, but through the use of this guide you will position yourself – as well as your clients – for maximum engagement. If you need further guidance on setting up your invitations, please email james@haulix.com right away.

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An Introduction To Concert Photography – Part 3: How To Shoot DIY Punk Venues

Hello, again. Welcome to the second Advice column of the week. We received such an overwhelming response to our last photography feature that we partnered once more with Nick Karp to create a third installment in what appears to have become our latest ongoing series aimed towards bettering the music industry. We have several additional photo-themed columns  planned, but we are always looking for suggestions on topics worth covering. If you have any questions regarding the content of this blog, or if you would like to learn more information about the services offered by Haulix, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

Following my local music scene played a huge influence on my desire to shoot bands. Within a local music scene comes a DIY culture behind it, and bands performing at unconventional venues was the norm. Shooting bands at VFW halls, Leigon Halls, Basements, living rooms, and even backyards was not a rarity, and if I am being completely honest I would have to say that shooting at those establishments is much harder than shooting at an arena or other large scale venue. Arena shows have big production budgets, including lighting with front and back lights. You can shoot at low ISO’s and still produce a correctly exposed photo. DIY venues however, may only have a single florescent light bulb in the entire room.

So, how do you capture great moments in a situation like that? Flash. Shooting these type of shows often requires you to break some of my unwritten rules of the photo pit, but there is a reason good reason for such rule violation. 99% of the time there is no photo pit, or anyone making sure you stick to the ‘3 song rule,’ and with the band’s blessing, flash can be allowed. The follow is a list of techniques I use for shooting at these types of venues…

Flash bounced off ceiling:

The technique I have found most useful is having an external flash aimed directly up to bounce forwards on the ceiling. This distributes the light equally over the band member you are trying to shoot. That said, this method can only work with a lighter colored ceiling as black/dark ceilings will absorb too much of the light.

When using this technique I try to have my power high enough so that my ISO is 800 or so. My shutter remains around 1/100 and my F stop is at f4. Some examples of bouncing a flash against a ceiling can be viewed below:

In this picture you can see how the light spreads pretty evenly over bass player Nicholas Inman(You Blew It!) and some of the fans. 

In this photo, lead singer Damian (Fucked Up) is in the crowd. There is virtually no light in the crowd, so I bounced a flash at the ceiling to try and get some light on him. It worked and this is the image.

Flash at 60 degrees:

This is a technique I use when the ceiling is really low, like when shooting in a basement. The bottom of the photo will not be lit up as much as the top so I suggest upping the shadows and blacks in post production. An example of this can be shown below.

Here you can see what happens when I use a 60 degree flash. You want to keep your flash power low enough to not blow the highlights out. In post I raised the shadows and added some contrast. Lucky for me, TMP had floor lights that went on and off, and they gave me a little extra light to work with in this tiny basement.

For this one, I did the same exact thing with my lighting as the shot before, except there are no floor lights. Check out the bass and you can see how grainy it is from pushing the shadows. The light was bright enough to light the bass below, but dark enough where it didn’t blow his face out.

Dragging the shutter:

Dragging the shutter is what occurs when you use flash to light up the subject and have a shutter speed so low (Around 1/20 – ½) that you’re able to move the available light in the photo. You can either bounce the flash to the ceiling or point the flash directly at the band. If you do the ladder, make sure to ask the band’s permission prior because having a flash directed and flashed in your eyes Is distracting when you are performing. If pointed at the band, I try to have my flash power low, and even with that, my ISO at 400 or so.  My aperture will be somewhere around f 5 -6.3 and again, shutter will be at 1/8th. An example can be seen below.

Here’s a somewhat extreme look of dragging the shutter. You can see that theirs is two Pat Butlers [Singer of Sleepy Hahas]. My shutter speed was at ½, so this is an extreme case of dragging the shutter. I feel as if this photo gives off a psychedelic feel.

In this shot of Zealot, I had my shutter speed faster than I did than the previous photo. This is at 1/25th of a second where the photo is not heavily distorted, but I obtained enough back ground light to slightly move bend the light so my subject and the room lights can pop.

Using off camera flash:  

Off camera flash is something I do very rarely mainly because of venue limitations. Although some would allow me to set up a flash or two on the sides of the venue, I choose not to because my equipment is out of my sight. Despite this, off camera flash is one of the better methods to use when shoot at DIY venues. The way I set is up is to point the flash at the middle of the stage and then shoot about 45 degrees towards the center of the stage.  If I’m using a second flash, I can point that flash to my other side of me, 45 degrees towards the center of the stage, or if I can put it behind the band, I will set it up directly across from the first light. An example of when I use off camera flash is below.

In this shot you can see one of the the flashes in the back of the phot. The lead singer was lit up by another flash to camera right. The flash was so powerful that my settings were ISO 500, 1/100, F9.

For this shot, only the flash on the back was used. The other flash was having a hard time being triggered. You can see the difference not having a back flash makes, and how essential it is to have that front flash.

Pop Up Flash. 

I hate it. There’s a reason top of the line equipment doesn’t have pop up flashes. 

Nick Karp is a professional photographer and freelance music writer. He recently relocated to NYC and dyed his hair bright pink because that is the kind of thing people do in the music business. 

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Journalism Tips #7 ‘Common Writing Mistakes & How to Avoid Them – PART 2’

Hello and welcome to the seventh installment in our ongoing Journalism Tips series. This specific column is a continuation of a post we debuted last Saturday (which can be found here), but reading that entry is not a pre-requisite to enjoying the words shared below. We are glad you stopped by and hope the following advice will help further your efforts towards building a lasting career in the music business. If you have an idea for this blog, or if you would like to learn more about the digital distribution services we offer, please do not hesitate to email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. If you prefer social media, feel free to reach out to us on Facebook and Twitter.

The initial response to last week’s post was so overwhelming that contributing writer Joe Ballard actually spent the last few days refining the words and advice shared below to craft a suitable follow-up. His insight will not only make you a better writer, but it will also make you far less of a pain in your future editor’s side, which might get you further in life than your talents as a journalist when all is said and done.

An Introduction:

You know that classic phrase “it’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it”? I feel like that’s how a lot of people think of us editors. After all, part of our job is to clean up writers’ articles and make them shiny and spotless before they get published. However, even the professionals can’t catch all the mistakes 100% of the time, and this is why I’m here today – to show writers and aspiring journalists five of the most common errors I see in music-related articles and how you can successfully avoid them in the future.  

1) Apostrophes in Years

This one is similar to the “that vs. who” mistake in that the incorrect versions are commonly accepted as accurate. Many authors and journalists will typically write a sentence just like this:

Oasis was one of the most popular British rock bands in the 1990’s. (Incorrect)

When it should read as such:

Oasis was one of the most popular British rock bands in the 1990s. (Correct) 

It’s a natural inclination to think there should be an apostrophe in a year, mainly because having a number and a letter right next to each just looks odd to many people. When dealing with apostrophes – and this applies to all words, not just years – ask yourself: what does the apostrophe stand for? That’s how you know there should be no apostrophe in the sentence above – because it can’t stand for anything. But where should it go when you’re abbreviating years?

Some of my favorite songs were recorded back in the 60’s. (Incorrect)

Some of my favorite songs were recorded back in the ‘60s. (Correct)

Many journalists make the mistake of writing the former sentence simply because it looks nicer and, well, you see it more often wherever you look on the Internet, whether it’s social media, forums, or even news outlets. The “apostrophe + s” again does not work because it cannot stand for anything there. By putting it before the 6, you’re showing that it’s standing for, in this case, the missing 19. 

In the end, the trick to dealing with apostrophes in years is similar to the “it’s/its” conundrum; if you’re writing an article and you get tripped up, stop for a moment and ask, “Can the apostrophe stand for something here?” If it can’t, you can safely live without it.

2) Compliment vs. Complement

This mistake seems to appear in music journalism more often than most other places, but fortunately it’s an easy one to rectify. 

Example 1: Few vocalist duos complement each other as well as Emery’s Toby Morrell and Devin Shelton.

Example 2: Oasis paid a lot of compliments to The Beatles throughout their discography.

If you’re a music journalist, 80% of the time you probably mean to use “complement”, which means “to complete” or to “make perfect”. You should only use “compliment” if it’s to express admiration or respect for a band or album. 

3) Who vs. Whom

Whom: the one word every writer desperately wants erased from the English language. Luckily, that’s why we have editors and the solution to the infamous who/whom debacle can be explained in a pretty straightforward way. 

Use “who” when referring to the subject of a sentence. Use “whom” when referring to the object.

Example 1: Mindy White, who once sang vocals in Lydia but now leads the band States…

The “who” in this sentence refers to the subject, which is Real Estate.

Example 2: I wonder whom the Tonight Alive song “The Other Side” was written for.

The “whom” in example 2 refers to the object of the song – in this case, a person.

In music journalism you probably won’t come across many cases where “whom” should be used. However, if you’re still confused about the subject/object issue, here’s a helpful trick: 

If the “who/whom” reference can be answered with “him/her” then you should use whom. If it can be replaced with “he/she” then it will always be who.

Take another look at example 1. You could also put it as “She once sang vocals in Lydia but now leads the band States.”

Likewise, in example 2 you could answer the question by saying “The Other Side was written for him.” 

There are examples of rarer usages in all of these cases, but to explore them all would likely leave you with a migraine. As a professional editor, this two-part series is meant to showcase a few of the most common mistakes I see from both journalists and authors. It is of course my job to find them all and correct them, but if you are or will be pursuing journalism as a career, you will impress all current and future employers by constantly practicing and perfecting your linguistic skills.

Joe Ballard is an editor for MindEqualsBlown. We have not interviewed Joe for our blog just yet, but you can rest assured we will share his story soon.

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