Music journalism

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Music journalism is criticism and reportage about music. It began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today generally classified as music criticism, comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of music and its performance. Modern music criticism is often informed by music theory consideration of the many diverse elements of a musical piece or performance, including (as regards a musical composition) its form and style, and as regards performance, standards of technique and expression. It was expressed, for example, in journals such as Neue Zeitschrift für Musik founded by Robert Schumann, and is continued today in the columns of serious newspapers and journals such as The Musical Times. Today a major branch of music journalism is an aspect of entertainment journalism — covering popular music and including profiles of singers and bands and album reviews.

History

The English composer Charles Avison (1709-1770) published the first work on musical criticism in the English language. It was an Essay on Musical Expression published in 1752. In it Avison criticized the music of one of his contemporaries, George Frideric Handel.

Before about the 1840s, reporting on music was either done by musical journals, such as Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung (published by Breitkopf & Hartel, and then by Rieter-Biederman between 1798 and 1882), or the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (founded by Robert Schumann), and in London such journals as The Musical Times (founded in 1844 as The Musical Times and Singing-class Circular); or else by reporters at general newspapers where music did not form part of the central objectives of the publication. An influential English 19th-century music critic, for example, was John Davison of The Times.

Several factors — including growth of education, the influence of the Romantic movement generally and in music, popularization (including the 'star-status' of many performers such as Liszt and Paganini), among others — led to an increasing interest in music among non-specialist journals, and an increase in the number of critics by profession, of varying degrees of competence and integrity. The situation here was distinguished from that before the 1840s, in that the critics now — on the whole — were not also practising musicians; this could be considered a turning‐point.

Popular music journalism

Popular music journalists write books and articles on music and artists in various fields, from jazz and folk music to rock music, rhythm and blues, hip hop and top forty pop. In addition to writing features and profiles and interviewing artists and producers, journalists write reviews of records, CDs, DVDs and concert reviews. Where criticism of classical or art music usually deals with the music itself (drawing on the analyses to be found in such journals as The Musical Times), popular music journalism has a greater tendency to focus on additional, non-musical topics such as fashion, style and lifestyle and youth culture generally. Magazines featuring such journalism include Rolling Stone, Creem, URB, College Music Journal, New Musical Express and The Source.

Popular music journalists have been the targets of criticism by their subjects. For example, Frank Zappa said about rock journalism, "Rock journalism is people who can't write interviewing people who can't talk for people who can't read.^[1]

Notable writers on popular music

• Robert Christgau
• Lester Bangs
• Dave Marsh
• Charles Shaar Murray
• Jeffrey Morgan
• Charlie Gillett
• Peter Guralnick
• Mick Farren
• Greil Marcus
• Jon Savage
• Jon Landau

See also

• Music critic
• Rock's Backpages

External links

• International Federation of Music Journalists - an international group of media professionals who treat any aspect of music on any media. Publishes the "Directory of Music Journalists" and confers "Music Journalist Award".
• Our critics' advice - In this article Alex Petridis gives advice to young, aspiring, would-be music journalists.
• Don't look back - The Guardian, 27th of June 2009. In this article John Harris writes about music journalism with reference to the well-known journalists Nick Kent and Lester Bangs.
• Is Music Journalism Dead? - Drowned in Sound, 21st July 2009. Popular music website Drowned in Sound dedicated a week to the subject of the past, present and future of music journalism. Included are articles by Everett True and Stuart Braithwaite.

References