13. Where is the most innovative music writing now? Give some detailed examples.
My prior reflections have often made reference to the introduction of blogging as a serious threat to the future of broadsheet journalism. The construct of the internet and particularly social media are in turn providing an outlet for anybody with the freedom to express their own opinion and form communities based on those points of view with a worldwide audience. The most innovative music writing I believe right now would take place in an online environment where music fans are included in a more central role in the creation of music criticism. This doesn't mean to say that traditional journalism cannot play its part, but print journalism as we know it does not give the readership a significant voice; they simply play their role as the consumer, the target demographic as it were. Music writing is a vague term in scope, but I will try to use a couple of examples here to show what I believe very much represents a potential standard format of music journalism for the future.
The first of my examples is Absolute Punk, a website which in many ways would not exist if it were not for reader involvement. In short it is a music site with blogs, reviews, forums, band profiles etc much like any online music site (Kerrang, NME). However, unlike traditional print journalism where established, salary-led publications direction is based on a particular demographic to meet economic demands, this website is maintained and supported by music fans, and therein lies the primary difference. Excluding management who oversee the sites business plan and finances, the majority if not all of the content is user-generated., meaning there is no demographic to cater to, no financial demands; the website, as mentioned above, provides an outlet for like-minded individuals to come together as an online community and discuss music. In traditional print journalism there is simply no means of providing the readership with a platform to so readily communicate to each other. I have visited the website for the past three years and in all probability accounts for 90% of my association with any form of music publication/criticism.
My second example is more suited to music writing, but I felt that the inclusion of Absolute Punk was an absolute necessary to highlight the signifiance I believe the internet plays in the creation of these online communities. Sputnik Music, much in the same vein of my first example, is an online music website consisting of music news and forums etc, but primarily album reviews, which are submitted by readers of the site. Sign up as a member is free, meaning anybody with internet access is able to pen a review of any album and upload it for submission. Each album review is then subject to praise or criticism from the online community, ranging from the prose, content or context of the article. In constrast to the balance of Absolute Punk, this website is considerably more suited to creative music writing, and traditionally users submit an increasing level of content.
Without the experience or training individuals would encounter as a print journalist, what is to say that anybody is qualified to write an album review in this context? Surely there is going to be an indefinite level of unfiltered bias? These and many other issues have arisen as a result of this format of online journalism - none of which is my concern. This question focuses on where the most creative music writing is taking place at this current moment I believe these online sites and particularly the communities that contribute towards them are significantly more creative and stimulating than the majority of current publications geared towards music criticism. We have already seen from my earlier blogs on how much of a significant role magazines and the music press play in the construction of subcultures, often defining them as they see fit. It is an intriguing thought then to consider the set of circumstances we have seen above and if there ever rose an occasion where these online hubs made the transition from the role they play today (arguably, on the periphary), to more of a central position in music criticism and what that would mean with regards to its influence on the construction of relative subcultures.
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