14. What is the difference between fan-writing and music journalism?
If anything, this question should be considered an extention of my previous posting; what I consider right now to be a source for some of the most creative music writing at present is fan-writing. However, as for the differences between fan-writing and traditional music journalism, there are some key differences. The first and most obvious of which is the freedom fan-writers have. As we've seen from websites such as Sputnik, fuelled by user-generated material, are 'free from the constraints of maintaining readerships, fanzines don't have to worry about being identified with a scene that has become passe' (Thornton, 1996). Another difference to consider is the position fan-writing occupies almost as a subculture to the traditional aspect of music journalism; 'presented as an alternative to mainstream media because of their existense outside of the economics of traditional media, giving them a subversive power and a way to participate in the art they are a fan of' (Wodtke, 2008)
Another key difference between both fan-writing and music journalism is the basis on which the content is generated. The large majority of fan-writing is unpaid, as opposed to music journalism which is traditionally generated by publications with paid staff. This leads me onto another issue and that is one of bias. Many would argue that the majority of fan-writing is far more in favour of said artists and to an extent I would agree with this, but should an article be considered professional or more respected just because the author is being paid to write set piece? By contrast there are articles or album reviews I have read online which, despite being submitted by a user of the website and by no means a 'professional' journalist; their prose and analysis of the particular subject has been considerably more accomplished than past articles I have read from established publications.
THORNTON, S., 1996. Club Cultures: Music, Media and Subcultural Capital. Hanover: NH: Wesleyean UP.
WODTKE, L., 2008. MP3 Blogs and Burke's Dramatism. Does NME even know what a music blog is? The Rhetoric and Social Meaning of MP3 Blogs [online], p. 52 [viewed 8 May 2011]. Available from: http://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/bitstream/10012/3997/1/Final%20Draft%202.pdf
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