anybody looking for a columnist/writer?

Hey guys!

I just want to let any of our Magazine/Webzine Publishers/Editors know that I am looking for a part-time "job" opportunity at the moment to balance with school. I study journalism and would call writing my greatest skill or asset. 

If anybody here works for or owns a publication with an emphasis on progressive music, I would be happy to acquire a position somewhere along the lines of Columnist/Editor in Chief/Reviewer, you name it - as long as writing is the focus! 

I would be happy to offer a "prototype" of any sort for you to get a preconceived notion of my abilities and knowledge. I am willing to start with minimal pay and then gradually take it from there! 

I will be taking any offers! 

For any inquiries, please see below... or just post in the discussion 

Hey Mosh,

Thanks for the long-winded answer because I found it very interesting to read. I also found nothing that we can disagree on! 

As far as the state of the market and the media, I am very well aware of it all. I still have people telling me stuff like "why don't you try this or that with this kind of music that you enjoy?" and I'm like yeah yeah I know though it may be difficult and so on. As hard and adverse as it may be, I am still willing to give it a try - not least because of desperately needing pocket money and just putting a skill and hobby to a work context. 

As far as other websites where I read people's comments and extract info, there is only SH forums, RYM, and Progressiveears that I know of. I figured that signing up for a big magazine or publication isn't the way to go if you want to write about Prog, and as you say these old niche publications have gone by the wayside sadly 

I am just trying to be recognized for my knowledge and enjoyment of Prog at the moment. I am willing to start anywhere relevant and proving myself before even earning a decent salary. 

I wish I could pin this topic, but I don't know how - I hope to bring more eyeballs here! 

Please, if anyone here represents a prog-related publication or webzine and needs a hire in the writing department, consider me the most willing candidate! 

Thank you Mosh and everyone!  I hope we keep this topic going! 

Hi,

The only concern I have here is the copyright of your work. Generally, if you OWN it, most publications won't touch it, as they can not "gain" from it. Thus, it is a double edged sword, in a "business" world. No one is gonna pay out money, when they can get it for free, and that is the worst part of the work out there, IF there is any at all. 

A couple of websites, like this one, are volunteer organizations as far as I know ... and that makes it tough, but it also ensures that the folks involved care enough for what they do. In general, they do, but a couple of the websites, are NOT about the music ... they are something totally else, and keep the fans "invisible" as much as possible in the name of a genre, or concept. And at that point, I'm not sure that those places are trustworthy at all ... mostly taking advantage of it all. And adding a comment, is for them, not you ... again, the writer is "invisible" in the name of the concept or idea. You won't ever gain a nickel in that group I don't think!

I have, for example, over 600 film reviews (mostly foreign film) and in 30 years, I have never gained much from it ... maybe a nickel, or a dime, if that. But I have had a couple of my reviews used in two film festivals, which I have to admit was really far out ... and I have one letter, from the Festival in Singapore, that really appreciated my review, and thought it was very nice ... though I don't know how the film came out in it. If it is like the Film Festival here in Portland, it's a joke. I'm always fighting for the smaller films and lesser known material, and their propaganda machine makes sure their American and English films are sold out, so they "can pay the bills" ... so they say! And the film from small country in Africa, just got 12 people in the audience, and the one from Chile, got 15 people in the audience, and no one gives a fart about their value and incredible love for even putting it together. Most of it goes right down the loo. And you think that they folks at the Film Festival care? They never even said thank yo, when I did some volunteer work looking up information about some films so they could put together "notes" for the viewers. AND, get this, they didn't want material from a "reviewer" so they did not get called on it, and have to pay royalties on it ... I guess they thought the same about myself ... but they didn't care. I was not interested in all the American and English films, knowing they all would be in video the next week (1990's) ... but the smaller stuff ... never to be seen again!

I feel the same about a lot of things I write ... and when I say to many folks here that within the "new music" are "our children" that deserve an opportunity, the only thing you hear is the silence of death and anger ... and you know right away they don't even give a poop about their own children. Let them eat cake!

I hate to say this but I might just add that I have too little time on my hands to be doing any editorial work as a hobby. I am entering that stage in my life where I have to start finding ways to make a living - plus, I am in college and my best bet in the near future is just a Bachelor's degree in Business. 

You heard that right: Business - my school would not even offer journalism to me. I took classes back in high school to learn as much as I could. A transfer is too expensive for me atm - I would need a job to balance with school. 

Just to add to this, there are some requirements that have to be met before a channel can start monetization (meaning getting a share of ad revenue). In June, the requirement was changed to having 500 subscribers, 3 public uploads in the last 90 days, and 3000 watch hours in the past year. That 500 subscriber entry is actually more generous than it used to be. Prior to that you needed 1000 subscribers. I do a channel on baseball cards and I have been on there for over a year (233 videos and counting) and have only 398 subscribers so far. However, I think the competition between channels for viewers is a bit steeper for sports cards than prog rock. 

Here is an article about the changes they made back in June:

Having said that, I agree that focusing on more well-known bands at the start gives a greater chance of reaching that 500 subscriber threshold. All the reaction channels start off with PF's Comfortably Numb from Pulse, Nightwish's Ghost Love Score at Wacken 2013, and Rush's YYZ at Rio, though it isn't clear to me whether reaction channels can monetize that sort of video or not. It's unfortunate that YouTube's model eventually leads to "echo chambers" where there are too many videos of the aforementioned songs (or groups) and not enough content on more obscure bands that deserve more attention.  

Boy, YT seems like it's the only business startup model taking hold for the future. A shame I say because not everyone wants to spend their time editing and monetizing their videos! Plus I am just about the least versed in the digital creator world as can be!

And yes, the echo chamber for prog reaction videos is unbelievable: so repetitive and formulaic! $$$

Plus, I am very anti any reaction video! I find them disingenuous and lazy. Unless it's a choice reactive individual who actually enjoys prog and what it has to offer, I won't even bother! 

Zappastolethetowels wrote: [EDIT] I would be happy to offer a "prototype" of any sort for you to get a preconceived notion of my abilities and knowledge. I am willing to start with minimal pay and then gradually take it from there!  I will be taking any offers!  For any inquiries, please see below... or just post in the discussion  Alexander Nudler 646-589-1272 [email protected]

BTW, as a side note here, if you're looking for a job in journalism you might want to brush up on the lingo to show you really ARE knowledgeable. No such thing as a "prototype" in writing. It's called a draft. Any hiring manager in the business would question your experience based on that alone.

Not trying to be cruel here, just honest.