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How to Cover a Music Festival
Before you’re Old Enough to Drink At One
Emily Bloch - Music Journo // Freelance Reporter^ college student!
What’s The Gig? - PR versus critical coverage
- Who were you hired by?
- What’s their objective?
- If you’re working for the festival, you can’t say a band sucked harder than any band you’ve ever seen in your life. But that doesn’t mean you lie.
The Loophole
Pre-Planning - There’s no such thing as “winging it”
- Priority bands
- Location
- Format: longform? Time stamps? Short motifs?
- List it all out: number of bands, set times, stages
Examples Timestamp
Examples
Narrative
(no interview)
ExamplesMore Narrative (With an interview)
Pre-Planning- Ask about the logistics
- Things to think about: parking, meals, green room, equipment storage, bathrooms (yes, really), A/C, wifi, etc. — You may not even want to break out your laptop.
Interview Requests“Hi publicist’s name,
This is Emily Bloch, blogger for this year's SunFest.
With BAND NAME set to perform, it'd be great if we could arrange a phone interview within the next week or two to run as a preview.
We'd love to promote the band's South Florida performance on the festival's official blog -- catered specifically to show-goers.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Your name here
What To Bring- The journo stuff: digital recorder, external phone charger(s), notepads, pens (bring all of the pens), laptop and charger
What Else to Bring- The non-journalistic stuff: sealed water bottles, protein bars, a light sandwich (non-perishable), poncho, ziplock bags, bandana(s), ear plugs
You Still Have to Breathe- Bands sets will clash
- Stagger your reporting
- Prioritize your coverage
- Nix one low priority band and eat your sandwich
- Don’t power down — use this opportunity to take in the atmosphere and color around you.
The Interviews… or lack thereof - You can Google how long they’ve been together.
- Know what the big, well known band is up to. Ask about the small details.
- Sometimes the unknown artist will give you more than the mainstream group — but not always.
- Be ready for time crunches — and their handler’s reminders.
The Interviews… or lack thereof (cont.)- Get creative
- Don’t expect to interview with everyone — or anyone
- Kendrick Lamar doesn’t want to talk to you
- You might as well ask, but you can’t rely on it. Think of what else you can do to supplement that color
When They Won’t Talk...
When They Won’t Talk...“Two large black tour buses sit behind the Student Union, and a table is set up in his dressing room — complete with Lemon Snapple, orange juice, and Fruity Pebbles.”
When They Won’t Talk...
Legendary
This Isn’t a New Technique
But Sometimes, They Talk!
Me
Candy Hearts
You’re At Work, Dude- This is still a job
- You’re not here for the open bar, you’re here to write a story
- Blend in and be comfortable, but be (and dress so that you’re) able to carry yourself
- Even if you get backstage, remember your assignment and your angle. Don’t forget the audience. Who’s the story?
The Actual Writing Part- Manage your time
- know your earliest deadlines and what stories will take you the longest.
- Don’t write cold.
- Your 1 a.m. coffee shop writeup will have more detail and be more effortless than the morning after.
- Use the next day to trim the fat
The Actual Writing Part- Pre-writing is your friend — Do as much as possible
- Band previews don’t have to be written the night before
- Write advances as early as possible
- Have a doc with compiled info: awards, singles, how many members, genre, bio facts, etc.
Promote Yourself- See if your hirer wants Twitter updates
- link up with the festival’s social media team and tag them, the publication you represent or both
- Self promote
Promote Yourself- “Can I get a photo of you and the
guys?”
- If the band’s promoter asks, go for it, but not the other way around.
- Connect socially
- Follow the hashtags and crowd members. Just because you missed a set doesn’t mean they did. *Crowd reactions can become a story in itself
- Follow the bands on social media — their stories turn into stories
“Thank You” goes a Long way- Thank your employer if it’s a freelance/non-regular
arrangement.
- Thank the publicist. A simple email and request to be added to their contact list will help both of you.
