Getting Your Name in Print
Q&A with Kyle Anderson, assistant editor for SPIN magazine
By Josh Bashara
As any good music agent will tell you, there’s no better publicity than free publicity. Whether it’s something as simple as a short blurb about your new album, or a full-blown feature story, getting published is the most cost-effective way to advertise your band. Depending on the magazine or newspaper, you can reach thousands—sometimes even millions—of potential fans without spending a single penny.
Sound too good to be true? It’s not, but it does take a lot of work unless you have a major-label publicist backing you. These publicists have a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw from, as well as a fat Rolodex filled with names and numbers of music editors across the world. Since the majority of independent artists don’t have access to these resources, they must act as their own publicists. And that means dealing with the press.
Kyle Anderson is an assistant editor at SPIN, one of the renowned music magazines in the world. He developed his craft while writing for magazines like FHM, Men’s Fitness and Entertainment Weekly before climbing up the ranks at SPIN. As an assistant editor, Anderson oversees the production of various sections throughout the magazine, such as “Noise” and the video games reviews page. He regularly writes music feature stories and published his first cover story earlier this year.
The MPB recently had the chance to chat with Anderson about the music journalism industry, including a few tips for up-and-coming musicians who are looking to see their name in print someday.
Music Phone Book: What’s your personal philosophy when it comes to music journalism? Ideally, what is it supposed to provide to the public?
Kyle Anderson: I don't have any high-minded ideals about rock journalism. I think it's a scenario where we are some of the people trusted to talk to musicians, and we can forward along that access to people on a large scale. I don't think I find it ‘important’ or anything like that, but I think it's still necessary to the discourse of discussing popular music, which I do consider to be an important art form. But I know that nothing I'm going to do will change the world.
MPB: Do you think music journalism has changed over the past decade?
KA: Everybody talks about the Internet as if it killed rock journalism, because now, all you need to be ‘legitimate’ is a blog, an opinion and the balls to ask middling indie-rockers questions after a concert. But I think the Internet has only changed the perception of rock journalism. I'm going to steal a metaphor from [SPIN senior writer] Chuck Klosterman here, but I think that it's the car vs. horse debate (he uses it to describe the death of newspapers, but it's apt here). Blogs came along and did a lot of things better than magazines in the sense that they were able to talk about and report things instantaneously, and the reader had direct involvement in it. Blogs became cars, and magazines became horses—there was no way that we could match their speed and accessibility. But rather than make a more pleasant, thoughtful ride, most magazines are now constructed like horses with jet engines shoved in their asses, and we end up failing at just about everything. Now that people aren't as concerned about access (because theoretically, everybody can be friends with Fall Out Boy on their MySpace page), we're perceived as unnecessary. But if we took the time to add to the discourse and not just try to keep up with technology that has already lapped us, I think we'd be in better shape.
MPB: What gives music writers the right to judge the quality of a song or album? Is a music writer's opinion any better than someone off the street?
KA: I don't think there's anything in particular that makes my opinions about records more vital than anybody else's, but I do think that rock writers—especially really good rock writers—should work at putting things into context. When I write a review, I like to think of it as real-time anthropology, because my opinion will become part of permanent discourse. So I feel it's my job to give an album the best context possible. I'm not so sure people who don't do this for a living really process music in the same way—most of the reviews you read on Amazon.com are of the simple, ‘I like this but I don't like this’ variety. I'll admit that my opinion about an album doesn't mean jack, but I do think that it's important to add to the discourse.
MPB: Can you give our readers a description of how the editorial process works at a music mag? What dictates which stories get printed and which get passed over?
KA: There's a complicated and sometimes inexplicable chemistry to what we cover. Sometimes it's simply coming back to bands we know have done well (the Killers, Red Hot Chili Peppers). Sometimes it's bands we have never given coverage to and we feel like we have to catch up. Sometimes it's based on industry buzz. Sometimes we think the record is just too damn good to ignore. Typically, it's a combination of how popular a band is (or how popular we think a band will be) with the relative quality of the music and what the group's context is. So if we like the record but it seems meaningless, it probably won't get covered. If a record is huge, but seems wrong for our audience, it'll get ignored. I treat ‘Spin bands’ like the Supreme Court treats pornography—I have no idea how to describe it, but I know it when I see it.
MPB: Let's say I'm a band and my goal is to get a CD review or short blurb published in SPIN or any other music magazine…How important is the press kit? What are some major do's and don'ts when it comes to kits?
KA: Honestly, I ignore press kits. I don't think I've ever read anything in a press kit and thought, ‘I wasn't going to listen to this, but now I will.’ It's all empty hyperbole anyway. It comes down to the music, and if it seems like the band means it (as in it's professionally presented and they have at least one or two press clips), I'll probably give it a listen.
MPB: On that note, can you give us some perspective of how many press kits, press releases and CDs SPIN gets per week? And how much ends up in the garbage pile?
KA: Personally, I get about a dozen to twenty records per day; I get the fewest by far. That's one hundred records a week, or about four hundred per issue production cycle. We cover (roughly) 100 bands/records per issue, and I'm not very good at math, but I know that about a quarter of the stuff we get ends up making it in (though honestly it's probably less, considering the number of hip-hop records we never receive but cover anyway).
MPB: In that case, any advice on what a band can do to stand out?
KA: It's hard to judge, as I'm not the reviews editor, but I think the best way to get in is to attract the fervor of a writer or two and get your record pitched. A lot of our reviews are the result of pitches, and so getting other people excited about your record will get us excited. It's a bottom-up approach.
MPB: Concerning phone calls and emails...Are follow-ups frowned upon or generally acceptable?
KA: One follow-up e-mail is typically okay. Any more is considered trying too hard. Multiple phone calls are maddening.
MPB: What's the best way to get a writer to come and check out a band's live show?
KA: I find honesty is the best policy. Let me know what I can expect—if it's only the band's third show, say it's the band's third show. There's nothing worse than seeing somebody outside of the context we're supposed to see them in—it's totally unfair to the band.
MPB: Any other advice you can give to musicians when it comes to getting published?
KA: The only other thing I can say is that one thing that every rock star should remember: It behooves you to be interesting in interviews. It's always better to avoid being talked to and be perceived as quiet and mysterious than it is to be known for saying stupid or boring things in interviews. It's better to be thought of as a fool than to open your mouth and erase all doubt. I think Lincoln said that, but it might have also been Klosterman—I steal from him a lot.
For more information on do-it-yourself publicity and advice on dealing with the press, check out some of the articles online at www.musicphonebook.com. |
