By Claire Marie Blaustein
Why are you reading this right now?
Is it because you know who I am (hi mom!)? Is it because you assume I have something interesting to say? Are you looking for something to guide you? Inspire you? Entertain you?
These are questions that have plagued me since I first started thinking about the role of the journalist, particularly when it comes to my field of music criticism. I write things, put them out for consumption, but what prompts you, the audience, to consume them?
At this year?s Future of Music Policy Summit, I was determined to find out. And the panel on The Future of Music Journalism was just the place.
The panel was diverse and star-studded: Maura Johnston of Idolator, David Malitz of the Washington Post, Mike Riggs of Washington City Paper, Howard Mandel the president of the Jazz Journalists Association, Raymond Leon Roker of URB Magazine, Molly Sheridan of New Music Box, Eliot Van Buskirk of Wired.com, Scott Plagenhoef of Pitchfork, Greg Kot, host of Sound Opinions, and Tom Moon, music critic for NPR. If these folks didn?t know what the future holds, then nobody does.
Well, nobody knows?at least not for sure. read more