never Miss a beat

One of the most touching responses received following my previous blog post on the weekend is from a struggling music writer in the Republic of Ireland. I knew when I set my sights on music journalism that I had to move to London. The most relevant role I’d had up until then was at culture listings title The List in Edinburgh - I commuted from Glasgow every day. The importance of Glasgow as a music landmark cannot be understated, and yet there was little opportunity there for aspiring critics. Over to Ian…

 

On 22/11/2011 17:18, "Ian Maleney" wrote:

Hi Eve,

My name is Ian Maleney, I'm a freelance music writer from Dublin. I just wanted 

to email you about your blog post, The Problem With Music Critics, which I 

thoroughly enjoyed! I agree with the overall sentiment of the post and enjoyed 

reading it, but what Sean Adams said about there being no music press left for 

those coming up now really struck a chord with me. While there are problems in 

the UK, it pales in comparison to the shadow of a press we have here.

There are practically no young writers (by young I mean under thirty) working 

full time in the popular music press here. I can name a couple who do some 

work, but very, very few who make a living from it. I don't really count myself 

as one because I have other incomes (superstar DJ...) and most of the others 

I know are on social welfare/rent allowance/living at home. The main problem, 

as I see it, is two-fold. One, no one here has figured out how to make internet-

based media financially viable. There is one Irish website which pays its contributors, 

and it doesn't pay much. Two, what's left of the old guard have refused to move 

with the times. There has been no attempt to revitalise the print media industry 

here, no attempt to bring in new writers and new voices. I know it is not out of 

lack of passion, I know many of the writers and editors involved at that level 

and they do the best they can, but they are hamstrung by those above them 

with their eyes on the bottom line. That's obviously important, but the 

sacrifices that are made seem to impact our field more than anywhere else. 

I fear this is likely to continue and the decline in quality and enthusiasm will 

only increase.

One thing that genuinely worries me is the lack of space for actual criticism. 

Not just for indie music or pop music or "the avant-garde", but all sorts. 

Everything has become focused on interviews and reviews, with no outlet 

for extended criticism beyond personal blogs. No one here, and I know this must 

be a problem for the established writers too, has the space to think out loud 

anymore. There are no opinion pieces, no open-ended columnists, and I think

it is beginning to show. If a developing writer sees only 75-word reviews and 

300-word profiles of already-established artists, then why would they take the 

time to extend their thoughts and push themselves beyond that? They know it 

wont ever get published, so there is no incentive. Passion will carry them 

through for a while but eventually reality will bite and bite hard.

There are some writers that I look up to around the world, some in full-time 

positions, most not. Some are young, some are older, but they all still have 

the passion for it. A handful that I can think of write regularly for print media. 

Mark Richardson, David Toop, Nitsuh Abebe, Alex Ross, etc. Sean mentioned 

Wendy Roby and she is constantly inspiring. I don't really know what more to 

say, but I hope your blog post does some good. Maybe some more editors will 

begin to commission young, talented, enthused writers and begin to turn the tide. 

I doubt it, but I have to hope. My own future depends on it.

Anyway, thanks for reading if you got this far, I'd love to hear from you if 

you've any more thoughts on things.

All the best,

Ian

-- 
Freelance writer. Currently scribbling away for Dummy Mag, State, AU, 

Thumped and International Tapes, amongst many others.

http://ecriturescompletes.wordpress.com/