FEATURE:
Empty Words
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Can Independent Journalism Survive in the Long-Term?
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THIS is not…
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to throw shade at people who follow me on social media I love them and they are a big reason why I publish features.. However, as I have been writing and publishing to my blog for almost fourteen years now, there was this expectation that I would have reached a certain audience by now. In terms of who is reading and how many people are sharing my work. I publish a lot of features about Kate Bush and they, by far, are the most popular and discussed. I value that a lot and appreciate everyone who interacts with them. It means the world to me. However, the vast majority of my output does not relate to Kate Bush! I have published thousands of features – I am not sure of the exact amount, though it must be close to six thousand at this point -, and there are so many that do not get anything at all. That can be so disheartening and confusing. I am not pumping stuff out for the hell of it! Everything I do, I am committed to and want people to read. It is so hard to get an audience for journalism that is perhaps seen as drier or less engaging than those who make podcasts, post videos and do recorded interviews. However, this is the type of journalism that pre-dates all of the modern influence and has a place today. Maybe the bigger music websites who I would not class as truly independent, combined with the big magazines and those who have been around for decades, are those that can get a big audience and share more in terms of videos and more dynamic and ear-catching options. I have seen so many websites either go dormant or close shop, as people are not reading. Making money from them is the main reason people stop doing it, rather than a lack of passion.
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If you run a website, there is this desire to review gigs and speak with artists. You either have to hope that an artist will give you a ticket and you can see a gig for free to review or they will do a reduced rate. Also, traveling to interview people and the realities of doing that for years does mean people go into the red. Holding down a full-time job, having time to do this and the money too is almost impossible to balance. I very occasionally go to gigs because of a tight budget. I am not in a position to review gigs regularly and pay full ticket price, as much as I would like to. Also, going to visit artists to chat to them is hugely costly. I get all of that. However, there is still enormous worth in journalism where words and research are presented. On the screen without videos or anything audible (apart from songs that are included). I always felt, if a journalist interviewed me and said I could come up with a photo concept for the main image, I would have a black-and-white portrait-sized image with me as a mime artist looking distracted or sad and looking to the side as there are broken plates on the floor. It would be this symbolism of someone who is not being heard or whose voice does not matter. That may seem dramatic, though many journalists feel this way. In terms of money, Taylor Swift has literally earned more than me in the time it takes you to read this line of text than I have made from journalism in fourteen years! It is not about work rate and worth. Massive artists can make a lot of money whilst the rest cannot. For journalists, it is even bleaker. It is no longer viable to rely on making it a paying career and the few fortunate ones that do are not being paid much.
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I feel, if we are to see independent journalism continue, and it really does need to survive and flourish, then the work needs to be shared and appreciated more. Funding and money needs to be available to music journalism. We cannot do the work for free. What is frustrating for me is that I know I could not realistically charge for people to view my content, and I feel that would drive people away. We need to keep music journalism free, I feel. This month alone, I have written so many interesting features that have got nothing. Or view little in terms of interaction. Given the hours dedicated to producing those features and the time sacrificed, it makes me wonder whether independent journalism can ever survive. Unless you are an established brand or you have this growing and willing audience, how pragmatic is for me and few like me to gain a foothold and remain years from now?! The only way I can keep going is by keeping my site free and my costs low. The only think I pay for is website subscription and domain name. I will buy albums now and then, yet gigs are a luxury rather than a necessity. Also, given the fact that I do not have a huge following, I cannot realistically charge people for looking at my stuff. I don’t engage with advertisers as I hate it and it always gambling sites and sh*ts like that I want nothing to do with! For me, I want my work shared because, the more people that see it, the more people follow me. Major artists and labels might then read something I do and that provides opportunities. Low engagement and poor metrics is not attractive for artists when you approach them for interviews. But I know this is not the fault of my followers and people who view my work.
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Rather than this being a personal gripe and something unique to me, look around and think about the independent websites that have endured for as long as mine (since 2011). The pool is getting smaller and smaller. Unless you can find a revenue stream that earns you enough to be ambitious regarding content and what you share, then most people will have a short lifespan. I want to keep going for decades more, though I would say the vast majority of everything non-Kate Bush-related I publish ever gets no likes/shares/comments - or maybe one or two. I have thousands of people following me, so I am bewildered why it so low. Though, as I said to start, those people who do interact with my features (especially the Kate Bush ones) I have so much respect for. I am hugely appreciative! Again, unless you are an NME, MOJO, The Guardian or one of the big websites, then how viable are long-term ambitions?! Even well-known websites ask for donations and contributions. I had published this article (weeks ago) and then read a new Substack post by (The Anchoress (Catherine Anne Davies). She asks the question about a music press that is disappearing. After recently a Substack from Charli xcx, where she writes about the realities of being an artist, The Anchoress’s post shines a light on the music press. Its future. Artists writing these timely and important pieces. I want to source from it. For any artist, coverage and attention from the music press is key. You finish an album and want it to be heard, shared and analysed. If some feel social media and TikTok substitutes music press in the modern age, you cannot replace the devoted, human, detailed and passionate words from journalists! How this is much more valuable to artists:
“After the release of The Art Of Losing, I got to talk to thoughtful journalists about what it meant to make a record that navigated so much loss and darkness. Apart from one very bizarre encounter with a guitar website, everyone treated the themes that the album touched upon with sensitivity and curiosity. While some musicians might moan about having to “do press”, I have always adored this part of the job. Getting to talk to intelligent and like-minded folk about the work you have made and even, sometimes, making some dear friends along the way - as I did with this interview with Marc Burrows for The Quietus back in 2016 - is certainly nothing to grumble about.
Now that this new studio album is almost in the bag—not counting Versions that came out in 2023—I can only hope to achieve half of the acclaim that The Art of Losing did. But so many publications have closed since then or have so drastically reduced their culture coverage that they are now only covering one or two albums a week, rather than the healthy handful every weekend that might have just introduced you to your new favourite band or artist in the past.
“I grew up devouring the music press and I’ll always be incredibly grateful for the journalists that take the time to really listen and absorb what it is you’ve spent such a long time trying to make and do. I have always been and will always be a huge fan of writing about music, as much as I am of listening to it and creating it. It’s sad to see that so much of the music press has been decimated by the changing times and I’m still such a huge advocate of subscribing to print magazines and really savouring reading them cover to cover every month”.
Often working for very little economic compensation, or none at all, these highly knowledgeable and passionate folk are as crucial to the alternative music scene as any independent venue. In a world where approximately 120,000 new songs are released every single day on Spotify, how can you hope to cut through and build a fanbase as a new artist without these curators to amplify what you have been slaving over in the studio?
When we talk about saving the industry, we must also always think about supporting the magazines, newspapers and journalists that deeply enrich and give more meaning to the music that we slave over. It’s an ecosystem”.
Maybe I am directing my annoyance at the wrong people. Rather than bemoan those who follow me and do not interact, it is worth reflecting on something The Anchoress noted. How so much money from music marketing is funnelled to huge tech giants like Google. I am constantly seeing websites and music journalists reach out to their audience for financial assistance. Whilst some have been saved from the brink and continue, others have sadly had to close. The Anchoress also points out how the music is only half of a conversation with a listener: the music press provide the other half. Their interpretation of albums and songs. The interviews that allow us insight into the artist and their creative process. Something that is invaluable and cannot be replaced by social media or even A.I. If people think that artists struggle when it comes to being paid for what they produce - which they do enormously and it is outrageous -, then look at the realities for music journalism. A world with little to no music journalism will directly affect artists and those coming through. Without that invaluable radar, how viable is their growth and survival in the industry? I can appreciate artists do this full-time and it is their job, whereas people like me have a job. It is about appreciation and feeling what you do has relevance and value. Independent journalism needs to survive and, we need to let people know that it has a future. If only the bigger sites can get traction and survive then that is bleak. I am not sure what the solution is regarding the survival (and growth) of music journalism, though one feels, not too far from now, there will be very little left. That would be a loss that would not only impact artists, but every music lover out there. It is a potential reality that is stark and needs to be avoided. The question is…
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HOW do we prevent further decline?!