Just thought I'd clarify what I meant by that slightly incendiary tweet - I am a huge believer in music journalism and any sort of arts coverage in the media. It's a big part of how I discover new music, and honestly if I wasn't so busy making music I would probably be trying to write about it.
And I'm obviously extremely grateful for anyone who has ever covered or talked about what I do. I know everyone covering music in NZ is working extremely hard and often in their own time.
My point though, and I think the biggest issue here, is that the audience just isn't there for music coverage in NZ (or anywhere, for that matter). The content being made isn't reaching anyone. I loved the Amplified series that Jess Fu made with The Spinoff this year but most of those videos are sitting at around 500 views. We can't kid ourselves that there are people clamouring to hear about new music in this country.
I was angered by the response to the article because I feel everyone is missing the point. More music coverage in NZ would be fantastic, but it would mean very little. It doesn't change the reality for artists.
Eddie! I didn't find it incendiary at all - it's a crucial part of the debate. Who is this for? is a question we absolutely have to ask. If the answer is 'no one' then I'm ready to accept that. But I'm not there just yet.
I believe there's a way to reach audiences and give artists a platform that isn't pure clickbait. But you need to build up a like-minded audience slowly, you need to make content with integrity, and you need to show up every day and put the work in. Mainstream media clearly don't have the resources to do this.
Maybe, ironically, that's what I'm doing right here, right now?
I guess we'll see eh.
Would love to catch up btw - I think I saw you at the Skrillex show? What did you think?
I truly believe, or maybe it's just hope, that the role of the music, arts, entertainment journalist will again become key to our ability to participate in this world. Why? Because there is too much, and it's too easy to 'create, and I'm too busy to take the time to understand the context/history/nuance of it all. And eventually, we'll become tired of trying to figure this out ourselves and look back to the professionals/experts in the field to guide us through it.
It's that time of year where the old spotify wrapped comes out - and mine is going to basically be the same as last years, and the year before. The effort to go through what feels like all of the world's music, is just too much - so i go back to what I know and love - guaranteed enjoyment with no risk. It's the same with netflix. It's the same with everything.
That's not what I want - I want to be exposed to new music, and new arts, and new experiences. And we'll again turn to writers, commentators and experts in this field to support us to find those amazing things. Hopefully, there'll still be people around to do that for us.
We won't find in on 'mainstream' media channels, for now at least. Substack and the like will play a critical role in fixing music journalism. Writers like yourself will keep fighting the good fight, and eventually the 'mainstream' outlets will look up and start using it for their channels (like we see with Dylan Cleaver, and Bernard Hickey), and it'll breathe new life into the whole scene.
I'm being naive. I'm being overly optimistic in the face of the evidence. But i have to believe that I won't be listening to NOFX forever - I just need someone to hold my hand.
Thanks for this! I feel the same way. I desperately miss reading proper longform deep dives on artists where you really feel like a writer got under their skin. I still remember the best of them: The White Stripes cover story in Blender mag; the on-tour-with-Aldous-Harding piece in Q, and Metro's Lorde feature. Substack is definitely growing and the community is huge compared to even just 18 months ago. Let's see what we can do here :)
Good story. Although journalists writing about themselves has pretty limited traction. Or does it? It seems whinging about the 'System' and big corporates and the 'Man' shutting us down is a time honoured tradition
If you want better Arts coverage, then start writing and reviewing. Get those articles under the noses of the media companies and sell them the idea that its vital.
And maybe at least acknowledge the hard mahi that websites who run entirely on voluntary writers are making, trying to get noticed, too. You have a microphone use it to promote us and our ecosystem and then maybe we might get some support, some backing and then we can hire the journos because its not likely the mainstream are going to.
I have no idea how I missed this coverage over the last week - but it all has personally come to ahead today for me. I work vast unpaid and unfunded hours outside my full time job, on an independent music publication. Over the last 3 years we have worked tirelessly covering NZ music, with in-depth deep-dives articles, and a range of interviews across a broad range of genres and topics within the current music landscape. The day Erny Belle's sophomore album was announced, I was on the phone to their publicist, offering to do an interview that would be part of a deep dive feature - published in-print and with a photoshoot. It has felt so insulting that the discussion that has been provoked from Chris's work and the CNZ report on arts coverage has not taken a second to commend the countless independent publications who HAVE been putting in tireless hours unfunded - music.net, audioculture, nz musician, 13th floor, Newzician Magazine, but are completely unfunded and unsupported. It honestly has made me feel like nothing I do is worth any of it. I was brimming with optimism about releasing our next in-print 130 page magazine, featuring my deep dive on Erny Belle - now whats the point, NZ herald will run a one time piece on them now and we can get on with pretending like something has changed.
Kia ora Flynn, thanks for reading and reacting to this. You're right, there are GREAT music websites doing huge amounts of work in this space, and the coverage, including mine, hasn't paid enough tribute. I plan to rectify that on Monday.
Sure thing Chris - we started a magazine called Newzician during covid. Thanks for all the work you have done - and also bringing this topic into being a national discussion! It just feels like the conversation has been co-opted by some to run as a story catastrophising the state of music journalism, off the back of the mirrors report, rather than an opportunity to champion work that is being done in spite of it all.
Just thought I'd clarify what I meant by that slightly incendiary tweet - I am a huge believer in music journalism and any sort of arts coverage in the media. It's a big part of how I discover new music, and honestly if I wasn't so busy making music I would probably be trying to write about it.
And I'm obviously extremely grateful for anyone who has ever covered or talked about what I do. I know everyone covering music in NZ is working extremely hard and often in their own time.
My point though, and I think the biggest issue here, is that the audience just isn't there for music coverage in NZ (or anywhere, for that matter). The content being made isn't reaching anyone. I loved the Amplified series that Jess Fu made with The Spinoff this year but most of those videos are sitting at around 500 views. We can't kid ourselves that there are people clamouring to hear about new music in this country.
I was angered by the response to the article because I feel everyone is missing the point. More music coverage in NZ would be fantastic, but it would mean very little. It doesn't change the reality for artists.
Eddie! I didn't find it incendiary at all - it's a crucial part of the debate. Who is this for? is a question we absolutely have to ask. If the answer is 'no one' then I'm ready to accept that. But I'm not there just yet.
I believe there's a way to reach audiences and give artists a platform that isn't pure clickbait. But you need to build up a like-minded audience slowly, you need to make content with integrity, and you need to show up every day and put the work in. Mainstream media clearly don't have the resources to do this.
Maybe, ironically, that's what I'm doing right here, right now?
I guess we'll see eh.
Would love to catch up btw - I think I saw you at the Skrillex show? What did you think?
I'm not there yet, either.
We live in the age of noise. It's getting hard to hear the music for the, excuse me, streams.
In the arts, isn't instinct are our truest guide? And you Chris, have instinct... in bucket loads.
I appreciate that Sarah, thank you!
I truly believe, or maybe it's just hope, that the role of the music, arts, entertainment journalist will again become key to our ability to participate in this world. Why? Because there is too much, and it's too easy to 'create, and I'm too busy to take the time to understand the context/history/nuance of it all. And eventually, we'll become tired of trying to figure this out ourselves and look back to the professionals/experts in the field to guide us through it.
It's that time of year where the old spotify wrapped comes out - and mine is going to basically be the same as last years, and the year before. The effort to go through what feels like all of the world's music, is just too much - so i go back to what I know and love - guaranteed enjoyment with no risk. It's the same with netflix. It's the same with everything.
That's not what I want - I want to be exposed to new music, and new arts, and new experiences. And we'll again turn to writers, commentators and experts in this field to support us to find those amazing things. Hopefully, there'll still be people around to do that for us.
We won't find in on 'mainstream' media channels, for now at least. Substack and the like will play a critical role in fixing music journalism. Writers like yourself will keep fighting the good fight, and eventually the 'mainstream' outlets will look up and start using it for their channels (like we see with Dylan Cleaver, and Bernard Hickey), and it'll breathe new life into the whole scene.
I'm being naive. I'm being overly optimistic in the face of the evidence. But i have to believe that I won't be listening to NOFX forever - I just need someone to hold my hand.
Thanks for this! I feel the same way. I desperately miss reading proper longform deep dives on artists where you really feel like a writer got under their skin. I still remember the best of them: The White Stripes cover story in Blender mag; the on-tour-with-Aldous-Harding piece in Q, and Metro's Lorde feature. Substack is definitely growing and the community is huge compared to even just 18 months ago. Let's see what we can do here :)
Good story. Although journalists writing about themselves has pretty limited traction. Or does it? It seems whinging about the 'System' and big corporates and the 'Man' shutting us down is a time honoured tradition
If you want better Arts coverage, then start writing and reviewing. Get those articles under the noses of the media companies and sell them the idea that its vital.
And maybe at least acknowledge the hard mahi that websites who run entirely on voluntary writers are making, trying to get noticed, too. You have a microphone use it to promote us and our ecosystem and then maybe we might get some support, some backing and then we can hire the journos because its not likely the mainstream are going to.
Thanks Tim, I'm definitely doing this - I was going to squeeze that in here but ran out of space. It will be a separate post soon, promise :)
I have no idea how I missed this coverage over the last week - but it all has personally come to ahead today for me. I work vast unpaid and unfunded hours outside my full time job, on an independent music publication. Over the last 3 years we have worked tirelessly covering NZ music, with in-depth deep-dives articles, and a range of interviews across a broad range of genres and topics within the current music landscape. The day Erny Belle's sophomore album was announced, I was on the phone to their publicist, offering to do an interview that would be part of a deep dive feature - published in-print and with a photoshoot. It has felt so insulting that the discussion that has been provoked from Chris's work and the CNZ report on arts coverage has not taken a second to commend the countless independent publications who HAVE been putting in tireless hours unfunded - music.net, audioculture, nz musician, 13th floor, Newzician Magazine, but are completely unfunded and unsupported. It honestly has made me feel like nothing I do is worth any of it. I was brimming with optimism about releasing our next in-print 130 page magazine, featuring my deep dive on Erny Belle - now whats the point, NZ herald will run a one time piece on them now and we can get on with pretending like something has changed.
Kia ora Flynn, thanks for reading and reacting to this. You're right, there are GREAT music websites doing huge amounts of work in this space, and the coverage, including mine, hasn't paid enough tribute. I plan to rectify that on Monday.
Can I ask which magazine you've been working for?
Sure thing Chris - we started a magazine called Newzician during covid. Thanks for all the work you have done - and also bringing this topic into being a national discussion! It just feels like the conversation has been co-opted by some to run as a story catastrophising the state of music journalism, off the back of the mirrors report, rather than an opportunity to champion work that is being done in spite of it all.