Starting your own music blog is a great way to build your writing chops and portfolio to break into the competitive world of music journalism. Music fans are a passionate lot. Whether you’re a fan of a single artist or band, or a broader musical genre, if you’ve been wondering how to start a music blog – and make it a rewarding experience — there are a few best practices you should keep in mind before taking the plunge. Hopefully, these “do’s” and “don’ts” will help you on your path to create a music blog and having a little fun along the way.
Do Have an Angle or Specialize
There are a zillion music blogs out there on the Internet. What will make yours unique? Do you plan to focus your blog on a particular musical artist (Taylor Swift?) or genre (Hip-Hop / Classical mash-ups, FTW!)? Or do you want to write news and reviews on a variety of musical genres lumped together – perhaps creating a music blog that explores pop music or different types of heavy metal?
Regardless of the type of music blog you want to create, you’ll want to narrow your focus so that you can best target your audience. If you want you blog to step outside genre constraints, consider taking a new and exciting approach to writing about music. Maybe you want your blog to offer humorous reviews of albums. Or perhaps, if you have a blogging partner-in-crime, you can tag team on album reviews for a Siskel and Ebert (or Ebert and Roper) style of reviews. It’s totally up to you!
Don’t Just Write About Your Favorite Bands
As your music blog is in its early stages, you may want to review fairly current albums that you’ve already purchased. (As a rule of thumb, try to review albums that have been released no more than four months prior. If you’re reviewing a lesser-known band that may not have been as widely reviewed online, it’s totally okay if that album is a little older.)
However, you may want to broaden your horizons and listen to other artists in your genre of specialization so you’re not bombarding your readers with reviews of your favorite bands. Add a poll to your blog to find out what bands or artists your readers are listening to and try reviewing some of those albums. Not only will you get exposed to new bands, you may just discover one you love just as much as your old favorites.
Do Embrace Your Unique Style for News and Reviews
Every writer has to find his or her own voice. While an album you’re reviewing is certainly the focal point of your piece, you definitely want to write about those artists in your own unique style. Steven Hyden of Grantland has his own style laced with humor. Other music bloggers and journalists — like Greil Marcus and the late, great Lester Bangs – take a very carefully-crafted wordsmith’s approach to writing about their subjects.
It’s not just about writing about music, one of the finer points of how to start a music blog is finding your voice and making your posts entertaining for the reader – even if they’ve never heard of the subject you’re writing about!
Don’t Be Shy About Reaching Out for Press Passes
Once you have your blog up and running – and a nice backlog of some quality posts to your credentials, you may want to expand your horizons and begin interviewing some of your favorite artists. Similar to reaching out to record labels to get on distribution lists, you can reach out to interview bands via record labels.
One way to get a number of interviews with a variety of bands – possibly even bigger name bands – is to see if a music festival is coming to town. If you’re traveling to see a festival like Burning Man or Bonnaroo, or if a touring festival like Uproar or Mayhem is coming to your town, get in contact with the promoters via the website. Reach out to them with a brief email with your credentials and request a press pass to take photos and interview bands on-site or over the phone.
Many up-and-coming bands are super accommodating and will be happy to chat with you at a scheduled time. Be respectful of their time and they will likely be respectful of yours. (Word of warning: While many bands are wonderful to deal with, not all are punctual. Take it with a grain of salt and don’t get discouraged! At the same time, don’t let yourself get jerked around, either!) Be sure to have a recording device handy to capture the audio for accuracy when transcribing, or for adding the audio of the interview to your site.
Do Get on Record Label Distribution Lists
One of the awesome things about starting a music blog is that you can get free music. (Sometimes, you can even get free DVDs and books for review, too!) In order to get new albums by their roster of artists reviewed, record labels have a list of publications and blogs where they send free digital downloads or CDs for review. This is known as a record label’s distribution list.
Once your blog is up, running, and you’re optimizing your content, you stand a greater chance of getting on the radar of record labels in your music blog’s area of specialization. Sometimes, these labels will reach out to you to review albums by some of their artists.
If you’re the type who doesn’t like to let the grass grow under your feet, you can be proactive and reach out to record labels to get your blog included on their distribution lists. Whether you’re into indie rock, hip hop, or metal, it’s important to be knowledgeable about the record labels in your genre. Take a look at these labels’ websites and find either a “Contact” form or email address of the correct person in charge of distribution lists. Send them a short n’ sweet email with your blog and credentials and let them know you’d like to review their artists.
Usually, the appropriate person will respond and ask you if you would like to review some of their newest releases. (Don’t take on more than you can handle! Always let them know how many reviews you can commit to out of the gate so you don’t suffer from Blogger Burn Out!) Labels love to get more exposure for the bands on their roster and will likely send you a complimentary digital download and press kit with info on a band to include in your review. You’re helping them do their job to spread the word and getting free music and something to write about on your blog! Everybody wins!
You can also reach out to independent artists on SoundCloud or other sites where bands host their music. These label-less bands would be grateful to have someone review their albums, too!
Don’t Feel You Have to Give Every Album a Positive Review
Just because you receive an album for free does not mean that you have to give it a positive review. Your music blog is your blog. While it’s good form to review albums that your contacts send your way, you are not obliged to give a positive review to every album that invades your eardrums.
If you’re a music blogger and critic, it’s your duty to offer honest reviews to your readers. Not everyone will agree with your review, but even a bad review of an album, song, or video may pique a person’s interest. Furthermore, you maintain your integrity and credibility as a music blogger by giving your honest assessment of a band’s latest offering.
Do Take Your Own Photos
One of the things that can set your music blog apart is to take your own photos. You don’t have to be an ace shutterbug, but a good point-and-shoot camera can give you some great, unique shots of your favorite bands and artists – particularly if you’ve gotten your mitts on a press pass and have permission to take photos in the designated press area.
As an added bonus, taking your own photo means you don’t have to worry about copyright infringement issues if you happen to use a photo of a band on your blog and don’t properly credit the source. If you’re not really comfortable behind the lens just yet, check out our post on how to find free — and legal — images for your blog and avoid problems with copyright infringement!
Don’t Get Burnt Out
Having a music blog can be a really fun, rewarding experience and a great way to build your professional skills as a music critic and journalist. But, it can also be a little draining at times. Remember: although your blog is a platform for your passion, it can also burn you out if you’re not careful. No when to say no to interviews or taking on too many albums to review at a given time. It’s more about quality than it is quantity. Good luck you on your journey!
Are you currently thinking of creating a music blog? Do you have a music blog of your own? What tips would you offer to those starting out? Let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!
