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A call to arms from Music Vice editor Brian - posted Friday, September 19, 2008
Read the below info and if you feel you'd like to help out then please email me
Tell me a bit about yourself and what you'd like to do as a MV contributor.
Music Vice is seeking new contributors
Like going to gigs? Of course you do, who doesn't. Fancy yourself as a budding music journalist or photographer, or both? That's cool, because we want want people to contribute with concert reviews, photography and even artist interviews.
Music Vice is growing but we need your help
Music Vice first started as zine back in 2002 before that when I was in journalism school. Then I launched Music Vice online in 2004, and started by covering the underground music scene in Scotland. Since 2008 Music Vice is now active in North America, and now covers more bands in more places thanks to a slowly-growing team of contributors. You can be a part of this too if you want.
A sample of the origins of Music Vice as a zine. Click for a 2003 review of the Raveonettes and Razorlight in Newcastle, England.
Specifically we're looking for people that meet the following criteria...
* People who love music and who have an open mind and open ears.
* A genuine interest and intent of helping out this independent publication.
* Old enough to legally get into the show.
* A sense of humour is good but you should be responsible too, or at least when representing Music Vice at concerts.
*
You live in Britain, Canada and USA specifically. But if your from another country then that is awesome too. We no longer have any contributors back home in the UK so that is a priority.
* Attitude and a passion for music is more important than experience. Experience is nice but the ability to string some sentences together is. If you have contributed to other zines before then that's cool. Send samples of your work if you have any.
* Honesty.
Honesty is the most important aspect of any music review. It's your opinion of the show and the music and everything else that was part of the experience - express this.
And here's what we don't want....
* Plagiarizers. If the work is not your own then don'tsend it. Don't send me somebody else's writing or photographs.
* Time-wasters. If you want to help then that's amazing. But if your just looking for a free pass to a concert and have no intention of writing anything about it then don't waste your time by getting in touch.
Stick to our format and style - and notice that we never rate or grade a band with stars or numbers
Take a look at the info section above every review on this site, and look at the end of all the reviews too. Notice anything? There's no grade. We never have and never will grade a band's concert or album with a mark out of ten, or a star rating. Grades and ratings like this are absolutely pointless. Slapping a 2.7 out of 5 rating on a show is useless information. Music can not be measured on the richter scale. Instead of giving a mark out of ten, do the more creative thing and sum the event up 'In One Word'. That's are alternative to a grading system.
Contributors are not paid
Running this site keeps my pockets empty. I don't make money from it. We've recently added a few Google Ads but these don't really get clicked on and they don't make any notable income. The adverts are there in an attempt to raise some money towards the running costs of this site. So yeah, just to make it clear - contributors don't get paid, because we're skint. You will of course get full credit for anything you have published on Music Vice.
What's in it for you...
* You get to be one of those lucky people who get on the other side of the barrier at concerts, getting close to your heroes. And you get to skip that big line up of people waiting to get into concerts - media walk right in!
* And this means you get in for FREE too. If you become a trusted and regular contributor to Music Vice then chances are you can get in for free to nearly ever show that you could want to cover. Maybe not the first time, but in most cases I can help arrange you access to concerts as media. All you have to do in return is to write a review of the show - how hard is that?
* Free CD's and merch. From time to time I receive swag from bands and their management. I share this stuff with people who help out with this site.
Success stories
The first ever contributor to Music Vice was Britany from Detroit. She started writing show reviews back in late 2004 and has proven the longest serving and most reliable contributor to this site. Britany wanted to gain experience and exposure with music/band photography, and this is exactly what she has earned through helping out MV. Her face and name are becoming well known in the music scene around her neck of the woods in Michigan.
Still reading this?
Good job, this is the end. Thanks for your interest. Hopefully by reading this you have a picture of what is expected from you as a contributor to this site, and in return what you can get out of it. I'm proud of this site and how it continues to grow, so it was important for me to write this page for potential contributors because we do have standards to maintain.
If you want to become a contributor then don't be shy!! Send me an email and let's get the ball rolling.
cheers, Brian, editor/founder of Music Vice. An independent voice on music since 2002.