Music journalism
Kia ora.
Music journalism is a subject that’s close to my heart. I fell into journalism by falling in love with magazines like RTR Countdown and Groove Guide, and it’s always been a part of what I’ve done, whether I’ve been doing it for free at magazines like Rip It Up, or full-time for websites like Stuff, the Herald and The Spinoff.
So, it’s a big part of what I do here, too. Sadly, a lot of that coverage has been about what’s been happening lately - the downfall of Aotearoa music journalism. It’s not good news, and the facts are stark: The number of music journalists left can be counted on one hand, and coverage is spotty at best, non-existent at worst.
So, if you’re keen on a bit of a recap, here are all of the stories I’ve put together that have covered what’s been going on in that space.
Trigger warning: if you love music journalism like I do, some of this might be upsetting.
Two major music festivals received zero media coverage. Why?
“Forgive me if I get emotional for a minute, but the lack of critical music coverage in Aotearoa fucking sucks. It hurts. It means young writers don’t have the chance to write about things that really matter to them. It means artists don’t have their work highlighted for the masses. If they’re not critically appraised, then maybe they don’t get the chance to improve. It means huge cultural changes go undocumented. It starts to feel like none of this really matters.”
Rodney Fisher wants someone – anyone – to review his new album
“I’m hanging out for those moments. [Reviews] are pivotal things. I want to know what these people feel and think; I want to have that connection.”
Music journalism is broken. Is this how we fix it?
“When I started at The Press in 2007, there was an arts editor, two film reviewers, two or three cultural writers, a feature writer who specialised in culture—that’s all gone now. That’s all completely gone. I sort of aspired one day to be an arts editor. That looked like the coolest job in the world. But that ladder I was climbing—they sawed the top off it, as I was climbing. It’s kind of like... oh... okay, cool.”
What was it like writing New Mirrors? 'Bleak'.
“It's so rare to have an art story on the front page. A lot of the higher decision makers treat the erosion of cultural journalism as a foregone conclusion.”
RIP: A eulogy for Stuff's seemingly dead Music section.
“It does make me sad. It does feel personal. All those years. All that work. All those stories. All those interviews. All those concert reviews, filed after midnight, smashing out copy on my own in a dark office. I really hope I’m wrong, but they seem to be gone.”
Music journalism was the canary in the coal mine.
“The New Yorker’s eerily prescient premonition of an extinction-level event only came out in February, yet it seems to be happening faster than anyone thought possible.”
A music journalism report card: how did we get here?
“In 2024, there is so little music journalism being done that’s worth celebrating. But that Shihad story proved that even when we do it, and do it well, it gets displaced by clickbait that isn’t from here, doesn’t involve us, has no input from local writers, and covers topics already being done to death by overseas websites.”
I asked music journalists to sum up 2024. They did not hold back.
“It seems mainstream media has given up on music journalism, and as someone working for a mainstream media outlet the struggle is real to get anything music-related published. Sometimes you have to beg to get even the smallest article across the line.”