#168: A Closed System
A Closed System
I’m Todd L. Burns, and welcome to Music Journalism Insider, a newsletter about music journalism. I highlight some of the best stuff I hear, read, and watch every week; publish news about the industry; and interview writers, scholars, and editors about their work. My goal is to share knowledge, celebrate great work, and expand the idea of what music journalism is—and where it happens. Questions, comments, concerns? You can reach me anytime at music.journalism.insider@gmail.com. And if you're not already subscribed to the newsletter, you can do so at musicjournalisminsider.com.
Today in the newsletter: Interviews with author Ian Winwood, drum machine expert Dan LeRoy, and music scholar Dr. Julia Grella O'Connell. Plus! Reading recommendations, podcast picks, and much more! But first…
Dying To Know The Question
Source
Reading List
- Christine Kakaire talks about her media diet
- Craig Seymour interviews Shalamar in celebration of Mixmag’s 40th anniversary
- Louise Gray picks some classics from The Wire archive
- Richard Williams is featured in Rock’s Backpages this week
- Jason Koebler looks at The Cure / Ticketmaster drama
- Morgan Enos goes inside the National Museum of Gospel Music
- Yara El-Soueidi digs into local reactions to sexual misconduct allegations against Win Butler
- Saxon Baird discusses the reggaeton rhythm lawsuit
- Ashley Carman reports on Spotify’s $100 Million Diversity Fund
- John Harris says we needs to dance together
Lede Of The Week
Over the last 10 years, the UK has suffered a huge cultural loss. To some extent, it is part of the great shrinking of shared and collective space, which takes in everything from pubs and bars to community centres and libraries. But this particular change stands alone: a striking example of how something that was once thriving and important can hit the skids, and precious few people in positions of power and influence will even notice. - John Harris
Q&A: Ian Winwood
Ian Winwood is an author and journalist. His new book is Bodies: Life and Death in Music, which “explores the music industry's many failures, from addiction and mental health issues to its ongoing exploitation of artists.” He’s freelanced for the Guardian, London Times, Telegraph, Kerrang!, and many more. In this excerpt from our interview, Ian describes how his book deal came about.
In order to secure a book deal all authors are required to submit a proposal of about 10,000 words to prospective publishers, which in many ways is more difficult than writing the damn book itself. But it’s necessary because an editor who might be interested in commissioning the book has to first get the approval of other editors at a (usually) weekly acquisitions meeting. So it can be quite competitive, because of course not every proposal will be green-lit. Far from it, in fact, and other editors have their own submissions that they’d like to shepherd into print.
Although I always had a good feeling that Faber & Faber would give me a deal for Bodies, it still took a good four months of batting back and forth before I was made a formal offer. And, I’m honor-bound to say, this offer was at the lower end of the spectrum. I recently worked it out: I wrote the book for about £2.50 an hour, or roughly $2.80 an hour. If I worked quicker it would have been better, obviously, but the older I get, the more slowly I seem to write. Fortunately, though, because the book has sold surprisingly well—it’s surprised me, anyway—before too long I might earn a few bucks in royalties. You never know.
May I add, also, that I’ve included this information in the hope of being helpful to other authors who might be at the start of the process upon which I embarked. I don’t mean to complain—alright, I mean to complain a little bit—but rather to dispel any notions people might have about the reality of securing a publishing deal. It’s a staging post rather than a destination. To compensate for what will in all likelihood be a small advance, writers have to become sales people for their book once it's published. If they want it to be noticed, and read, they have to be active on social media, on podcasts, and through whatever avenues are open to them.
Read the full interview with Ian here.
A Cause Worth Supporting
From Ian Winwood:
The Music Venue Trust do great work keeping alive the small clubs at which almost all bands and artists learn their trade.
Check out all of the causes highlighted by folks I’ve interviewed.
Yup
Source
Podcasts!
- Tony Drayton talks about Ripped & Torn on The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast
- Twenty Thousand Hertz explores the resilience of insurance jingles
- Dan Charnas discusses sampling on On The Media
- Ben Sisario joins Sound Opinions to talk Ticketmaster
- Money4Nothing chats with Meredith Rose about the streaming economy
Q&A: Dan LeRoy
Dan LeRoy is an author, journalist, and teacher. He is the director of writing and publishing at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School, near Pittsburgh. His new book is Dancing to the Drum Machine: How Electronic Percussion Conquered the World. In this excerpt from our interview, Dan describes the hardest part of writing the book.
Cutting it down. I ended up chopping more than 65,000 words from the manuscript—practically a book in itself. Partly that’s because I talked to so many people; partly that’s because they gave me so much good material that I felt obligated to use as much of it as I could.
In the end, I got great advice from one of my advance readers, who also happens to be a friend of mine, and a fantastic writer himself. As he paraphrased that advice when I talked to him later: “Do you want to write the definitive, definitive history of drum machines? Or do you maybe want to sell a few books?” His point was that I was including too much material that, while it might be manna for the truly dedicated fan, was going to bog down the more casual reader. That’s always a balance you have to consider in a project like this one—but he was absolutely right.
Read the full interview with Dan here.
Trivia Time
What album did Dan LeRoy write about for the 33 1/3 series?
Pivoting To Video
- The Punk Rock MBA charts the rise and fall of rap-rock
- Nahre Sol wonders: Is classical music dying?
- HipHopMadness says R&B is officially dead
- Resident Advisor profiles two Germans who turned a boat into a club
- Trash Theory talks about the second British Invasion
Bits, Bobs
- NPR has canceled four podcasts and laid off 10% of its staff
- Jazz Journalists Association has redesigned its website
- Herman Trotter and Jud Cost have passed away
- Ken Voss has launched the Illinois Rock & Roll Music Archives
- Hear the oldest song in the world
Can Confirm
Source
Q&A: Dr. Julia Grella O'Connell
Dr. Julia Grella O'Connell is an adjunct instructor in the Department of Music and Theater Arts at SUNY Broome. She’s the author of Sound, Sin, and Conversion in Victorian England and the founder of the Risorgimento Project, a research-driven performance initiative. In this excerpt from our interview, Julia explains how her work has changed over the the past few years.
There’s no question that being a mothering scholar has shifted my perspective in ways both large and small. I left the tenure track because the needs of my family were more important. It’s a reality of life that needs to be spoken about more, and I would love to see more support for graduate students and junior scholars who are parents.
What would you like to see more of in music-related scholarship right now?
I’m greatly concerned about the failure of my discipline to create or reflect meaning in the lives of people outside of the academy. I’m hardly the only one who has noticed this, but I’m also worried that the ways this failure is being addressed will also fail. Scholarship is important to me, obviously, but we need to go outside of the academy and into the lives of our communities and use our scholarship to enhance and enrich those communities. I would like to see interdisciplinary scholarship that transcends collaboration between different departments at the university, and instead seeks to collaborate with community partners and institutions. In spite of efforts to attract scholars from historically marginalized populations, musicology is still a closed system, and it is becoming less and less relevant to the needs of ordinary people. Also, there is still an enormous class barrier in musicology. There is very little support for aspiring scholars from low-income backgrounds. This needs to change.
Read the full interview with Julia here.
A Cause Worth Supporting
From Julia Grella O'Connell:
Ronald McDonald House Charities. My youngest has a medical condition that’s required us to travel for his care. The RMHC was a haven for us. I can’t emphasize enough how the RMHC helps families with sick children, regardless of their ability to pay. If you have some extra cash lying around and don’t know who to give it to, you can’t go wrong donating it to them.
Check out all of the causes highlighted by folks I’ve interviewed.
Academic Stuff
- Registration is open for Collectives and Activists: Women Leading Change in Music
- Call for Papers: The Rhizomatic Revolution Review
- Call for Papers: Context [Submissions due April 24]
- Registration is open for the conference "Music, Research, and Activism"
- Call for Chapters: Song Studies: Approaches and Perspectives [Proposals due April 1]
The Closing Credits
Thanks for reading! In case you’ve missed any special features, I’ve published a number of them in the newsletter, including articles about music journalism history, what music journalism will be like in 2221, and much more. You can check out all of that here.
I also do a recurring column in the newsletter called Notes On Process. The premise is simple: I share a Google Doc with a music journalist where we go into depth on one of their pieces. It hopefully provides an insight into how music writers do their work. You can check out all editions of Notes On Process here.
How Can I Support The Newsletter?
Here are three easy ways you can support the newsletter:
- Forward it to a friend
- Buy me a coffee
- Become an ongoing supporter of the newsletter
What sort of perks are there for ongoing supporters?
Insider Extra - An additional e-mail from me each week, usually featuring job listings, freelance calls, and more
How To Pitch Database - Access to a database with contact information and pitching info for hundreds of publications
Reading Recommendations - Access to a resource page collecting great pieces of music journalism, sourced from great music journalists
Advice - Access to a resource page devoted to collecting advice from journalists and editors on how to excel at music journalism
Interviews - Access to the hundreds of interviews that have appeared in the newsletter, with writers and editors from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, the Guardian, and more
A Friendly Reminder
If you can’t afford to subscribe for access to ongoing supporter extras, no matter the reason, please hit me up at music.journalism.insider@gmail.com. I’ll be happy to give you a free one-year subscription to the newsletter. This offer is extended especially for college students and recent grads, but is open to anyone.
Trivia Time Answer
Dan LeRoy wrote a book about the Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique for the 33 1/3 series.
A Final Note
Thanks for reading! I make playlists from time to time. Check them out if you're interested. And full disclosure: my day job is at uDiscover Music, a branded content online magazine owned by Universal Music. This newsletter is not affiliated or sponsored in any way by Universal, and any links that relate to the work of my department will be clearly marked.
Feel free to reach out to me via email at music.journalism.insider@gmail.com. On Twitter, it’s @JournalismMusic. Until next time...