Help be the best darn midwestern music blogger

April 8, 2008 6:32 PM

I want to be a music blogger, except that I don't much about actual blogging and hosting of music

I love music and I love to write, I want to have a little music so I can present artists I like that others might as well. However I have a few obstacles in the way.

1. I don't which blog service to use.
2. I don't know how to host music.
3. I don't know how I would market the blog.
4. I don't know what device I should use to record the concert snippets.

These are big obstacles but If you have any information or practical advice that can help me with these I would be super jazzed.

posted by carefulmonkey to media & arts (5 comments total)

The elbo.ws music bloggers board is a great place to glean this information from a wide variety of music bloggers, all these questions have been addressed in the past.

Feel free to send me an e-mail if you need any specific information. I've been music blogging for over six years and am always glad to help fellow bloggers.
posted by kickerofelves at 6:46 PM on April 8

Wordpress is pretty easy to use, and it has alot of plugins for mp3s and video. Many hosting companies allow you to install Wordpress with just a couple of clicks (Bluehost is one); you can pick from many pre-designed templates for the site design or make your own. There are many plugins that allow you to upload your own music files or embed linked files.
posted by octavia at 7:27 PM on April 8

I would really opt for Blogger for blog hosting. I've had blogs at both Blogger and Wordpress, and I found Blogger to be more intuitive. A lot of people swear by Wordpress, but I think any of its benefits have more to do with the customization (There is a broader selection of layouts, though a lot of them aren't very useful, I felt. Also, there are more widgets for Wordpress.). But, I really do think that Blogger is the better software (if you're planning on hosting your own blog, maybe Wordpress is better for that, but I can't comment on that.), so far.

The only other thing I can comment on is the hosting of music files. Do you want to use a site that hosts the files, or do you plan on using your own webspace? How long do you want the files available? Some sites like YouSendIt host files for one week (and, also, for a limited number of downloads). SendSpace, for one, hosts the file until a period of time passes with no downloads. Also, the size of the files might dictate where they could be hosted. Most sites have a size limit, though a lot of the limits look pretty large to me (I only ever posted individual songs). Personally, when I still had a music blog, I used Box.net. I loved that I had control over when the files were deleted. As full as my account got, I never had to delete anything to make room for newer files. I never had problems uploading files, and I never had any problems or complaints from downloaders. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to upload a lot of files and keep them organized (which is great for a music blog because sometimes all the music files can become overwhelming). I'm not sure how up-to-date it is, but I have a section on my del.icio.us account devoted to file hosts.

Also, I second checking out the elbo.ws music bloggers board. You'll find a lot of seasoned music bloggers there who can give you their latest recommendations and help you with your specific concerns (especially about your last two questions).

I doubt my response is very helpful, but feel free to ask more questions or PM me, if you want!
posted by Mael Oui at 8:31 PM on April 8

If you go it alone, you might end up writing wonderful stuff on a clunky blog that is read by three friends.

Find a music blogger you like and whose style is complementary to yours, a blogger who probably has the sort of audience you'd like to have. Introduce yourself to the other blogger and ask whether that person would be interested in taking you on as another poster to the current blog. Explain how you would help the blogger and the blog.

Be ready to send some great samples of your writing, and be ready to write for that blog's style, just as you might write in a specific style for a specific magazine. Also maybe come up with an alternative style of post that you think the blog could use for variety; if it usually has long pieces full of background and history, maybe also show how you would write some short, interesting blasts. Maybe that's how you would end up splitting the work, with you writing some new sort of post and the other blogger sticking to what he or she has been doing.

The other blogger would get additional material, which could mean increased publication frequency or more time for the other person to write between posts. You would get a built-in infrastructure and audience, and you'd have an expert helping you get your stuff out the door. If there is significant advertising money involved (probably not, but you never know), you'd have to agree on whether you would get a cut and how that would be calculated.

If you do agree to cooperate, also agree that you will both look at things again in X months to decide whether you want to continue the arrangement. (Either or both of you might may have had enough by that time.) And agree on whether your cooperation has to be exclusive or not -- would you write only for that blog or would it be cool if you also slowly started your own blog or sent pieces to other sorts of publications?
posted by pracowity at 11:51 PM on April 8

As to the hosting of music, I wonder if Muxtape might be a quick and easy starter solution. You upload and bam, it's ready to stream in a simple interface. I don't know if you can link to individual songs from your blog or if it's just to the page as a whole. Also, there is a limit of the number of songs you can have on at a time. But you can rotate things in and out. That way your readers would always have your running playlist. Maybe newer stuff could be at the top. You could also get multiple accounts if you needed more songs.

Don't know if this is quite the right fit, but it's a neat tool to think up a use for.
posted by Askr at 6:47 AM on April 9