Reviews are a dime a dozen these days, but a great live review by an engaging author can still make the difference between a tour’s success or failure.
Ah, the concert review. It has been a staple of entertainment journalism longer than almost any other feature, appearing long before recorded music was even thought possible, and it will most likely outlast us all. Why? For starters, the financial risk in seeing virtually any show is much higher than consuming a single song, album, or movie. Most people will risk $10 on a new release, but far fewer people are willing to spend $30 (or in many cases, much more) to see a performance whose quality is uncertain.
Then there’s the YouTube problem. Just last week, I saw Kelly Clarkson tell a crowd of thousands at Van Andel Arena how much she appreciated their attendance by admitting, “I don’t know if I like anyone enough to leave my house. You could have watched this whole thing on YouTube from your couch, but you’re here, and that means something.”
There are thousands of hours of concert videos on YouTube. In the time it takes to read this article there will likely be hundreds, if not thousands more than when you started. A lot of the clips feature muddy sound and poor video quality, but there remains more than enough decent uploads to sustain those unwilling or unable to purchase tickets for themselves. Just look at this video from the latest Panic! At The Disco tour, which is currently making its way across North America:
The clip above may not duplicate the live experience, but for many, it’s good enough.
These reasons, as well as many others, explain why creating quality live reviews is so important in entertainment today. A compelling live review can determine whether or not a ticket is bought, which plays a role in whether or not artists can support themselves and continue to create.
The importance of criticism in regards to concerts is as much about the performers on stage as it is the production, the crowd, and the overall vibe of the event. Journalists can speak to all these elements on a technical level, but what really grabs today’s easily distracted reader is the critic’s own journey. The consumer of your material may never make it to the show in question themselves, and the reasons for that are numerous (schedule, cost, etc.). What they can do, however, is live vicariously through you.
In today’s entertainment writing culture, the key to crafting a great live review lies in learning how to tell a good story — your story. You should consider yourself, your feelings, and everything that goes into a night out on assignment as a vessel for others. Capture as many moments as possible, especially the tiny moments that others in the crowd might miss, and use them to make your story more engaging for the reader. Here are some questions to get you started:
What is the weather like?
Is it hot or cold inside the venue?
Do people look happy to be there?
When did the venue staff notice people lining up? (Don’t be afraid to ask!)
What are people in the crowd talking about?
What are people in the crowd wearing?
How much time between sets?
Did the performers engage the audience? If so, how?
What moments from this show will you remember in six months?
What would you change, if anything, to improve the night?
How did you feel during the show?
Were your expectations met?
Where were your expectations?
2019 is shaping up to be a banner year for live entertainment. Legendary acts are returning to the stage for a final run, new artists are trying to fill large venues, and there appear to be more festivals than ever before. Everyone who is anyone is trying to get a piece of consumers’ live entertainment budget. The reality is, only a few will succeed, and critics can play an active role in determining who comes out on top.
The world needs people who can write about music with style and grace. You do not need to have the sharpest wit or the best economy of words, and you definitely do not have to know everything about every artist working today. As long as you have a perspective on the music you hear that can easily be expressed, not to mention a desire to share that perspective, then you more than qualify for the job.
Writing about music is not glamorous. The likelihood of anyone making a career in music writing has always been slim, perhaps even less likely than becoming the next great musician, and the number of opportunities for full-time employment are shrinking more with each passing year. Most writers quit within the first five years if not sooner. Those who don’t either find success or develop the skills needed to convince themselves someone, anyone, gives a damn about what they have to say.
In fact, the only reason that anyone should even try writing about music is because the act itself interests them. If you’re curious about how your opinions will be received, or if you want to know if you have what it takes to grab a stranger’s attention, then writing about music is a good place to start. All financial shortcomings aside, you’ll rarely have more freedom or opportunity to explore the many colorful personalities that popular this planet than you do when writing about music. It’s a chance to explore life in the shoes of rock stars and nobodies alike, not to mention those of the people who support them. It’s an opportunity to see all the world has to offer and to understand the price of becoming more than what you are now.
Best of all, it’s free (at least at first).
If you’ve made it this far and you still want to write, then congratulations. You may actually have what it takes to do something worthwhile in music writing. The only way to know for sure is to create.
In the simplest terms, that’s all you need to get started. You need to create. Find something you’re passionate about — a song, an artist, an album, a tour, a concert, a label, a trend — and get every thought you have about that thing out of your head and onto the page. It doesn’t have to be pretty or witty or even coherent. Just get your thoughts in front of you and take stock of what you have to offer. Review your words, correct your grammar, and slowly begin piecing everything together in a way that forms a clear thought.
Writing, in this instance, is not unlike sculpting something out of stone or clay. Your thoughts are the giant block you start with, and with each edit you begin to form something meaningful. You may make mistakes, but everyone does. What matters is how you respond to mistakes, and whether or not you allow yourself to give in to that little voice in the back of your mind that claims you’ll never create something as great as the vision you have in your head.
And that, my friends, is the challenge all young and veteran writers must face each day. We all must decide to ignore the voice telling us our work isn’t worthwhile and press on, writing more and continuously searching for exciting stories we wish to tell. The kicker is that no one vanquishes that voice for good. It will be there each and every morning, regardless of what happened the day before. It is the greatest foe of any writer, and the only person capable of making it stop — even for a moment – is the writer.
If you can do all that, if you can write about what interests you and ignore the negative voice in your head, then you can worry about the basics of navigating the music business. That, surprisingly, is the easy part of this whole process.
Step 1: Start a blog. Don’t worry about buying a URL or setting up a visually engaging site. Find somewhere you can post your work and make it your own. Tumblr, for example, is a great free option.
Step 2: Write often. Reviews, stories, etc. Write whatever you want, find where your interests lie, and then write about them further still.
Step 3: Once you have a body of work there are three ways to move forward. You can either begin pitching content ideas to Editors, launch a proper blog of your own, or join forces with other young writers. Figure out what works best for you and chase it with all you have in you.
Step 4: Make friends with publicists, labels, and bands. Email links to the talent you cover, as well as their representatives. Pitch coverage ideas by sharing proof of similar work you have done in the past. Ask people what they need or want from the media and help them achieve it (without being dishonest in your work). Make yourself known as a person who delivers, and work will soon follow.
Step 5: Promote your work. Share it on social media, yes, but don’t stop with a single post. Look for forums, subreddits, and other areas where your content may be appreciated. Search the subject of your work online and send links to your content to other people expressing interest in that same subject. Be aggressive, but also be kind. Don’t force your work on the world.
Step 6. Write more. Network more.
Step 7: Repeat.
The hardest part of writing about music is getting started. If you can do that, which you can, progress and recognition will soon follow.
Music writing can be a double-edged sword as far as fandom is concerned. The fact you’re in a position to influence a group of consumers makes it possible for you to get closer to your favorite artists than you probably would otherwise, but it also means you have to continue following those artists’ every move long after your initial interest in their work has begun to fade. This is honestly a best case scenario because more often than not writing about music means you have to not only know, but learn to appreciate the works of many artists whom you would otherwise not make time to experience. Establishing a career in writing requires that you be engaged with the wide world of music, and that entails keeping tabs on far more artists than those you personally enjoy. Over time this can make the joy of writing feel a lot more like work than most would care to admit. But that’s because writing is just that — work.
This is not a complaint, per say, but rather a matter of fact. You cannot make it in music writing simply by covering the artists you enjoy when you enjoy them. You need follow-through, and more importantly you need to engage the fans of artists regularly in order to ensure people continue to care your writing and/or publication exists.
When I began writing about music I did so because I felt there were artists I knew and enjoyed that most of the world had yet to recognize. If you could find my first hundred articles I can almost guarantee every single one would be based on an artist or group I admired at the time, and if I’m being completely honest I would also wager most of those posts are fairly similar. They each praise a group I loved at the time, and they each argue others should feel the same. I built my initial following by covering bands like A Day To Remember, Chiodos, Secret Secret Dino Club, and The Wonder Years whenever possible, and I made it a point to interview someone from the band every time a new piece of news presented an opportunity for discussion. As word of my work grew, so did interest from others bands and labels about having their talent promoted through my channels. I was completely blown away by these requests, so of course I agree to almost every one that hit my inbox, and as I began to network with the industry at large my writing began to encompass more and more bands. Some acts I enjoyed, but most were perfectly average in my mind, and looking back now I know the only reason I covered them is because I felt that it is what my (arguably non-existent) audience wanted. Whether or not that was true is something I’ll never truly know, but I do know that covering a wide array of talent helped me navigate the industry and secure full-time work in the business I love the most. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Do I continue to cover any and everything that comes my way as a result? Hell no.
It’s incredibly difficult to land a job in music that allows you to share everything you love all the time. Most jobs are far more focused than that, be it covering solely alternative music or perhaps just hip-hop. Finding a paid position that covers everything is rarer than a Morrissey performance that goes off without a hitch, and they are becoming increasingly hard to come by as the demand for specific content curators continues to rise. I used to have a big problem with this because I felt, and still do believe, that everyone is able to enjoy a little bit of everything. I might not love country music, but there are several country artists I enjoy. The same goes for musicals, top 40 radio pop, and obscure shoe gaze bands. None of these areas of music are where I spend the majority of my time, but they each are filled with wonderful talent that is deserving of exposure and praise. Just because this is true however does not mean I am the person to tell you these acts exist. I can tweet about it, sure, but I cannot dedicate every minute of my day to telling you about everything I love as I once did. That is not my job.
At first, the need to separate the work I am paid to do from the work I would like to do was incredibly frustrating. I felt as though my initial mission to help more people discover great music had been compromised by the need for a paycheck, but over time I came to realize that was not true. Having full-time employment gave me more freedom than I had ever had before as far as creative pursuits were concerned, and though I couldn’t argue the need to cover everything I could do more to help a specific set of artists and bands than ever before. Instead of writing about 40 or 50 acts a week I wrote about 10 at most, but I made sure to make each piece released as good as it could be. Having less artists to cover made it possible for me to dig deeper with my coverage and, ultimately, provide higher quality content to my readers.
But what about all that other stuff I loved? Did I turn my back on a world of talent just because they didn’t fit my 9-5 lifestyle?
Of course not.
I still love a wide array of bands as I always have, but these days I keep some things I love to myself if for no other reason than the ability to enjoy certain songs or records without turning that enjoyment into work. Before I had full-time work in music I viewed everything I enjoyed as something I would eventually cover, which in turn made everything I enjoyed some form of work. Maybe it wasn’t hard work, but it was work nonetheless, and as a result my relationship with music began to change. The idea of listening to music for the sake of simply enjoying it became an absurd concept, as I hadn’t purely enjoyed music for years on end. I liked it, and I wouldn’t know what to do without it, but at the end of the day I was trying to put food on my table based on what I was listening to, and that put a lot of undue pressure on myself, as well as the talent.
When I speak to aspiring writers and music professionals today I encourage them to experience as much music as possible. As soon as I do this I immediately tag my comments by adding that not every great song or record needs to become the sole focus of their work moving forward. It’s not only perfectly acceptable, it’s needed. If you lose your ability to simply enjoy music you will be unable to accurately critique it. The reason anyone begins chasing after a career in music in the first place is based on their love of enjoying music in their youth, and when you lose the ability to appreciate music in that way you begin to lose track of why you work in music. It’s not about clicks, and it’s certainly not about being the first person to hear the next buzz worthy release. It’s about celebrating art and the appreciation of art, as well as making others aware of undiscovered talent. You can only do this to the best of your abilities if you too are still able to be wowed by music. If you’ve lost that passion, or even if you believe it has begun to fade, take a step back from writing and unplug from everything except your stereo. Put on the records that first inspired your career aspirations and reconnect with the source of your drive to succeed. Never lose your passion.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. 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.
If you’re interviewing bands, reviewing albums, or posting news on your blog, you need to have some sort of time-stamp on your piece.
See, other writers make posts and articles about bands and albums, and they might come across your website during their research. If your article has no time stamp, however, it’s damn near worthless.
If you interviewed someone but failed to include what YEAR the interview was conducted, how could I ever cite your article as a source? When did the interview take place? Last week? Last year? 2012?
Dates are important. When strung together, they create a narrative. The same band involved in two robberies in the same year – that’s a story. A band hinting at a new album on Facebook two years before the label sends a press release is news-worthy because of dates.
Think about it – if a band announces they kicked out their guitar player, and you have an interview from two years prior with that guitar player, you can now add something EXCLUSIVE to your news post. While everyone else is just reposting a press release, you’re able to say, “when I talked to that guitar player in 2013, she had this to say…"
Also, site owners: make sure you use the whole date. There was a time recently when Alternative Press didn’t include the YEAR in their published date. Just month and day. The year is pretty important when talking about something big, like say, former As I Lay dying vocalist Tim Lambesis doing an interview about his murder-for-hire trial (that was published in 2014, in case you were wondering). There’s no reason why any writer should have to email an outlet and ask, “hey, when was this published?”
This is music-blogging 101, folks. It ain’t rocket surgery.
So when you’re hacking away at your WordPress theme or whatever for your music blog, be sure to keep the time-stamps in there. They’re worth it not just for future reference, but for preserving the history of all this music media we work on every single day.
Seth Werkheiser is the quiz master of metal trivia at Skulltoaster. He’s also the founder of some music sites you may have heard of, including Noise Creep (2009) + Buzzgrinder (2001). He’s anti-Facebook, anti-clickbait, and anti-growth hacking. You should most definitely follow him on Twitter. Yes, right now.
They say best way to learn about the realities of life in the music business is by talking to the people who spend each and every day working in music, so that’s what we did for this piece of content. The following tips and tricks were pulled from a music writing group on Facebook that boasts over 1200 members who write about everything from punk to hip-hop, grunge, metal, pop, country, and any niche genre in between. We posed a question to the group earlier this week seeking the best single piece of advice anyone had received, and we’ve collected our favorite replies for you to enjoy:
“Find your own voice.” – M.J. Rawls, Mind Equals Blown
“Take risks and stop worrying what others think (within reason)” – Jordan Mohler, Kill The Music
“Sometimes you have to say no to the “maybes” so you have time to say yes to the “sure things.” – Josh Hammond, PunkOut
“Don’t ask anything you can Google.” – Alyson Stokes, Alternative Press
“Musicians are people, not gods.” – Joseph Tucker, The LP Collective
“Be true to yourself. If you don’t like something, either write nothing, or be ready for backlash.” – Alison Toon, Toon’s Tunes
“Don’t just write about one genre or you’ll get pigeon-holed.” – Sareth Ney, Examiner
“Ride the highs and remember them during the lows.” – Bill Knowlton, WeLoveMetal
“Give honest feedback. Artists hate being told "it’s so good!” They want constructive criticism so they have a direction to grow in.” – Jessie Frary, Vinyl Mag
“Be consistent. If you want to succeed, especially if you own your own press outlet, you have to commit yourself to keeping a constant flow of content releasing.” – Joshua Weidling, Digital Tour Bus
“Write about music that you think is worth writing about” – Molly Louise Hudelson, Circles & Soundwaves
“Be patient. This is something I still struggle with but sometimes you just have to be patient with things, whether its a press request, waiting on a writer to finish up a piece, or anything else.” – James Boss, Babetalk
“Don’t pander. The very first time I posted something on the Babetalk Facebook, I was trying too hard to be cool and bouncy. I was trying too hard to “internet speak” (I called All Time Low “pop punkers”). And when we started sharing the post, people in our target Facebook groups definitely took notice. It made me realize that your audience is smarter than you think, and if you’re just honest in your writing and engaging naturally, your audience will come, you don’t have to pander to them to bait them in.” – Carly Rios, Babetalk
“Do it for yourself and have fun. Don’t do this just to be “cool” or “to get hot guys or hot chicks”. That sounds so fucking stupid, but you would be surprised by the amount of people who have that mentality after they interview a few bigger bands like they are celebrities or gods.” – Patrick Walford, Rock The Walls / idobi
“Just do it. Thanks, Shia” – Kyle Gaddo, Save/Continue
The new year is about to begin and right now you’re more than likely staring at a barren inbox praying some pitch or announcement rolls through to give you an excuse to post something before the ball drops. We tried to warn you about the holiday slowdown, but every year without fail there is a large outcry from hungry bloggers in search of something worth sharing with their readers, and after the year most sites experienced it’s not hard to understand why. 2015 found many beginning to question the role of music blogs, as they have year after year since the initial boom of social media, but the last twelve months were particularly bad because of how many sites – both old and new – could not find the funding needed to keep their journalistic endeavors afloat. The lack of money in music writing has been a problem for over a decade at this point, but things seemed to come to some sort of head as fall gave way to a warmer than usual winter.
With all this in mind, we believe 2016 is going to be an important year for the world of music blogs. Whether your site is old or new, everyone attempting to make their mark online is going to have to rethink the way they operate, and that extends from editors all the way to the smallest contributors. Simply creating timely content is no longer enough to bring in hits, and even if it were those hits are probably nowhere near large enough to generate the kind of income needed to cover operational costs. There is more to running a successful online publication than simply being able to keep your site online, but all too often that is the most great content producers can hope to accomplish, and that is heartbreaking shame. We cannot provide you with anymore income than what you’re making from writing right now, but if you follows these tips in the new year we do believe your work in journalism will continue to thrive.
Focus on quality over quantity (AKA Death to copypasta)
We lost the ability to keep track of just how many pitches were hitting our inbox in 2015. The amount of bands being promoted by smart publicists who now how to write a good email has long surpassed the blogging industry’s ability to cover everything, but things seemed to be a little more out of control than usual as of late. Still, not a day went by that we didn’t see writer after writer copying and pasting every press release they could to create what they call ‘news’ posts on their individual sites. While we’re sure the publicists behind these mailings appreciate the support, this content has next to know journalistic value and rarely, if ever, contributes to a site’s overall traffic in a meaningful way. You can rest assured that if you’re taking the easy route of copy/paste that atlas a dozen other sites will do the same, and if you’re all running the same headline with the exact same information contained in each post then why should anyone bother to visit your particular site?
Make 2016 is the year of original content. Cover the news that matters to your audience (which you can decipher by learning to follow analytics), but focus the majority of your time on crafting content that cannot be found anywhere else online. It doesn’t matter if the final result is short or long, just make it yours. The artists we love earn our admiration for doing something that no one else can replicate and the same reasoning extends to the sites we frequent. Your blog should be a unique music destination, and that begins with quality original content.
Sources. Sources. Sources. (AKA Don’t be a dick)
Most the bloggers I speak with on a regular basis share their concerns over never being credited for the work they do. They don’t expect to get paid, or at least not at first, but whenever someone manages to learn a tasty exclusive through an interview or intelligent research they realize most, if not all sites who run the headline after them will not link to their original article. This is especially frustrating for small sites, as they rely the most on word of mouth to grow, and even if they have the best writers online there is no way they can scale their operation without people giving a damn about their existence.
The only way any site will be able to develop a real readership in 2016 will be if writers learn to respect and give credit to their peers. If you cover an exclusive someone else broke, make sure to give them credit. Doing so not only makes you look more professional, but it sends a message to another writer that you appreciate their hustle. That can of respect can go a long way toward developing both the brand of your site, as well as your personal efforts in music. It’s no more difficult than treating others the way you want to be treated, but you would be surprised how few have adopted this idea up to this point.
Leverage emerging technology
Twitter and Instagram takeovers were everywhere in music blogging over the last year, but with live broadcast services like Periscope becoming commonplace it’s time for blogs to think more creatively about their social media based exclusives. Live broadcast offers users a very unique way to interact with their musical heroes in real time, but right now very few outlets have adopted these services in their coverage of the industry. This will change in time however, and anyone hoping to stay ahead of the curve would be wise to begin planning their use of these platforms now.
For example, when covering festivals in 2016 it’s not hard to imagine blogs of all sizes running brief interviews or acoustic performances that air only on live broadcast networks. Likewise, we believe artist Q&As will be very popular on these services. The ability to not only see, but interact with talent in real time is something no other platform can offer. Artists don’t necessarily need blogs to use these tools, but through collaborations they (and you) can reach a new audience.
Innovative Brand Development
It’s hard to imagine many angles for digital features that haven’t been covered, so heading into the new year the sites that hope to develop their connection with readers will need to break the mold with their outreach. While it can be tempting to rely on the internet for everything you do and need, we suggest thinking of what can be done in the real world (otherwise known as ‘offline’) to help grow your site.
Two old school example of this that still have a lot of value are hosting or sponsoring local shows and releasing site-generated compilations. These efforts promote your site’s dedication to helping aspiring artists further their careers, as well as showcase your personal taste in music. The people who come to events you sponsor or host will see your name and align your site with the style of music being played. The same concept extends to the compilation, which tells listeners they can find more music like that featured on the track list on your outlet. If people feel strongly for the music they may learn to feel strongly for your writing, as the success of one can aide the success of the other.
Don’t Shy Away From Honesty
The one thing that cannot be taught to someone trying to navigate the waters of early music writing is that the quickest path to longterm success is found through accepting yourself for who you are as a person and a consumer of music. The reason this cannot be taught is because no one who has yet to embrace their true selves can force such a change to take place on command. It must happen naturally, and any writer trying to force their true selves onto paper or a blog post will only become frustrated at how unoriginal their words sound. Like all great art, great music writing comes from a pure place that worries not about clicks or finances. The best music writers, or perhaps I should say the best writers in general, are those who are unabashedly themselves in everything they do. They share with readers personal details both big and small that make their work, no matter how strange the subject, more relatable to consumers. That accessibility is what will convert blog visitors to dedicated readers, and it’s what will give readers a reason to tell their friends about your work.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
Running a music blog is no easy task. Not only do you need to be constantly creating new content, but you also have to recruit people to help build your brand without the ability to offer them any sort of compensation beyond the occasional concert ticket or album advance. For some, that will be enough, as they realize the world of writing is an uphill battle that is unique for every individual. Others will complain, and they wouldn’t be wrong for feeling that was the proper way to react. Unpaid work is never fun, especially when there is no guarantee of anything further developing in a professional sense, but for some crazy reason there are hundreds, if not thousands of people around the world doing their best to meet the ever-growing demands of music blog content calendars both big and small.
As a site owner, finding the best contributors for your publication should be amongst your top priorities. You most likely want to write as well, and you should, but in order to make a meaningful impact on the industry at large you will want to have a talented team at your side. We cannot give you specifics on findings these staffers, as the number of talent pools found in various pockets of the internet is practically limitless, but we can help you navigate the often tricky review and interview process that goes into selecting new contributors. If you follow the advice outlined below we guarantee you will not only find more talented contributors, but also reliable ones. Take notes….
Ask all applicants to explain how they would describe your site and the content found on it to someone who had never previously heard of your outlet.
In the seven years I’ve spent being part of the editorial team at various websites I have seen a wide variety of contributor applications. Some come from journalism students hoping to engage a part of the industry their college paper does not cover, but most are passionate music fans who were inspired by ‘Almost Famous’ or some site they’ve read all their lives that is likely run by another seemingly regular person that they’ve decided writing might be for them as well. Many of the applicants have never written for another site, and if they have it’s a site equal to, or smaller, than your own. They, like you, are simply trying to find a way to climb the hierarchy of music journalism to the point someone offers them hard cash for their words, and they are looking at your site as a potential next step for their career. They may also be looking at several other similarly sized sites, which is why it’s important for you to ask them what they feel your site is all about before bringing them on. You want contributors who understand the reason your site exists, as well as what sets it apart from the competition. You also want them to have some idea of how their unique perspective will improve your efforts, and the only way to know if that is the case is to ask them.
Ask the interviewee to describe your company in 30 seconds or fewer. Don’t fault them if they can’t get it right the first try. They shouldn’t be expected to know everything up front, but they should have a strong grasp on what it is you do, what you cover, and the type of content you run on a day-to-day basis. Specifics are a plus, but again – don’t fault them for being vague.
After you’ve heard their ideas, tell them your personal description of what you do. Draw comparisons to what they said, and then ask what they feel they bring to the table knowing what it is you do. Their response will tell you not only how well they listen, but also whether they have a strong interest in helping build your brand or simply want to further develop their own career.
Ask yourself, “Would I read their writing if they wrote for the competition?”
When I first launched my own music blog, I thought quantity was just as important as quality. I believed the only way I could compete with bigger music sites was to run the same amount of content, which often meant covering the exact same stories in the same overly short way others did. It wasn’t about crafting thought-provoking posts, but rather doing whatever it took to generate a few extra clicks on any given day.
There is not necessarily anything wrong with running your site this way, but I’ve found it’s ultimately a very unfulfilling way to run a business (and make no mistake, your blog is a business even if it doesn’t generate income). The reason I started reading music blogs may have been out of a simple desire to learn more about the artists I loved, but the reason I stayed with any one site was largely due to the quality of the writing. I grew to love certain writers, and in time I started to seek out their reviews and think pieces more than I did any one site’s RSS feed. For me, it’s the conversation inspired by a post that makes any piece of online journalism great, and generating engagement in today’s crowded digital space requires writers with original, high quality thoughts to share. Quantity is nice, but it takes a distant second place to quality every single time (unless your main type of content is disposable puff pieces, such as listicles or celebrity gossip. That is a whole different monster we can discuss at another point in time).
When reading over applications, ask yourself whether or not the samples provided by the writer would excite you as a reader. Think about what it would be like to come across their writing on one of the music blogs you frequent, and ask yourself if the words you are reading would be enough to spark a future conversation, or if you would think to tweet/share their writing with your followers on social media. If the answer is no, pass on that contributor. If the answer is yes, bring them on board (as long as they meet all other requirements).
Involve Your Staff
Community and camaraderie are key to the success of practically any business, including those that exists solely online. You may never have the opportunity to sit in a room with your entire writing staff and discuss your content plans for the coming month, but you will more than likely create a digital space where something very similar this activity can be replicated. For my sites, private Facebook groups have always provided this space, and every staffer I have ever worked with used those groups to pitch stories, develop ideas, network, and further develop their business acumen. The relationships developed through these online portals will lead to better content, lifelong friendships, and leads on employment within the industry that can help you, as well as everyone involved with your site.
With all this in mind, it should make perfect sense to involve your staff in all future contributor applications. You don’t want to bring someone on board who cannot work well with the team, and you certainly don’t want someone who has any kind of negative history with someone else on your staff. Your contributor pool, though physically separated by hundreds of miles, is a community that is only as strong as its weakest link. Before you add anything to an already proven team of talent, make sure everyone involved feels that the new addition will help further develop their efforts. If they feel differently, listen to their reasoning before making any decisions. You may still choose to move forward, which is your right as the owner, but let your staff know their opinions and feelings matter as well.
Check all applicants’ social media feeds
This one may seem obvious, but the idea of reviewing someone’s social media content prior to bringing them on board with a company or team has been around for less than a decade at this point. The age of social media is still very much new, and the ancient world of business has struggled to catch up with its quick evolution, but as a music publication it’s incredibly important that you are aware of what your contributors are posting online. People can present themselves any way they choose through email, but just because their resume and credentials check out does not mean their personality or attitude will as well. Every person you bring on as a writer becomes, in some small way, a reflection of your publication as a whole. No matter where they post, be it on your site or their own Twitter feed, if there is something connecting your brand to their name their words can and will be seen as a reflection of your publication. You can save yourself a lot of unnecessary grief by reviewing a person’s social media feeds prior to bringing them on board as a contributor. If you see something that makes you uncomfortable, don’t be afraid to ask them about it. They have a right to do and say whatever they want, but you have a right to say what they’ve chosen to convey does not align with the goals or purpose of your publication. Stand your ground in these situations and remember that contributors’ actions do not only reflect on the publication, but also on you and the other team members. You are a community, and as I said before you are only as strong as your weakest link.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him onTwitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
Every music writer today, regardless of experience or genre preference, deals with stress on a daily basis. Whether you’re fretting over the quality of content posted, the happiness of your fellow staff, the happiness of your readers, or worried you may have simply not posted enough, there seems to always be something worth losing sleep over. At least, that is how we see things. Writers, just like site owners, have a big problem with internalizing every single thing that could possibly frustrate them and never taking the time to actually deal with any of it. We just keep going, day in and day out, with the hope that one day we will feel the increasingly heavy weights on our shoulders being lifted off. We don’t know when that will happen, and most probably couldn’t tell you a single scenario where they would actually be able to stop stressing for good, but it’s a lie that has helped countless creatives push through and it will continue to serve its purpose for the foreseeable future.
Having spent nearly a decade of my life writing, it wasn’t until I had already put five years of hard work in that I really began to notice the impact stress and its constant presence in my life took on everyday existence. My brain had rewired itself over time to revolve around the internet and what I saw as the time of day when posting ‘must’ happen. The first thing I thought about when I woke up was whether or not any headlines had broke while I was asleep, and the last thing I did before bed last night was a scroll through my RSS feed for any late breaking headlines. “If I could just be on top of the next story,” I thought. “Then I will be satisfied.”
What I eventually realized, and what I still struggle with today, is that there is no true end point for creative people. Our drive to create content the world enjoys will never be satiated with a single post, or even a single day’s worth of great content. Our pursuit is one that seeks for to create high quality work over an extended period of time, and no amount of day-to-day success is ever going to subdue that desire. The best we can do is learn to live with our drive rather than letting it rule over us, and that begins by learning to relax. I know that may sound like a foreign concept to many writers reading this now, but it’s true. If you cannot relax then you cannot create your best work, and if that happens that constant itch to create something truly great will slowly begin to eat you alive.
Before your passion gets the best of you, use the tips below to shake off the stress of creating content and find what I assume I probably some much needed rest. You deserve it.
It’s never a bad idea to have a plan. In fact, it’s a damn good idea.
I wish someone had told me when I was just starting out that life as a writer is 100x easier when you have a plan. More specifically, life is easier when you have a content calendar that outlines every major feature and piece of content you will need to create in the next several weeks, as well as the deadlines to complete each item. Doing this periodically makes it easier to plan your day-to-day work load, which in turn lowers your stress. You know what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and exactly how much time you have to get everything accomplished. For added help, I suggest making daily to-do lists as well. I use Asana to make mine, but you can use whatever works best for you.
Even if you have a plan, be careful not to take on too much at once.
When I first started making calendars and to-do lists I thought it best to try and see just how many things I could accomplish on any given day. I would make lists with twenty or thirty tasks, and anything left incomplete at the end of the day would be the first thing tackled the following morning. What I didn’t realize at the time, and what I hope to save you from now, is that leaving so many tasks unfinished made it impossible for my mind to fully shutdown at the end of the day. Whenever I wanted to get up from my desk and walk away I would see them, mocking me from the page, and I would feel as if I had somehow failed myself by leaving them incomplete. Sometimes this forced me to stay up late, cranking away on subpar content because at least it would be completed, but other times I would walk away online to find the need to do more work keeping me up at night. No one was telling me I wasn’t doing enough other than myself, but that was the only voice I needed to hear to feel inadequate.
Educate yourself
The more you know about how the independent music and digital journalism world works, the better prepared you’ll be to conquer it. This is the entire reason the Haulix blog you’re reading right now even exists: Education. Every member of our staff learned about the industry through trial and error. No one held our hand or showed us what to do. We simply woke up every morning and dedicated ourselves to improving what little skills we had and in time things slowly began to improve. Looking back now we realize that was the hard way to learn about life in music, so we created this blog to make life in music easier for future generations.
Step away from the laptop. Put down your phone. Walk outside. Breathe.
Chronic stress is the response to emotional pressure suffered for a prolonged period over which an individual perceives he or she has no control. This is a good way to explain how most writers feel in the digital age. We know we can create great content given time and space, but there is a constant demand from the world at large to produce more and more content and it’s easy to perceive that cry for posts as a call that must be answered. After all, it’s because of our readers that we creatives have a purpose in the first place.
Before you can give your readers what they need you must first care for your own well being. Planning and organizing will get you far, but in order to truly shake off the stress and worries of life in writing you need to disconnect. You need to close your laptop, put your phone in ‘airplane’ mode, step outside, and breathe. Take a walk, take a nap, catch a movie (that you don’t review), or call a friend and catch up. Find something that has nothing to do with your writing and let it be the only thing you focus on for a period of time. Your mind needs time to rest, just like your body. You can only push yourself so far before your work will begin to suffer, and if you continue to push beyond that point things will only go from bad to worse for everyone involved. Trust me – it’s okay to unplug. Just do 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.
The alternative music scene was rocked over the weekend by the news popular music blog PropertyOfZack will cease operations at some point in the coming days. This marks the end of the site’s six-year existence, which saw it flourish from an unknown Tumblr entity into one of the most recognized alternative music blogs in the world. During that time, founder Zack Zarrillo and his team of contributors broke major stories, introduced the world to bands who would later captivate the entire scene, and somehow found a way to make an entire new generation of music news readers appreciate well-written editorials. Things were not always easy, but the site found a way to continue on. That is, until now.
Writing to readers of the site in the post that announced plans to end POZ’s run, Zarrillo explained his decision by stating:
“My life is in a period of deep change and instead of risking integrity, happiness, or feeling guilt – I would rather PropertyOfZack say goodbye the right way. Timing is everything, after all. I haven’t looked at our traffic in many months, but I appreciate the dedicated daily, weekly, or monthly readers of the site now more than ever. I’d rather bid you a proper farewell than a lackluster finale. Burn out, not fade away.”
I see a variation of that quote, “it’s better to burn out than to fade away,” at least once a month. Most who use it probably don’t realize it was made famous in Kurt Cobain’s suicide note, and even less probably know that its origin is actually from the song “My My, Hey Hey” by Neil Young. It’s rumored that Young based the line off president Millard Fillmore’s famous quote, “It’s better to wear out than rust out,” but that rumor has never really been confirmed or denied. The point is, many people have used this sentiment to represent many different types of change throughout time. In the case of Kurt Cobain, it seems he believed his life were better ended on his own terms than by the slow process of decay the rest of us endure day in and day out until we expire. For Zack, the phrase means something else altogether.
I actually spoke with Zack just before the news of POZ’s end was made public. When I asked him to explain his decision making process to me, he summarized his thoughts and feelings by simply stating that it ‘felt right.’ He told me he had learned a long time ago to listen to himself and what his heart or mind was trying to say. Sometimes he fought those notions, but when he did he often found his body was right all along. He even fought himself over closing POZ before now, and in that instance he convinced himself it were better if the site lived. This time however, he knew fighting himself would be the wrong move. The time had come to say goodbye, and it was up to him to find the strength within himself to make the knowledge of that fact public.
All this discussion lead me to ask myself when I might step away. I’ve certainly had the thought cross my mind that my time could be better spent doing something that actually provided me with income or really any form of sustenance. While others my age have spent years developing a skill for a particular career I’ve been blogging about bands, many of whom don’t even know I exist, and attending an untold number of shows. This isn’t to say I haven’t had my fair share of fun, because I certainly have, but I have also noticed the way many of my peers seem to have gotten a bit further along with so-called adulthood than myself. Sometimes I wonder if that’s a good or bad thing. Maybe the fact I’m able to stay firmly planted within youth culture through my writing is a good thing. Maybe it’s keeping me young while everyone else my age has begun to transform into the lame, mostly middle-class parents they will eventually become. I can’t really tell you either way, but I can say the internal debate is ongoing.
Several people have approached me in the past week and asked me about my thoughts regarding Zack’s decision, and to each I typically reply that I cannot speak for Zack. My experience in writing has always been a personal one. The reason I started was because something inside was telling me I needed to do so, and I expect there are many writers working today who would say something similar if the question of why they began was asked of them. To write, or at least to write well, you have to give something of yourself to your readers. You have to sacrifice your time and leverage your abilities without any idea whether or not anyone else will care what happens as a result. You might write the greatest book known to man or you might spend your life churning our listicles that are forgotten almost as quickly as they are consumed. As long as you’re content with your position, or as long as you’re working to better yourself, the opinions of others should not matter. Others cannot give you success. They cannot fill that void inside that you believe writing will help cure. That is your responsibility and yours alone, so the same can be said for the decision to walk away.
The best advice that can be offered to anyone questioning whether or not they should remain in music writing is urging that person to listen to heart. That may sound corny to the nihilists and pessimists among us, but it’s the absolute truth. You know you better than anyone could hope to, even if you don’t always believe that fact, and only you can determine when is the right time to walk away from music journalism. If you feel there is more work to be done or something that simply must be said, then do whatever you must to satisfy that itch. On the other hand, if something tells you it’s time to move on, then move on. After all, you can always return.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
This blog exists to promote the future of the music industry, both from professional and creative side of the business. We achieve this goal by sharing advice columns, editorials, interviews, and similar features based around the realities of life in entertainment today. We create 99% of our content, but every so often one of our brilliant friends will share a piece with us we cannot resist place here on the company blog. We thank Andrew Jones, the man behind Checkered Owl, for the article you’re about to enjoy.
As anyone who follows this blog knows, I spend a lot of time staring at a computer screen. Like most of you a big part of my day is heavily rooted in the digital world. Skype meetings, Facebook analytics, tour booking e-mails, video editing, tweet sending, blog reading, podcast listening, podcast recording, spreadsheet creating, Spotify or iTunes spinning records in the background…etc. And more often doing 2-5 of any of the above at once. And overall this works for me. These tools all let us get a ton done every day.
However after a while I can feel the ones and zeros collecting around my brain.
They pile up.
And slowly but surely they start to clog up the system.
Creative thoughts come less easily.
Fight it.
Just like your computer, every once and a while you need to clean out all that data, re-format, and come back working more smoothly. Put down the phone, walk away.
Then come back and work twice as hard.
This post was written by Andrew Jones, editor of Checkered Owl. It originally ran on his blog, but we loved it so much we felt it deserved to shared once more on ours. If you like his work and want to read more of his writing, or if you want to be super cool and offer him full time industry employment, reach out and connect with him on Twitter.
