>All of this to say that I very much would like to do reviews on the (few) >records I receive, but I simply don't have the time for it. Some of the guys >on the list are full-time journalists for music magazines and that's a >different story. For me it's a hobby (and 'no' I'm not in it for the money, >I don't care). I usually come home from work around 8pm. By the time I have >finished eating and checking my mail it's already pretty late. It's quite >frustrating this time problem. Does anybody have similar experiences?
The fact is there is NO money in music journalism, especially not freelancing, and it's all consuming when you do it. It's one of the most underpaid, insecure and disrespected areas of the music industry. It's for underground heads with a love for the music! It really hurts me when artists *universally* diss journalists in the media as generalising about the whole profession is like putting all DJs and producers in the one category. The British media as a rule is irresponsible (refer here to Mixmag's facetious feature on Knights Of The Jaguar, July ed) but the media in other countries varies greatly. I wish to God I could get paid more per article and spend much more time doing the strong articles that I'm capable of (that's my biggest frustration) but it's simply not possible to do. Ideally I see the music writer's role as like that of a DJ to communicate about music and bring info to people. That's what the promos are for and I usually pass on spares to friends to further the cause. I lend them out to promoter friends and say, this person would be good to tour. And I often recommend music to other artists! I rarely actively seek promos from small labels as I know of their budget constraints and I feel embarassed accepting them. Also in Australia it's street press writers who have been representing and breaking certain music that NO mainstream radio would touch five years ago - like hip-hop and R&B, which has long enjoyed a strong ethnic/working class audience.
