There is a tendency to call music writers "music journalists." We are not. We do not investigate anything, we don't expose any improprieties, and we don't pull the curtain back on the music business.
We are not journalists. We are not unbiased. We are willing and complicit partners in the marketing machine of heavy metal and we do nothing but perpetuate the status quo.
Music writers conduct interviews with musicians and write reviews of albums. If you read a heavy metal magazine or website, that's what you find. Reviews and interviews.
Are heavy metal writers serving the best interests of heavy metal?
Heavy metal writers serve themselves, first and foremost. There are three reasons why a heavy metal writer gets into the business (It's not money, because there is no money to be had.):
Belonging. Whether you know a damn thing about writing, whether or not anybody reads a word you write, becoming a music writer brings you closer into contact with the music scene you're writing about. Record companies send you free CDs. You get to hear more music than you thought possible, and you become more aware of what exactly is getting released. Publicity people call you on the phone wanting to know if you'd like to interview musicians. You get into shows free. You get to hang out with musicians and talk to them backstage or on their tour bus. It all sounds cool, and the rush you get from this can be quite overwhelming, and it does lead to experiences you'll remember for the rest of your life. But none of it has the slightest bit of relevance to serving the reader. It's all gratification for the writer. I believe these goodies and perks make a writer less critical than he would otherwise be. I also believe that people who get involved for this reason start off as a negative force in heavy metal because they will be too busy enjoying their new-found perks and engaging in on-the-job exploration that should have been done before thoughts ever went down on paper. Since rocking the boat could result in a loss of free CDs and the termination of easy access to musicians, they are going to just toe the line and be Mr. Status Quo in heavy metal.
Ego. The writer thinks his opinion is so important that it absolutely needs to be heard. He knows the one true way to heavy metal nirvana and he will tell everyone all about it. The reader is often served by this approach, as the writer is shouting his biases, his likes, dislikes, and reasons why from the rooftops, allowing a reader to calibrate his tastes with that of the writer. Yet that is only a side-effect, as the ego-driven writer doesn't need an audience to fulfill his urge. I fall under this category without a doubt and without any shame. The downfall of the ego writer getting into the game is he never knows as much as he thinks he does. If the ego writer is a dumbass, he'll never learn from his mistakes and his ignorance will render his entire agenda irrelevant. If the ego writer is not committed, he'll disappear after an initial embarrassment or two. We hate to be wrong, but even more, we hate for other people to realize we're wrong. With a touch of intelligence, a dash of perseverance, and a heaping helping of know-how, the ego writer's crusade becomes something far greater than himself, and having an impact on readers. Dreaming is heavy metal.
Support. Hail heavy metal! Long live heavy metal! Support the scene! Support the underground! I'm sure you know the type. The musicians come and go, the fans come and go, but heavy metal is forever and this sort of writer wants to tell you all about it. This is not useful to the reader because the presupposition that any heavy metal written about is at least pretty good. How critical is someone going to be towards a heavy metal album if their entire reason for being a writer is to support heavy metal? This idealism here does suggest a more selfless approach, so if a music writer leaves his naïveté behind, he could have a future as a publicist. The tragedy of the writer who just wants to support the scene is he doesn't realize the scene doesn't need volunteers. It doesn't need supporters. It needs inspired musicians and it needs real fans who will still be here when the latest trend goes away. These 'supportive' writers could do more for their favorite musicians by buying stuff from them than writing about them. After any period of time in the scene that the battle cry of 'support the underground' is nothing more than a cynical marketing slogan. Those who get it don't need to hear it, and those who don't get it aren't going to be enlightened this way.
Heavy metal writers are also delusional when it comes to knowing what they are. To record companies, they are publicists who are bribed with free albums and access to the musicians. To the fan, they are just shit. There is no respect for the writer from the fan. If a writer shows an actual opinion, the fan community at large attacks the writer for not doing his job of promoting heavy metal properly. If he just regurgitates safe information, then he is seen as a record company shill. We the media are dogshit on the shoes of the rest of the heavy metal scene. The true merit of the writer is found in his decision to either revel in the stink he causes or to cover it up at all costs.
Heavy metal writers are not fans. We can't be, and any writer who tells you he is a fan is either a liar (attempting to gain your confidence) or a fool (who really believes he is simply a fan). Yes, we may enjoy heavy metal, and yes, we may love musicians. But once a person takes on the duties of writing on heavy metal, his identity as a fan disappears. As long as they expect others to listen to them (and what writer doesn't?), writers can't just be fans. As long as a record company is looking at them to spread the word of new releases, they can't just be fans. Writers are not proper publicists. We are not fans. We are nothing.
(One advantage that fans and musicians have lost over the writers is the old "They didn't pay for it so their opinion doesn't mean anything" argument. Thank you illegal MP3 downloading!)
No matter their initial motivation, and no matter how well the writing ends up being, heavy metal music writers are worse than most music writers because of the heavily marginalized and stigmatized nature of the material they're covering. This leads them to believe they are making a difference simply by writing about it. It's understandable. When many albums still only sell a few thousand copies, if a website review or interview gets a few hundred hits, or if a printed article is in a magazine that sells a few thousand copies, saying "I helped!" is a natural reflex. IQ points are rare and precious things in this environment.
We are not journalists. We are not unbiased. We are willing and complicit partners in the marketing machine of heavy metal and we do nothing but perpetuate the status quo.
Music writers conduct interviews with musicians and write reviews of albums. If you read a heavy metal magazine or website, that's what you find. Reviews and interviews.
Are heavy metal writers serving the best interests of heavy metal?
Heavy metal writers serve themselves, first and foremost. There are three reasons why a heavy metal writer gets into the business (It's not money, because there is no money to be had.):
Belonging. Whether you know a damn thing about writing, whether or not anybody reads a word you write, becoming a music writer brings you closer into contact with the music scene you're writing about. Record companies send you free CDs. You get to hear more music than you thought possible, and you become more aware of what exactly is getting released. Publicity people call you on the phone wanting to know if you'd like to interview musicians. You get into shows free. You get to hang out with musicians and talk to them backstage or on their tour bus. It all sounds cool, and the rush you get from this can be quite overwhelming, and it does lead to experiences you'll remember for the rest of your life. But none of it has the slightest bit of relevance to serving the reader. It's all gratification for the writer. I believe these goodies and perks make a writer less critical than he would otherwise be. I also believe that people who get involved for this reason start off as a negative force in heavy metal because they will be too busy enjoying their new-found perks and engaging in on-the-job exploration that should have been done before thoughts ever went down on paper. Since rocking the boat could result in a loss of free CDs and the termination of easy access to musicians, they are going to just toe the line and be Mr. Status Quo in heavy metal.
Ego. The writer thinks his opinion is so important that it absolutely needs to be heard. He knows the one true way to heavy metal nirvana and he will tell everyone all about it. The reader is often served by this approach, as the writer is shouting his biases, his likes, dislikes, and reasons why from the rooftops, allowing a reader to calibrate his tastes with that of the writer. Yet that is only a side-effect, as the ego-driven writer doesn't need an audience to fulfill his urge. I fall under this category without a doubt and without any shame. The downfall of the ego writer getting into the game is he never knows as much as he thinks he does. If the ego writer is a dumbass, he'll never learn from his mistakes and his ignorance will render his entire agenda irrelevant. If the ego writer is not committed, he'll disappear after an initial embarrassment or two. We hate to be wrong, but even more, we hate for other people to realize we're wrong. With a touch of intelligence, a dash of perseverance, and a heaping helping of know-how, the ego writer's crusade becomes something far greater than himself, and having an impact on readers. Dreaming is heavy metal.
Support. Hail heavy metal! Long live heavy metal! Support the scene! Support the underground! I'm sure you know the type. The musicians come and go, the fans come and go, but heavy metal is forever and this sort of writer wants to tell you all about it. This is not useful to the reader because the presupposition that any heavy metal written about is at least pretty good. How critical is someone going to be towards a heavy metal album if their entire reason for being a writer is to support heavy metal? This idealism here does suggest a more selfless approach, so if a music writer leaves his naïveté behind, he could have a future as a publicist. The tragedy of the writer who just wants to support the scene is he doesn't realize the scene doesn't need volunteers. It doesn't need supporters. It needs inspired musicians and it needs real fans who will still be here when the latest trend goes away. These 'supportive' writers could do more for their favorite musicians by buying stuff from them than writing about them. After any period of time in the scene that the battle cry of 'support the underground' is nothing more than a cynical marketing slogan. Those who get it don't need to hear it, and those who don't get it aren't going to be enlightened this way.
Heavy metal writers are also delusional when it comes to knowing what they are. To record companies, they are publicists who are bribed with free albums and access to the musicians. To the fan, they are just shit. There is no respect for the writer from the fan. If a writer shows an actual opinion, the fan community at large attacks the writer for not doing his job of promoting heavy metal properly. If he just regurgitates safe information, then he is seen as a record company shill. We the media are dogshit on the shoes of the rest of the heavy metal scene. The true merit of the writer is found in his decision to either revel in the stink he causes or to cover it up at all costs.
Heavy metal writers are not fans. We can't be, and any writer who tells you he is a fan is either a liar (attempting to gain your confidence) or a fool (who really believes he is simply a fan). Yes, we may enjoy heavy metal, and yes, we may love musicians. But once a person takes on the duties of writing on heavy metal, his identity as a fan disappears. As long as they expect others to listen to them (and what writer doesn't?), writers can't just be fans. As long as a record company is looking at them to spread the word of new releases, they can't just be fans. Writers are not proper publicists. We are not fans. We are nothing.
(One advantage that fans and musicians have lost over the writers is the old "They didn't pay for it so their opinion doesn't mean anything" argument. Thank you illegal MP3 downloading!)
No matter their initial motivation, and no matter how well the writing ends up being, heavy metal music writers are worse than most music writers because of the heavily marginalized and stigmatized nature of the material they're covering. This leads them to believe they are making a difference simply by writing about it. It's understandable. When many albums still only sell a few thousand copies, if a website review or interview gets a few hundred hits, or if a printed article is in a magazine that sells a few thousand copies, saying "I helped!" is a natural reflex. IQ points are rare and precious things in this environment.
