ChatterBank4 mins ago
Music Review
How would I go about becoming a music reviewer? Bearing in mind that I have no journalism qualifications or musical talent. What chances do I have of actually turning a music obsession into a paid career?
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Slim to Nil....Best bet is to try getting into local newspaper editors good books.....you could volunteer reviews of live shows if you attend those and see if your copy is any good that way....or join your local hospital radio station which is always bunged full of good contacts in the music business.
I am qualified to advise here - I've been a music freelance for 22 years now. It is ever harder to break in as a freelancer - the world is full of people like you who want to write - the way to rise above the rest is a combination of ability and luck, combined with 'right place right time'
Start locally, and work for free. conact all local press within an area you can reach easily - reliability is going to set you apart from the wannabes, so make sure you can do the gigs you say you will. Qualifications don't matter - individual style and reliability do. make sure you pitch your copy in an appropriate style - no use doing 'Guardian' style for NME, or vice versa. other than that, you need to be very very determined inded. Best of luck!