FEATURE:
Trying Times
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The Decline and Uncertainty of Independent Music Journalism
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I am still a bit angry…
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about comments James Blake made about independent journalism. He said you can’t trust bloggers and reviewers because they stopped making money and now get paid by labels to write positive reviews. Drowned in Sound, an independent music site, extended an invite to James Blake to retract his comments . Something that rightly drew a lot of backlash and condemnation. The ignorance displayed is an insult to independent music journalists. The truth is that, in a decade or so, I feel independent journalism will not exist. I am one of very few journalists who have their own site and do things without a team. I am, at the moment, the most prolific journalist in the world. I have published a feature every day for over a decade. Not missing a single day, the reason I have done this is to get my work seen. James Blake suggesting labels pay bloggers to write positive reviews is an insult to all music journalists. Tone-deaf and dismissive, we will wait collectively for his next album to come out so that we can unanimously bash it. A deserving revenge on someone who unwisely has attached and dismissed music journalism. The truth is that we are all struggling. Drowned in Sound are going to publish a print magazine and have a team working for them. I feel they will be around in years to come. However, blogs like mind do not exist anymore. Very few are starting out. When I started in 2011, there were quite a few music blogs sprouting up. They have since ceased posting. The trouble is the cost and demands of running a blog. It costs money reviewing gigs and running a blog. I can only afford to run a blog because I have a full-time job and keep things pretty simple. I do not have any videos or do a podcast. I feel the appetite for music journalism is waning. It is hard to sustain a website and get that engagement. One of the most annoying things I find is that I publish something every day, but so much of it gets overlooked and ignored.
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I am not expecting major artists to reply to my posts and share then. Though I am writing about newer artists and spotlighting them. The posts do not get any reaction from there so, more often than not, hat feature dies and does not reach a wider audience. I do think that it is good manners for artists to share a feature or engage with it. Having gone to the trouble to write about them, research, include their music and promote what they do, they are then seeing it and choosing not to share the feature. If it was NME or The Guardian then that feature would be shared. As I am a smaller blog with a small audience, artists feel it is not worth the trouble to share what I do. It does get to me. I do think independent music journalism will die in a decade. The reason I would stop is not financial or anything to do with money. It is simply the lack of appreciation and value that people place on it. I do think that if we lose independent journalists and sites then that will cause a big blow to the industry. Artists who rely on journalists like me will lose out. If all we have left is major sites and magazines then that is going to create issues. It may sound a bit bleak saying that independent music journalism will disappear, but I think that it is true. I am one of very few music blogs left. Ones that are run by a single person. I am not sure whether I will keep going decades from now. I would love to, though I am disheartened by so many features not being shared or acknowledged. I have a small following on Instagram and Twitter. Most of the engagement I get relates to my Kate Bush features. I love that, though the majority of what I do is not related to Kate Bush. I think that I have published upwards of six-thousand features. Over six-hundred a year. Major journalists like Laura Snapes and Alexis Petridis (The Guardian) are more established and have probably written more than me, yet it is easier for them to get their work read and shared because of that prestige and status. The Guardian will continue to exist decades from now. Though I worry a lot of sites will end. So many essential websites and blogs that are an invaluable source of guidance, reviews and features. I was riled and annoyed with James Blake when he unwisely took a shot at blogs and music journalists.
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It brought to the conversation the importance of independent journalism and how we would support it. I am genuinely worried I will stop blogging very soon because my work is not being seen and shared. I feel it is incumbent on artists to do more and support journalism. If I write about them and take the time to publish a future, why ignore it and feel it is not worth sharing?! It does upset me. We are in danger of seeing independent journalism die years from now. I hope I am wrong, though I feel like there is this crucial moment when we need to protect music journalism. Venues have the Music Venue Trust, which is there to protect grassroots venues. They are so essential and important. Ensuring that venues stay open and provide a platform for rising artists to shine. I do think we need something there trio protect journalism. I think we are as important as venues when it comes to new music and discovering new acts. If we see blogs and websites like mine dwindle and die then that is going to impact the industry. I disagree that we do not need music journalists. Social media does not replace journalists. What you get from music journalism is nuance and passion that you cannot get from message boards and social media. Now more than ever, there are so many great new acts coming through. They all rely on independent journalists to review and write about them. However, if we see artists like James Blake come out and say bloggers are in the pay of labels, that is then sending out a message that independent music journalism is corrupt and irrelevant. I am unique in the sense that I am the most prolific journalist in the world right now. I need to keep going and reach as many people as possible, yet so little of what I write gets shared and spread.
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Maybe I need to change my tactics. I will start a podcast one day. I think people have little patience and appetite for long-form pieces which I write. Most of what I publish is over 1,500 words. Substack is a way of getting revenue, but I do not want to charge people to read my blog. I feel if I do then that risks it reaching fewer people and northing being seen. There have been occasions when artists have shared features and been very kind. It gives me a boost and encourages me to keep going. I look around and see websites and blogs stopping. The scene shrinking and narrowing. I want to keep going for decades more, though I am depressed and annoyed that only a few people like and comment on my stuff. I am aware that artists are busy and might miss notifications, though I suspect that they are seeing my feature and not doing anything with it. In the same way David Bowie spoke to Jeremy Paxman in the 1990s and predicted the danger and rise of the Internet and was proven right, I do think that music journalism is in real danger. Whilst there are print magazines and sites continuing, there are fewer and fewer independent sites and journalists. It is paramount that we talk about how important and vital independent journalism is and how we should support sites like mine. When James Blake came out with that unwise comment, he smeared all music journalists. An attack on all of us. This was what Drowned in Sound said in their view on James Blake’s post:
“That's a bit of an eye roll after the declarative first point of his first post, isn't it? Not all journalists? (Please don't NOT ALL MENS!!! us, James)
Which reviews can't people trust and why? The ones on bloggers and playlisters that get a few quid from SubmitHub to spend time listening to hours of music in order to find something to post about whilst offering feedback to everything they hear? Or the coverage in fancy fashion magazines with 200 pages of adverts and 100 pages of editorial, whose publishers may charge the artist for the photo shoot that they can then use as part of their campaign? Or the publications that offer a package where they'll turn the magazine cover into a billboard or poster campaign across the streets of major cities? Outside of advertorials, these are some of the only examples I've caught wind of that involve any financial back and forth between labels and the media in all my years working in music. Never for reviews.
Without any clarification about who music fans can and can't trust, this is a plague on all our houses.
A Quick Open Letter To Mr Blake
James, I'm sure you understand the role media has played in your career and you admit how much it has changed. If you look around, you will also see there's a big push back against the slop era we're living through. Even magazines are popping up again (we're even launching one this autumn) and it feels as if the alg0-free print medium is likely to have a similar moment to what vinyl has had in the past decade.
If you genuinely feel bad for mispeaking and truly want to mend some bridges that are currently aflame, why not encourage your fans to follow some independent publications, radio and creators that you know people can trust? Maybe add a links page to your website? Or how about starting a trend of artists with big followings amplifying publications' social media posts about music? You could simply signal-boost music recommendations with some reposts?
Going a step further, maybe take out some adverts to directly support us and promote your latest tour or album or Patreon-like fan experiment?
If I were you, I'd take out a paid subscription to some magazines and music newsletters. Not only would it be £100-200 well spent to support media outlets but it would get a regularly delivered sense of the passion and pride most publications take in building a trusted relationship with our audiences. You would also find a pile of trusted reviews, recommending some music you might not hear otherwise.
Until we hit pause on our main website in 2019, we used to get a big arena audience of music lovers on DiS every single day, and over 2 million people on the site across the year (3 million when major artists linked to our coverage).
People like you, the music fan, reading this now, who've followed us for years, are the people that artists like Blake have been a beneficiary of reaching either because you loved his music or maybe recommended it to a friend or just supported the labels and festivals and outlets that cover him. That's how ecosystems works.
It would be overstating it to say the 50+ passionate music titles like DiS that exist around the world are the sole reason for his success (his great music did most of the heavy lifting, obvs!), but we're a cog in the system that has led to his hugely successful career that keeps him in those wide-leg designer trousers.
It's sad (in a slightly melancholic but never fully miserable kinda way... like with many of his songs) to see James Blake become a shadow of the man we thought he was (and the man Jameela Jamil often tells us he is amongst her many brilliant appearances on podcasts reminding us that together we can, collectively, overcome inequalities and that a better world is possible)”.
I will continue on and ensure that I share something every day. No other journalist is doing that. I feel I need to grind and post a lot to get the site seen and discussed. So many artists ignore what I put out and it really gets to me. I would implore them to show greater consideration and respect. It works in their favour too. It shows that they are not just concerned with what major sites and players are saying. The more press they get then the better for them. I am determined to…
KEEP going in years to come.