What would improve most music coverage?

[Kallgeese]

I thought that’s what you had in mind! I’ve read about preferential treatment on Canadian outlets for Canadian artists before and it has been debated to death in Ireland but nothing ever gets done about it.

@HolyCannoli

I think what I’m looking for is a linkage between funding, press, and promotion that actually functions to assist emerging artists, rather than being a whole shitload of paperwork that just takes you to another gatekeeper and so on.

This actually does exist in the Republic of Ireland to an extent. There’s an organisation called First Music Contact that ostensibly fulfills this function, puts on festivals showcasing emerging talent, sends Irish acts to Primavera and other festivals in the UK and Europe each year.

Very industry driven and would prefer if you conducted your business like they told you to and they definitely have favourites. Tried to play the game with them in one band I was in about a decade ago and hated dealing with them. Felt like a load of old industry pros had created an organistation where they could cream money off the Arts Council and stay employed without helping music in Ireland much.

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[Icarus-Smicarus]

i was thinking of The Skinny as another potential example yeah

[Octobadger]

I value music coverage that highlights releases I wouldn’t otherwise know about. Have no personal interest in any publication’s reviews of a release that they would all cover but I place a lot of value into albums I only see mentioned in one place where I know from track record that they cover stuff I might like (Songlines, various jazz sites, Resident Advisor, Cabbages, the Quietus, Pitchfork). Ideally I want to see a list of releases and if they’re recommended or not - I’ll prioritise listening to recommended stuff, then read the content of those I find I like. This goes against the grain I think for some where eg RA stopped providing review scores - and I get their reasoning, but I still just use their ‘recommended’ category in the same way I’d skim through for 4/5 star albums in a magazine review section.

[The_Respected_User]

@eems

I do agree with this, but it makes me think, do I really need to read about music at all? I used to read music magazines cos they were cheaper than buying 10 albums. What am I wanting to read about now? I’ll just listen to the music.

Same argument for just watching the film though innit. Some people like nerding out on a thing and hearing other interpretations, some just like to have their private relationship with the thing. I’m more of the former usually. Will often see a film in order to enjoy a podcast about it more than the film itself

[eems]

For some reason I get that for films and TV but not music.

Actually I do like watching Youtubers talk about applying music theory to various types of music I like.

[The_Respected_User]

I like it for albums that I am properly in love with so its a higher bar of interest for me but the few versions of that which overlap nicely are brill