Shelley Marie Hanvey

Student Number: 1223962

Title: Claim for Accredited Previous Experiential Learning (APEL)

Subject: Writing for the Web

Introduction

This is a 40 credit APEL claim at level 7, detailing my experiential learning in writing for

regional print press and the web, as a freelance music reviewer. I write for eFestivals

website and for my own WordPress blog.

My claim concerns three areas in which I will demonstrate my experiential learning in:

 

i. The critical understanding of my writing skills for the web

ii. The development of my communication skills, particularly when engaging with

music industry contacts such as promoters, PR and record label management

iii. The development of a personal online blog

In the process of working on the above elements of my freelance writing career, I was

also able to enhance my skills of corporate communications, encapsulating press, PR,

artist liaison/networking, marketing and promotions.

Background

In 2000, I graduated from Liverpool John Moore’s University with a BA (Hons) degree in

English Language and Literature. It had been my intention to pursue a career in

Marketing and I subsequently enrolled to complete the Chartered Institute of Marketing

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(CIM) Advanced Certificate at the University of Salford. I had held several administrative

roles whilst studying for my degree and was now working full-time as PA to the Managing

Director of Guardian Series Newspapers.

Writing had always been a passion of mine and I was encouraged by a journalist friend to

start writing live music reviews for the entertainments section of the Warrington Guardian

newspaper. I have loved going to music concerts from an early age and he identified this

passion as the ideal starting point for such a role. I had previously considered offering my

writing services in such a manner, but I wasn’t sure whether my pieces would be

published as they hadn’t been written by a qualified reporter. After an initial chat with the

sub-editor and reassurance that a journalism qualification would not be required, I set

about steadily building a portfolio of reviews and one-off editorial features for local

unsigned bands in the Liverpool and Manchester region. I learnt my trade on the job as I

was required to make contact with the bands’ management or press representative in

order to book interviews, arrange guest list passes and to forward the final review piece

after the show. As my portfolio grew, I began to build close working relationships with my

music industry contacts. I took a great pride in being approachable and reliable, whilst

being respected for my opinions and the quality of my written work. Kolb and Fry (Kolb &

Fry, 1975) suggest that the experiential learning process often begins with a person

carrying out a particular action and then seeing the effect of the action in this situation.

They define the next step as understanding these effects and the general principle which

has been applied in carrying out this action. When the general principle is understood,

Kolb outlines the last step as ‘application through action in a new circumstance’. In the

process of making contact with music industry colleagues, requesting to review artists on

their roster and producing editorial features, I was able to develop and use my concrete

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experience of this process in order to gain insider knowledge of the industry and its

characteristics, to be creative and to use feedback and positive praise so that I might

perfect my own approach and practices.

I continued to write for the publication until I left the company in 2008, and began working

at the University of Chester as an Executive Secretary. In 2009, I was approached by the

editor of eFestivals website who had read some of my reviews online, and asked whether

I would be interested to write for the website on a freelance basis. The website has an

excellent reputation and is respected throughout the festival industry, for providing up to

date news and resources for festival-goers across the UK and Europe. The site was

created in 2000, having grown out of the original Glastonbury Festival website. I was

particularly keen to review the wide range of festivals that the website covers, from small

independents to large-scale commercials. After accepting the reviewing role and covering

the Cambridge Folk Festival and several small scale indie-rock festivals in Cheshire and

Manchester, I also began to write for their sister site, eGigs, which features reviews of live

music shows. I was asked to focus on, and now specialise in, the genres of folk, pop and

electronica.

I grew in confidence after receiving positive feedback from artists, record label and PR

contacts on the quality and creative approach to my writing. I was told that it had been

my proactive approach to requesting guest list passes and the fact that I had taken full

responsibility for my work that had garnered such praise. Unlike fellow reviewers, I chose

not to rely on the editor to make guest list arrangements, as I had been aware of his time

limitations and tendency to not always follow up on administrative matters. Whilst

reviewing a festival on-site, I have always aimed to exceed expectations by adding value

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to my editorial. I do this by arranging artist interviews post performance, taking

photographs and arranging to meet the festival organizers. My ability to make such

arrangements varied according to the approachability of festival staff and in some

instances, I found such communications particularly challenging and demotivating. I

found that artists were more willing to engage in conversations, as they were no doubt

acutely aware of their need to court press attention, particularly those reviewers from

online publications with a genre specialism, such as myself. Security staff were not

always so approachable however, which meant that I had to spend more time explaining

my intentions, providing references and personal identification. I believe that my

approachability and flexibility in this regard had been viewed as a particular strength, yet

on reflection I might have sought to make such arrangements and enquiries prior to the

weekend of the festival. I therefore amended my practice accordingly and now find the

process to be much more streamlined. My divergent learning style meant that I was able

to see the process from the perspective of security staff and this enabled me to be

imaginative in the way in which I would approach my request for artist access. Schon

(Schon, 1987) describes this process as being ‘reflective-in-action’.

After a few months of festival reviewing, I started to think about diversifying my writing in

order to include local theatre and comedy reviews. I wanted to challenge myself as a

writer and to step outside of my comfort zone. This task was made possible by utilizing

those industry contacts that I had made over the previous seven years. I needed a

platform on which to publish these new reviews, and in early 2010 I set about developing

a personal blog via WordPress.

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i. The critical understanding of my writing skills for the web

Prior to working for Guardian Series Newspapers, I had often felt constrained whilst

writing, particularly in an academic context with regards to prescribed assignment

structures and word counts. When I began writing live music reviews, I found it quite

challenging to submit a piece of work and have the copy edited, sometimes to the extent

where I no longer recognised my own voice in the article and felt that the flow of the piece

had suffered as a result. Paginations at the newspaper had been consistently cut due to

financial pressures and the entertainments section was regularly the first to take a hit due

to local news, jobs and editorial features taking priority, as these sections tended to yield

the most advertising revenue. I did not always agree with the way in which my reviews

had been edited and at times felt that the message or context of the piece had been

compromised. Working outside of the editorial function, I didn’t feel that it was my place to

take this matter up with colleagues. Had I not identified myself as a writer, perhaps I

would have taken these deletions more at face value, instead of taking them as a

personal – and rather defensive - slight on my writing skills. The idea of being free of

such constraints and essentially taking on the role of sub editor myself, are what

appealed to me most about writing for the web.

The mission of the eFestivals website is to provide reviews for the fans, by the fans. As

such, the editor performs a relatively perfunctory role of overseeing the uploading of

content. Reviews are not edited, which in my opinion isn’t a positive thing as quality and

accuracy tend to suffer as a result. I feel that this portrays the rest of the website and its

reviewers in a bad light, meaning that I have to work twice as hard to create a good first

impression with dealing with industry contacts, in order to counteract any initial

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reservations on their part about collaborating with the website and granting press passes.

Again, this is the main factor that I appreciate most about writing for my own blog; I

determine the value of a blog post, how best to write it and at what point it is good

enough to be published. Writing for the web is extremely freeing on the one hand, but the

traditional skills of good writing (Garrand, 2001) such as the need for grammatical

accuracy, simple sentence construction, the use of an active voice, the avoidance of

jargon or technical terms and knowledge of your subject and chosen audience are still

vital. To attract and retain a readership base and truly make a connection, bloggers must

have a distinctive voice; uploading republished print articles or ‘shovelware’ is

immediately recognisable and shows a distinct lack of creativity – the opposite of what I

believe a good writer should be. When I started writing my blog posts, I followed a very

similar set of guidelines to those listed by Bradshaw and Rohumaa (Bradshaw &

Rohumaa, 2011) (pg. 19), as the key to effective online journalism: ‘writing an

introduction-as-summary, including subheadings as entry points for the reader, using

indented quotes, hyperlinks and emboldened/highlighted words’. My blog posts differ in

one respect however; I tend to create and pride myself on my rather ambiguously

sounding headlines. Examples include: ‘Even Reg, his giant spectacles and BFG-sized

creative wisdom couldn’t hold them back; Empire of the Sun release new track ‘Alive’

(published April 17th, 2013) , ‘Lipstick, the male Lana, Little Boots and Lucy’ (published

February 26th, 2013), ‘A modern-day, musical Jackson Pollock – Charlene Soraia’s

medicinal vocals produce erratic and effulgent images’ (published January 11th, 2013)

and ‘A hospital for the stressed, a cathedral for the spiritual; review of Richard Hawley at

Manchester Academy’(published October 1st, 2012). When I started writing for the web, I

wasn’t aware of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or Google search rankings and I felt a

sense of security in the notion that if my headline sounded ambiguous, I in turn would

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appear more knowledgeable and academically relevant to both readers and fellow

bloggers. As my confidence and writing skills grew, I no longer placed such importance

on how I appeared and started to enjoy developing my own personalised writing style.

Jute (Jute, 1992) (pg. 17) refers to this stage of writing development as 'harlotry and

helotry', or the process of writing to please yourself and because you believe in your own

message. I try to write pieces which I would like to read and I define my 'ideal reader'

(Jute, ibid) (pg. 32) as someone just like myself. In essence, I am in fact writing for

myself, to myself. I agree with Jute's notion that writing with your own character in mind

prevents you from straying too far from what you would wish to say, yet affords you

enough of an 'alien influence and exaggeration...to provide an abrasive second opinion

and to act as a goad that forces you to extend your talent.' I have always been my own

fiercest critic, whilst those around me have showered my written work with praise and

support. Whilst I appreciate and cherish such comments, as a writer I am most inspired

by myself and my own experiences; my ability to work through challenges and personal

setbacks has always stemmed from my belief that I always have the right words inside

me and writing them down is a cathartic process.

The first decade of the 21st century saw a dramatic decline in revenue and circulation

amongst local and regional news operators across the UK; this had certainly been the

case at Guardian Series Newspapers. In ‘Ten Years that Shook the Media World’ and

referring to the US, Neilsen (Nielsen, 2012) (pg. 19) wrote that ‘As internet use grew from

43% to 75% of the population from 2000 to 2009, newspaper circulation per capita

declined 25%, total industry revenues fell by 36% in current terms, and newspaper

employment shrank by 17%’. Such developments were believed to be a direct

consequence of the advancement of the digital economy. Regan, in Friend and Singer

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(Friend & Singer, 2007) (pgs. 134-137), described bloggers as the ‘dam-busters of the

media world…so that all the voices that are being ignored or silenced can find ways to be

heard.’ Friend and Singer were in agreement, adding that bloggers give a ‘voice to the

voiceless.’ The voiceless in my case might be the unsigned artists and bands that I

feature, who might otherwise never be discovered as they are deemed to be

uneconomical or un-newsworthy by print press. The music industry appeared to lead the

way in identifying and harnessing the power of the internet and particularly the

blogosphere. By interacting and mutually promoting the free content which bloggers

provide, the music industry is able to save costs on print press advertising and readers

are not subjected to high music magazine and online subscription costs. The web offers

interactive possibilities; possibilities which readers expect and demand. Jones and Salter

(Jones & Salter, 2012) (pg. 49), reference data from a 2010 Ofcom survey which showed

‘an accelerated use in smartphone users accessing the internet with 13.5 million frequent

users, doubling from 2008 to 2010.’ Age is an important factor influencing people’s

chosen news medium. My readership of gig and festival-goers would primarily consist of

18 to 35 year olds; children of the digital era. These readers expect to be able to access

content via their smartphones, tablets and iPads and I have to be aware of this

expectation when writing content for my blog. Writing for the web offers certain benefits

which print press cannot. These include: unlimited word counts, the ability to be your own

editor and to self-publish, to be able to link and bookmark similar posts from across the

digital platform which might be of interest to the reader, the lack of expiration dates and

archiving constraints and the offer of an unlimited and international audience. Web writers

are free of formatting and language restrictions and are able to form interactive

relationships with their readers, whilst incorporating a multimedia focus which might

include traditional journalism, blog commentaries, direct video and audio links. When

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writing a new blog piece, I also aim to meet several of the recommendations set out by

Neilsen, in (Garrand, 2001) for writing for the web, which include using highlighted words,

typeface variations and hypertext links to catch the eye of the reader, using subheadings

and bulleted lists for ease of navigation and entry points throughout the piece, keeping to

one idea per paragraph in order to aid clarity of focus and message, using half the word

count of conventional writing and finally, writing in an inverted pyramid style; starting with

the conclusion. Just as a newly qualified journalist quickly becomes accustomed to

writing in the particular style of his or her chosen medium, I have learnt how to write in a

style and format suitable for the web and for an audience that are predominantly time rich

and attention poor.

Sharing content and hyperlinking is commonplace in the blogging community. With the

music industry using social networking sites to promote artists and to grow and

communicate with fan bases, it made absolute sense for me to have a personal online

presence, as well as that of reviewer on eFestivals, so that I would be able to signpost

and provide links between my online posts. In this respect I was able to drive traffic on a

mutually beneficial basis. I approach every blog post with fresh motivation and a creative

outlook, whilst writing to a semi-structured framework. I start with an attention-grabbing,

intriguing headline, followed by an eye-catching visual image of an artist or band. I write a

short summary as the introduction to the piece, followed by no more than four short

paragraphs with embedded YouTube videos positioned in-between the text. The videos

feature the artist or band concerned and either add background to their biography or

showcase future music releases. The videos also aid non-linear storytelling and allow the

reader to choose their own entry point in to the post. I include album and track titles in

bold text and sign off with my online persona shelleyhanveywriter. I also include

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hyperlinks to the artist or band’s official website and Twitter page. I have found that my

readers generally visit my page from links and search words on Twitter and this is

commonplace for most bloggers. Jones and Salter (Jones & Salter, 2012) (pg. 122), cite

Goldhaber in describing this cacophony of voices all competing for recognition, as the

‘attention economy’. It is therefore vital that I maintain an online presence in order to rise

above the parapet and be heard.

ii. The development of my communication skills, particularly when engaging with

music industry contacts such as promoters, PR and record label management

When I first started to write reviews, I liaised with an editorial contact at Guardian Series

Newspapers. This contact acted as the middle man in the sense that I didn’t have to

speak directly with music industry or PR contacts, in order to arrange guest list passes

and book interviews. After leaving the publication, this process would emerge to be the

biggest learning curve in my experience as a reviewer. Having worked for several years

in an administrative capacity in the office of senior private sector management, I had

developed my communication and networking skills to a high standard. A slow or total

lack of response to e-mail or telephone communications had not been something that I

had grown accustomed to in my professional career. It would be fair to say that I learnt

very quickly of the need to be patient and to grow a resilient, thick skin because I was

regularly subjected to a late or none response to my enquiries. I was given the

impression that communications were ranked in order of priority, according to the

broadcast or publication medium which the sender represented and the industry contact’s

perception of the likely associated coverage which you have to offer. National press

requests for example, would tend to be answered and granted much quicker than online

publications with smaller readership and page view statistics. Not content with such a

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principle and in accordance with Kolb’s experiential learning model (Kolb & Fry, 1975), I

decided to take this piece of learned knowledge and to attempt to change their

generalised theory. I did so by improving the template of my guest list requests to

incorporate a more professional looking e-mail, complete with links to my other published

works. My aim was to demonstrate my passion and dedication to quality writing, in the

hope that industry colleagues would show faith in me and trust me to return the best

review for their investment.

When requesting to review a show, I consult my contacts list to ascertain whether I have

a current working relationship with anyone at the record label or PR agency. If this is not

the case, then I research the label or agency in order to source the appropriate colleague.

Every organisation in the music industry has an official website, Facebook and Twitter

page, which generally makes sourcing these details quite straightforward. After making

an initial contact, I then introduce myself and express my interest in reviewing a particular

show, attaching copies of or links to previously published pieces of my work for a similar

artist/genre. It is most effective and timely to get requests in early, usually three to five

months before the event, in order to be placed higher up the guest list and lessen the

chances of being demoted in favour of national or broadcast media colleagues. I have

learnt that early requests are also greatly appreciated by industry contacts, as this makes

the process of drawing up the guest list and securing adequate promotional

representation flow a lot smoother. Music industry guest lists, like so many others, are

prioritised according to perceived importance, success and ultimately, return on

investment. I learnt at Guardian Series Newspapers that regional press tended to be

deemed less profitable in this regard, as opposed to national press and broadcast media.

Subsequently, a high proportion of my guest list requests had not been successful whilst

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working for the publication. With hindsight however, I now believe this not to have been

the case at all. My editorial contact had not been able to devote the required amount of

time or persistence in contacting music industry colleagues and as a result, the guest list

places had understandably and quite rightly been allocated elsewhere. As a reviewer

representing myself, I am able to devote the necessary time required in which to

advertise and promote my product; my writing. I am also undoubtedly more passionate

about this process, given that I am the sole beneficiary of my endeavours.

Having written a number of reviews for the eFestivals website, I began to cultivate a small

yet steady online following via Twitter. This following then increased dramatically once I

set up my WordPress blog. I currently have 231 online followers and 44,429 page views

(as of 20th January, 2014). I believe that it was these statistics, coupled with the

effectiveness of my previous communications with music industry contacts, which helped

to solidify and strengthen my working relationships with colleagues. In turn, I began to

find the process of being accepted on to guest list allocations a lot easier and less time

consuming. This was a mutually beneficial process of course; marketing and PR

agencies monitor what bloggers and in essence, the marketplace, are saying about their

artist or band, they work with influential bloggers who write about their industry or genre

and ultimately, they hope to shape these online conversations in their artist or band’s

favour. This is what is known in the industry as reputation management. Doorley and

Garcia (Doorley & Garcia, 2007) acknowledge reputation as a somewhat nebulous

concept, yet speak of its real and tangible value that can be measured. This

measurement can take the form of a reputation management plan, set out over a

specified timeframe. When I began writing for the web, I was acutely aware of the sheer

number of other writers in the blogosphere and therefore set about establishing my own

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goals and career aspirations. I was able to monitor and manage such goals as increasing

the number of my page views, promoting my blog within the local and regional music

industry, making local contacts with agencies and venues, networking and being

perceived as a specialist in my chosen genres, by accessing the dashboard section of

WordPress. This facility allows the writer to measure his or her reputation capital by

viewing how many page impressions each post has garnered, how readers have been

directed to the blog and from which countries and which posts have gained the most

comments and referrals. I regret that I haven't found the time to be able to dedicate a

proportion of my working week to this monitoring process, which might have proved

fruitful in that I could have more effectively targeted certain blog posts to particular

readers, in carefully identified countries and with specific tastes and interests. It is my aim

to dedicate more time to such activities in the coming year. In order to sustain the

reputation capital which I have built to date in my writing career, I concentrate on

maintaining a level of innovation in my work by being creative and dedicated to sourcing

fresh musical talent. I pay attention to the quality of my written output and I foster open

and regular communications with my industry contacts. I maintain a level of transparency,

integrity and responsibility in my work and I strive to be credible and reliable. These

components are the hallmark of my commitment to my reviewing duties and I expect the

same level of service when dealing with agency contacts. The degrees of variation in the

industry in this regard are rather staggering. International record labels can reply

instantaneously to requests, provide further information and source guest list places; all

whilst interviewing the latest up and coming band at a major festival on the other side of

the Atlantic, whilst smaller, independent labels with offices in the nearest city will cease to

respond for weeks, if at all. In this regard, there is clearly a disconnect between our

priorities in respect of reputational capital or goodwill.

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After reviewing a show, I forward a copy of or link to the piece to the relevant industry

contact. I have been told that this isn’t commonplace amongst bloggers or freelance

writers, but is appreciated as it lessens their time spent monitoring blogs, meaning that

they can concentrate on analysing online trends and cultivating online relationships with

people like myself. I have also learnt how to be more selective in filtering the

communications that I receive from marketing and PR companies. I receive several press

releases via e-mail each day, promoting new artists, tracks and upcoming tours. When I

first started to write for my blog, I found the sheer amount of these communications

particularly disconcerting, as I felt obliged to write a feature on each one. As I studied and

began to focus more on my chosen three genres of folk, pop and electronica, I started to

feel more comfortable and confident in my knowledge of these areas, which subsequently

made the writing process much less time consuming as I was able to more accurately

pinpoint the relevant technical music and historical artist and band references that I

wished to incorporate in to each post. Meerman Scott (Meerman Scott, 2010) (pg. 59),

put it most succinctly when he wrote: ‘…to be successful, company representatives need

to treat bloggers as individuals and to provide them with valuable information that

complements the work they’re already doing on their blogs.’ In acknowledging and

respecting the type of artists and genres that I choose to focus on, industry

representatives are able to send me relevant press releases which I then go on to

feature, promote and support. This is a mutually beneficial process, as their artists gain

increased online exposure and I am able to upload content much more regularly, as I

spend less time researching new talent.

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iii. The development of a personal online blog

After writing live music reviews for regional newspapers for several years, I started to look

for new ways to challenge myself as a writer. I wished to become more diverse in respect

of the genres of music which I studied and wrote about. I also had a desire to write about

other forms of live entertainment, specifically theatre and comedy. I wanted to set myself

a personal challenge; to test my adaptability as a writer and to see whether I could

receive the same level of praise in another reviewing field. It was suggested to me by a

print journalism contact, that I might find writing for a blogging website particularly

beneficial in this regard. I was informed that it had increasingly become the case that print

journalists were receiving extra demands on their time and coupled with decreasing

paginations, had not been as readily available to cover gigs and festivals in the local

area. Reviews were being outsourced to freelance contributors and the general public

was being invited to participate in such forms of journalistic writing. In the case of my

local newspaper, this was the beginnings of what we now refer to as participatory

journalism. I had made a considerable amount of contacts in the music industry

throughout the previous seven years through the process of requesting guest list passes

for live music shows, which formed a useful basis on which to start promoting myself as a

freelance writer and online music reviewer.

I would have described myself at this stage as being reasonably internet-savvy, but the

world of blogging was completely alien to me. Fortunately, WordPress: a free and open

source blogging tool and content management system and my chosen online platform,

uses a template processor which is straightforward and requires no previous technical

knowledge. Content management systems such as WordPress have made it possible for

bloggers to, in effect; own a modern and lightweight version of a press. In my opinion, the

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best and most accurate definition of a blog comes courtesy of Meerman Scott (ibid) (pg.

69); ‘a blog is just a web site. But it’s a special kind of site that is created and maintained

by a person who is passionate about a subject and wants to tell the world about his or her

area of expertise.’ This statement would describe my mind set perfectly when I embarked

on this writing challenge. Walker Rettberg (Walker Rettberg, 2009) (pg. 12), cited Walter

Ong in describing the transition from print to electronic media as a ‘secondary orality.’

This form of conservational, social language which is closer to everyday speech has

always been my preferred tone of voice as a writer. I like to be inclusive, open-minded

and completely subjective in my reviews of new music, as I view my writing as an

extension of myself and my personality. My aim is not to persuade or influence my

readers, but to share my views and provide a commentary on new artists and bands in

the international music industry. In this respect, I decided that an online topic-driven blog

would be the best platform for my work. I planned to write about new music, provide links

to artists’ YouTube videos, write features and live music reviews. I chose ‘The Journalist’

as the background theme for my blogging site. The layout of this theme is visually clean

and classic in colour and is designed to mirror a minimalist journalism style. I also chose

to link my blog to my online social profiles, including Facebook, Twitter and Linked In,

thus creating and maintaining my online persona of shelleyhanveywriter by sharing

content and providing links between these platforms.

Blogging and other forms of user-created media are causing us to redefine the nature of

journalism itself. Broadcast and print media now observe and rate music according to

online promotion. Blogging is viewed by the music industry as a whole, as a cool and

credible reference point for new music. David Greenwald (Greenwald & Galica, 2013)

Contributing editor for Billboard.com, contributed to an online debate about how the

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music blogging landscape has changed. Greenwald spoke of the ‘major labels’ embrace

of the Internet and music sharing via SoundCloud and YouTube, which makes blogs

more powerful (in terms of what can be shared).’ Greenwald concedes that he doesn’t

love every band which makes its way into ‘blog trendiness’, but is glad that bloggers are

there, ‘shovels in hand’ to uncover these otherwise commercially invisible artists. The

analogy of the shovel referring to the process of trawling MySpace, YouTube,

SoundCloud and other such music sharing websites, in order to discover new talent. The

key word is sharing; content sharing, media sharing and opinion sharing. I include links to

artists’ music videos on YouTube and my readership expect and demand that immediacy

of content. Artists and record label executives are acutely aware of this expectation and

the need to keep up with this online velocity as part of their strategy. Blog search engines

such as Technorati are used by the music industry to track which YouTube videos are

generating the most buzz at any given time due to the number of links to the video from

blogging websites. Radio and print press then use this information to predict future chart

successes and upcoming artists. Tunney and Monaghan (Tunney & Monaghan, 2010)

cite Surowiecki in referring to this phenomenon as ‘the wisdom of crowds’. Artists such as

Banks, Ellie Goulding and Jessie J were all originally discovered via blog reviews and

video uploads of their gigs. Bands are subsequently now increasingly previewing albums

on sites such as Pitchfork and The Line of Best Fit and bringing their release dates

forward, in order to satisfy the salacious demand of online music fans. The implication for

me as a writer being the sheer volume of potential album and single review material,

which I am required to sift through each day in order to decide which artist to feature. This

process is rather time consuming, which is why a music reviewer must be passionate

about their genre, otherwise there will be no motivation or incentive to continue to write

and upload fresh content.

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Essentially, my blog posts respond to something elsewhere on the internet (music video,

new release, piece of editorial), promote a gig or festival or review something. I write for

personal and professional reasons. Personally, I write out of interest of the subject, self-

motivation and satisfaction. Professionally, I write in order to make myself visible to future

employers, artists, record labels, PR contacts, for networking purposes and future

commissions. My editorial leadership skills have greatly improved since starting my blog.

During the first few weeks of uploading content, my writing didn't follow a set agenda or

tone. I would come across a new band or artist quite by accident whilst browsing the

internet and would decide to write about my findings after minimal research in to their

background, motivations and ambitions. As my readership figures began to grow, I

started to realise that people were paying particular attention to my recommendations

and commenting on my selections in a positive light. As my confidence increased in being

able to spot new talent that I think my audience would appreciate, I started to take the

process of researching new artists more seriously. As I learnt more about the history of

folk, pop and electronica, I naturally took on the role of sub-editor as I paid more attention

to how each piece should be treated and from which angle. The editorial skills which I

have developed on an experiential learning basis include being able to ascertain whether

a piece will be deemed newsworthy by my audience, and whether that news comes from

a credible source. After building up effective working relationships with my industry

contacts over the years, I have been able to reflect on past conversations and creative

collaborations. This process of reflective observation and active experimentation (Kolb &

Fry, 1975) has afforded me the opportunity to assess whether such communications

proved to be profitable; whether months of negotiations with PR agency representatives

led to my being granted an interview or guest list pass. In some cases, the information or

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contact that I had been given proved to be factually incorrect or unreliable. In this respect,

I have been able to more effectively conceptualize the reasons for such failings and adapt

my practice accordingly. If I have been given incorrect information by a particular agency

representative, I will make a note of this in my contacts book and set about sourcing an

alternative point of contact at the organisation. Similarly, I will also ensure that I make

contact with both the PR agency and the record label when making requests. This way, I

am able to proof-check both sets of responses and ascertain the correct information to

use. I have learnt to check for accuracy of content, grammar and statistics as a matter of

course throughout the writing process, as opposed to waiting till the final draft is

completed. I find this technique to be much more beneficial as it has trained my mind’s

eye to always be alert to potential errors, therefore increasing the quality of my written

work exponentially. Whilst doing so, I also check for any redundancies or non-sequiturs

that might appear throughout the piece. Foster (Foster, 2008) adds a final element to

effective editorial skills; the avoidance of clichés and tautology, or the overuse of

expressions which might be replaced in favour of a better form of expression. Clichés in

fiction and non-fictional writing are a particular point of disdain for me and I was taught at

university to avoid such statements wherever possible. Finally, I preview each piece

before publication, write headlines and introductions with SEO in mind, check hyperlinks

are fully functional, formatting is accurate and attribute links and sources for copyright

purposes. In carrying out such tasks, I am in effect occupying the roles of writer, sub-

editor and editor-in-chief. In order to stand out from the online crowd and to attract and

retain my readership, I endeavour to look beyond my inbox and the countless press

releases from music PRs and to discover new talent via alternative methods. I browse the

YouTube channels of unsigned bands, follow links and recommendations from other

bands and labels, and try to keep abreast of the local gigging scene around the North

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West of England. Whilst I am aware that I am writing for a global audience, I always focus

on gig dates and venues that are relevant to my local readership. I feature artists which I

have championed from the early days of their career such as Birdy, Miike Snow, Lissie

and Noah and the Whale. I reviewed these artists in the early days of my writing career

for eGigs and have greatly enjoyed observing their rise to prominence in the UK and

beyond. I like to think that my blog posts and reviews have contributed, even in some

small way, to their success. Blogs must be frequently updated in order to retain and

continually attract readers. I update my blog at least once per week with posts, images

and links to other sites which Lovink (Lovink, 2008) describes as desired affiliation. I wish

to affiliate myself as a writer with websites such as Digital Spy, The Line of Best Fit,

YouTube and Drowned in Sound, in order to encourage content sharing, cross promotion

and syndication. Including such links in my blog posts will also improve my position on

Google Search rankings via SEO, which will in turn increase my page views. My aim is to

offer my readership an alternative and personalized source of information related to

commercial and unsigned artists of various genres. I am not constrained by the word

counts of the print press medium or the genre-specific requirements of my freelance work

for eFestivals. I can write about different genres of music, appeal to different fan bases

and communities and encourage different ways of engaging with music such as festivals,

gigs and open mic nights.

Walker Rettberg (Walker Rettberg, 2009) (pg. 33), cite Serfaty in saying that online

diarists and bloggers ‘use their writing as a mirror that allows them to see themselves

more clearly....’ When I began creating my WordPress blog in 2010 such a purpose for

my work had never crossed my mind, yet surprisingly, this has come to serve as the

primary motivation for my subsequent uploads. Over the period of one year, I began to

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notice a correlation between events in my personal life and the frequency of my blog

posts. Whilst my blog is written in the first person, I wouldn't describe it as particularly

social; it doesn't actively encourage or facilitate interaction between readers and/or other

bloggers and I don't proactively source reader comments. I have an expectation of an

online readership, but self-promotion has never been the driving force behind my writing.

It is in the act of writing that I feel an intellectual and emotional release. In creating

shelleyhanveywriter, I have enabled myself to mix my public and private voice through

the medium of blogging. During challenging times in my personal life, I have been able to

define my own emotions through the art of writing. Lovink (Lovink, 2008) (pgs. 13, 25),

cites Ebrahimi's 2009 essay which focuses on 'The Emergence of the Iranian Cyberspace

and the Production of the Self in Weblogestan' in saying that the role of blogs in Iranian

society is to ‘define people's identity’. Similarly, I have found that in uploading and viewing

each blog post, I have felt reassured of my own identity and my 'real' or desired role in

both the virtual space and in my personal space. Writing reminds me who I am, what I

believe in, what matters to me and who I want to be. So whilst my own situation might be

significantly less oppressive than that being experienced in Iran; through the medium of

blogging and via a frequent contribution to Lovink's ‘plurality of voices’ in the blogosphere,

I have learnt the correct path to take in my quest for truth. In my case, the truth to which

Lovink refers, relates to my renewed sense of personal identity as opposed to a political,

social or cultural truth in the public domain. I would therefore concur with Lovink’s

description of blogging as, ‘appeals to a wide register of emotions and affects as it

mobilizes and legitimizes the personal’. I will expand on the perception of self in my

summary.

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Debate goes on as to whether blogging can be referred to as journalism. Hudson and

Temple in (Tunney & Monaghan, 2010) conclude that ‘anyone who commits to the

professional norms we outline has the right to call themselves a “journalist”, regardless of

their organizational status or the platform on which they deliver…the crude generalization

that all bloggers are “journalists” cannot and should not be supported. Journalism is too

important to cheapen in this way.’ The use of the word cheapen surely furthering such

generalizations in casting aspersions on the quality and integrity of bloggers as writers.

Walker Rettberg (Walker Rettberg, 2009) (pg. 33), states that ‘Blogs rely on personal

authenticity, whereas traditional journalism relies on institutional credibility.’ My desire has

always been to represent an online voice that is both authentic and credible. For this

reason, I have always struggled to categorize my writing as either blogging or journalism.

I am not a qualified journalist so have been reluctant to use the title of online music

journalist. Matthias Galica (Greenwald & Galica, 2013) founder of Beastmode.fm refers to

“music curators”: any person who forms some kind of opinion that’s related-enough to

music, then communicates that opinion to one or more other folk…whenever he/she

specifically uses a blog as a medium’. I like this reference and can see the relevance of

likening the process of writing and uploading blog posts which are then displayed

according to the blogger’s own creative preferences, as curation. Tunney and Monaghan

(Tunney & Monaghan, 2010) cite Weintraub in stating that ‘bloggers tend to value

immediacy and comment as opposed to accuracy’; I find this comment to be particularly

short-sighted and highly generalized. If I wish to continue to gain positive feedback from

my live music reviews and to build further links with industry contacts, the quality and

accuracy of my work must be of a consistently high standard. Otherwise, there are

countless other music bloggers that would be more than willing to take the guest list spot

and produce the review themselves.

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Summary

Websites such as eFestivals and eGigs are now fully accredited for gigs and festivals in

the UK and Europe. Reviewers writing for each website are widely considered by PR

contacts in the UK, as being on the same level as professional journalists and given

equal ranking in respect of guest list allocations. I believe that my enhanced written and

corporate communications skills, gained over the past seven years, have helped to

support this positive development. Whilst working to improve my own creative writing

skills, I have also been able to actively promote and showcase the musical talents of

others; for me, good writing should always benefit both the writer and the audience.

I have always found it much easier to express myself through the written word. Living in

what Crandall, in (Barton & Lee, 2013) (pg. 68) refers to as a ‘presentational’ culture; I am

less concerned with how others view me and my writing skills, than I am with reaffirming

my own sense of self and the process of establishing an online identity;

shelleyhanveywriter, has played a pivotal role in building my confidence in my chosen

craft. In choosing an online screen-name which mirrors my offline identity, I am

emphasizing my transparency and authenticity as a writer and as a person. I choose to

write in the first person narrative, to include personal pronouns, to write in an active voice

and an unaffected tone, as I wish my writing to come across as personal, emotive and as

an ‘extension of the self’ (Barton & Lee, 2013) (pg. 69). It is in these respects that I find

writing to be so emotionally freeing. I am however mindful of the warning imposed by

Foster (Foster, 2008) (pg. 207), that there is a danger of over-informality as it ‘kills

credence, even authenticity’. As a music reviewer, credibility and reputation are key in

order to be taken seriously by peers and industry contacts.

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I would conclude that my writing should not be referred to as journalism, for both ethical

and legal reasons. Journalism carries an expectation of truth, objectivity and reliability,

and as such is afforded certain protections. Whilst I pride my writing on its accuracy and

quality, I write subjectively and independently and therefore would not feel comfortable

being afforded the same rights as traditional media. In essence, what I write is

commentary; my opinions, using published, official facts (album, track release dates,

chart positions, artist biographies) as a starting point. Unless I slander someone, my

readers are unlikely to take umbrage with my posts as they are clearly subjective. I do

believe there to be an inherent distrust of broadcast and print media at the present time

by the general public, which perhaps accounts for 61.4% percent of respondents to a

2004 survey by Blogads in (Walker Rettberg, 2009) stating that they read blogs because

there was ‘more honesty’ than mainstream media. I think it is a sign of our times that

blogs are considered to be more transparent, credible and honest due to their perceived

distance from the traditional establishment. I do not envisage this position changing

anytime soon, at least not for as long as we have the Internet.

Shelley Marie Hanvey

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