FEATURE:
Empty Words
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Can Independent Journalism Survive in the Long-Term?
__________
THIS is not…
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to throw shade at people who follow me on social media. 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. 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 or seven-thousand at this point -, and there are so many that do not get anything at all. That can be so disheartening and infuriating. 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. We all have busy lives, so it may not be viable to read everything people like me share. Though, 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! I know Substack is good to earn a little money, but once more, how much are you going to earn?! It seems like the chances of making any real money are slim. 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.
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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! A site that offers so much variety and such frequent content, it is almost like people go out of their way to avoid journalism! 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. If people think that artists struggle when it comes to being paid for what they produce, then look at the realities for music journalism. Though 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. Being ignored or getting very little engagement (I am aware, ironically, this feature will probably be overlooked by everyone!), having spent hours doing a feature, is galling and avoidable. 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. People might say they value independent journalism but, unless they discuss it, make sure the work is seen and shared, then it amounts to…
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EMPTY words.