[dazedcola]

I would really appreciate some help from other people here. I've come to the decision that i want to write about music for life.I love music, I have a real passion for it and i like writing about.I've already written a few articles for a zine online.(perfect sound forever)

The problem is i know what i want to do but i dont know how to get there ? I want to eventually be writing about music for a paper or magazine but i dont know how to arrive at that point ?

Do I need a degreee from college to write about music ? When i apply for a job will they be expecting some kind of college degree thing or just for me to show samples of my work ? Do you get started in this field by interning somewhere ? Im real confused.

There must be some people here that want to do the same thing i do or just no one someone that does so they could maybe get some info to point me in the right direction.

[Sheriff Rhys Chatham]

A degree isnt needed but it would help, I suggest starting your own articles n' stuff.

[Savage Clone]

It's more important to have a strong writing voice, a way with words and a strong knowledge of your subject matter that you can convey to the average reader in a concise and interesting way. Most people will want you to show them clips of your work in order to get writing gigs. A degree is not absolutely necessary, but it doesn't hurt.

[Everyneurotic]

you need to jump to all the bandwagons your fellow writers are jumping, hype the same bands even if you don't like them; have no self esteem and be ready to get called "frustrated musician" for the rest of your life.

seriously though.

i've asked around some mags and stuff, like savage clone says, you need to have your own voice and a way with the written word or you'll be a fact checker for life. i wholly recommend you start writing for or start your own fanzine to a) refine your writing style b) get experience c) establish your name and d) build a portfolio (a selection of articles to show to your future employers).

from there, start sending resumes and asking around magazines.

[doctor dan]

im trying to get into the whole business myself, at the mo im setting up a small music/noise/art zine. i know a few people who write about music for magazines, but not on a professional basis. to start off just write. write about whatever you like, as long as it interests you and you write passionately. Then send it off to anywhere and everywhere, find as many small and local magazines and publications as you can. just be patient, and dont stop writing and berating editors. eventually, if yr writing is good, theyll start publishing it. dont bother with a degree in writing, they aint worth shit. also, college or high school newspapers are the standard place to start a writing career. no matter how crap the paper is, try and write for it- it looks great on the cv...

[Savage Clone]

Also, contact small record labels to see if they need someone to write onesheets for new releases. You probably won't get paid for this, but you can consider it an "internship" of sorts and it will look good on your resume. Also of there are any smaller events that are happening in your town, you could contact the organizer and offer to write program notes or promotional writeups for them. Think beyond just "record and show reviews" and get into all areas of music writing. There is a lot to be done out there, even if you're doing free work to build a resume for yourself. You will also need to learn to not be completely attached to your articles, as editors will chop your work into tiny pieces. A good editor and a good writer working together can be a great thing though, so don't get snippy when your stuff gets snipped.

[!@#$%!]

though i am no friend of degrees for the sake of degrees for unmotivated people, i think if you know exactly what you want a degree would be most helpful. you should really go for it.

my suggestion would be a double major in musicology and creative writing. or a major or a minor. or something like that. why? let me explain...

i have a BA in creative writing-- most fun getting it, and it gives you decent training, but when you look for a job as a writer you discover that with the explosion of the publishing industry most non-fiction writing tends to be niche-oriented, very specialized. and if you know nothing but literature, well, nobody wants to read about that shit, except for subscribers to the new york review of books. so, as a writer, what do you write ABOUT? that's the difficult part & that's where the musicology degree comes handy for you. it will give you a deeper understanding of music, a greater sense of history, and other useful tools for your articles, besides exposing you to a bit of philosophy and other tasty things.

finally, the rest of your degree-- your "electives"-- will help you relate music to other fields of culture or study, whether it be history or painting or theatre or film or what not. the so-called "liberal arts" education that comes together with a striped paper hat (ha) can actually be very useful for any kind of writer.

this i recommend as a vicarious "academic advisor" and obsessive reader. i have no direct contact with the music writing profession itself, but for that i think people have already given you advice here. keep writing throughout your studies and line up some sort of job before you even graduate.

best wishes etc etc...

[krastian]

I thought about writing for magazines until I remembered that I actually hate writing especially under a deadline......says the guy who majored in English and got a minor in Creative Writing. Who knows, I'll prob. get stuck doing something in writing anyway.

Oh and like Savage Clone says, be prepared for people to tear yr work apart....that's one good thing about having a degree....you get plenty of hands on "workshop" experience in all of the writing classes you take. Some people are complete idiots in there that are just taking the class as an elective, but you'll soon realize which people are good writers and actually give good ass advice on yr work.

The more you write the better you'll get.....plus they obviously want to see a body of work before they start throwing you some cash (which is not much of course). Kill and destroy.

[alyasa]

!@#$%! is absolutely right, the best way is to be educated in both writing and music, because being proficient in one will not entail proficiency in the other... And the BA in creative writing completely explains the brilliant nickname...

[gmku]

Most papers and magazines won't even hire you as a fact-checker, let alone as a writer, if you don't have some kind of college education behind you, preferably in journalism. The best way to find that "way with words" is to study writing/journalism in college, read a hell of a lot, practice writing a hell of a lot, and learn as much as you can about newspapers and magazines. You can be successful without it, but you have to have an extraordinary mastery of writing to do so--most writers, even the best ones, haven't been able to do that without going to school. Plus, getting a strong liberal arts education will give you a base of knowledge that will make you a smarter writer with more insight and depth in your writing.

[acousticrock87]

I think that college classes would be more helpful than the actual degree. Take journalism classes at a community college or something. It might also help you get a writing internship if you want one, but that's not necessarily something you would want if you aren't going to get the degree. If you're gonna go for the degree, take !@#$%!'s advice. A double major might be a bit difficult, but at least take classes in musicology.

Also, concentrate on grammar and style. It's not just a matter of saying something that's interesting to the reader, though that's a big part of it. How you say something is just as important when trying to gain respect as a writer. Sentence structure, uninterupted flow, giving your words personality, picking just the right word in just the right place, sounding 'educated' without sounding 'superior' - that all has an immense impact on how a writer is viewed. Learn it. Perfect it. It'll help.

[gmku]

Trust me on this, as someone in the journalism business--a serious paper or magazine won't look at you without a college degree, if you're interested in working for them or even as a regular freelancer. If they have a choice between the college grad and a non-grad, they're going with the grad. Editors want writers who've been to college, and for more than just the writing/journalism education; they want writers they know have a broad knowledge base, and have been exposed to the arts and humanities and sciences by experts so they can write intelligently about a lot of things. Unless you think you're the next Lester Bangs, you won't get very far without a degree from a good school.

[Savage Clone]

As far as regular journalism goes, you are probably right, but for music critics, you are not.
There are many people I know who do this that have been to college, and others who have not. Our local arts weekly is in the process of getting a new music editor, and the qualifications they listed include a strong writing voice, knowledge of local and international music, eclectic taste and a strong drive to cover the local scene, as well as submissions of clips. A degree was not mentioned at all.
This isn't even a freelance position, it's a paying staff position at a good local paper.
Music critics can get a lot farther on style, skill and knowledge without a degree than most "journalists" can without one. I'm just saying.
The four-year liberal arts college degree is the biggest scam ever. The employment culture perpetuates it by inflating the importance of the piece of paper, which is sad. In some ways it makes life easier, but in other ways (like being tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt by the time you're 22 years old with a degree in an area of study that is not generally considered financially lucrative) it is not so great.
I personally majored in English/writing, and dropped out in mid-senior year with no regrets. I thought it was a huge waste of time and money on a degree that is far from a meal ticket on the best of days (Business and science maybe, but writing? I think not), and learning things in supposedly "senior level" writing classes that I learned in my 9th grade honors English classes in a public high school.
If you have a portfolio of clips and have been published, you can get freelance gigs and build yourself up. A degree is very helpful in a lot of instances sure, but not completely necessary.

[gmku]

Those are good points. However, I'm a huge believer in a liberal arts educatoin for the sake of a liberal arts education. It's simply a very enriching experience and education whose value goes well beyond what the piece of paper means or the employment opportunities. I think that kind of enrichment repays any writer or critic, or anybody for that matter, in untold ways for a lifetime.

[Savage Clone]

You might be right there, but they should be free like high school in that case.

[gmku]

In a perfect world, yes.

Nevertheless, it's still the best way to spend 4-5 years of your life, in my opinion, especially when you're 18-22. It's certainly the last time when nobody expects you to be responsible for much more than learning about the world. It's certainly the last time you'll have that kind of luxury.

[Cantankerous]

here's a start: don't try to be _________ (lester bangs, jann wenner, whoever)

[jon boy]

fuck as many people in the industry as is possible.

all i can suggest is that you write from the heart and develop you own writing style instead of emulating others. burroughs used to say that writing was a dangerous business and i tend to agree.

[Cantankerous]

don't let friendship get in the way of business.

if you're writing for a magazine, DO NOT under any circumstance let the editor/publisher tell you what to write. if they try to do that, tell them to fuck off.

[gmku]

Originally Posted by Cantankerous

don't let friendship get in the way of business.

if you're writing for a magazine, DO NOT under any circumstance let the editor/publisher tell you what to write. if they try to do that, tell them to fuck off.

Ha! Yeah, great advice! Piss off your editors and publishers! And then after that, put your computer in storage, cuz you ain't gonna be publishing anything for a loonnnng time.

Ha!