Without any search for a modicum of sympathy, we think it’s fair to state that organising a successful music blog is a pretty big effort from the outset. Compiling the contents is an un-ending road of work, but making sure that those contents are of good quality, whilst delivering them in a tidy package, is a major time consumer. So what drives our commitment? We hope we speak for all music bloggers out there by offering one unified reason – the love of music and the desire to deliver it to our audience.
Now factor in the way today’s subjects, Yours Truly, deliver their blog, and you’ll wonder what hellish amount of effort they have to tackle on a regular basis. They don’t just discover great new music and write it up, they use the format of video to showcase the artists they uncover. We’re not just talking about uploading a batch of someone else’s Youtubes either, they actually meet up with the bands and record original videos. Now that’s effort – they must REALLY love music.
It’s for this original approach to blogging that this team from San Francisco earn an appearance on today’s post. The artists they select and the quality of their productions are outstanding and worthy of the mighty effort they clearly put in. It’s a formula that’s proved successful as bands are genuinely attracted to work with them, as they somehow manage to pull something fresh out of the artists they get on board, often getting them to re-imagine versions of their songs. Films done in a documentary style, with taste, is their trademark, but they also represent the one big element that all successful music bloggers share – altruism. Ultimately we all do it for the audience. Music blogs are yours, truly.
THE RECOMMENDER: When did you first become aware of the existence of music blogs?
YOURS TRULY: College, which would be around 2006.
TR: When did you start your own music blog?
YT: Yours Truly launched in 2008 as a blog and then became a full-fledged music website in 2010.
TR: What were your initial aims as a music blogger? What do you think makes for an excellent music blog?
YT: Yours Truly is all heart. The aim is to support good music and artists we love. That should be the goal of any music blog.
TR: Describe your music blog in three words?
YT: Good Music Curators
TR: Geographically, where is your blog based?
YT: San Francisco, CA
TR: Which genre(s) does your music blog focus on?
YT: All genres
TR: Do you work alone on the blog, or do you have contributors – if so, who are they and how did you initially get them on board?
YT: Yours Truly is a team of 4 and has outside contributors write, edit, and shoot content from time to time.
TR: Approximately, how many visitors does your blog get each month?
YT: Relative to the views YT videos get around the web, traffic is minor.
TR: What perks have you experienced since becoming a music blogger?
YT: Befriending some amazing artists. Traveling.
TR: Are you employed? (If so, is it inside or outside the music industry and what is your job title?)
YT: Yours Truly is a full-time gig for all 4 involved, but some spread out their spare time with other jobs that are loosely related to music.
TR: An important part of a music blog is the network it has at it’s disposal, so which other sites/forums do you network on mostly?
YT: Facebook and Twitter. Tumblr coming soon!
TR: Who are your favourite three music blogs?
YT: Gorilla vs Bear, Yes Yes Y’all, ISO50.
TR: What is more important to you, quality or quantity?
YT: Quality, hands down.
TR: What was your most popular post in terms of visitors?
YT: The Morning Benders video. Insane amounts of views.
TR: What do you think is the most effective way to earn comments on your blog?
YT: YT doesn’t really focus on comments, but I suppose asking questions or touching on controversial topics would spark comments.
TR: How often do you read music blogs?
YT: Multiple times a day.
TR: How do you think music blogs from the US differ from those in the UK?
YT: I don’t think there’s such a thing as UK content or US content this day and age. It’s all Internet content. Location doesn’t define the content. The curator defines it.
TR: Which aspect do you care for most in a music blog, a good design, or well-crafted content?
YT: That’s a tough one, but I’d go with well-crafted content. Design is omnipresent – aside from rare re-designs, it’ll remain constant. The content is what changes so it needs to be well-crafted to maintain an audience.
TR: Approximately, how many emails do you get in your inbox each day?
YT: Hundreds
TR: What advice can you give any aspiring bands, record labels, PR, agents, or managers, to help their emails get noticed?
YT: Keep it brief. Have links. Be personal.
TR: How do you prefer to listen to music online, (ie Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Myspace, iTunes, Spotify, Hype Machine, or any others)?
YT: Soundcloud, bandcamp, hype machine. Just getting into Spotify. iTunes to buy.
TR: What is the most common way you discover new music (ie through your network, tips from the industry, etc)
YT: Tips from friends, gigs, other blogs, traditional media/journalism, emails etc)?
Through YT’s network and emails.
TR: What does the future hold for music blogging? Do you see their importance growing or shrinking in years to come?
YT: Hopefully it will grow, but it’s hard to make any predictions. Internet age is so volatile. Anything can happen.
TR: Can you name an artist that you expect to break through in 2011?
YT: Kendrick Lamar will be a superstar.
TR: Please let us know any useful links to find you elsewhere online (ie, Twitter, Hype Machine, Facebook etc)?
yourstru.ly, facebook.com/yourstrulysf, twitter.com/yourstrulysf, http://hypem.com/blog/yours+truly/16395?autoplay=1
