"Wait, what? I thought music blogs were for downloads, album leaks, that sort of thing...who reads them?"

I have had many a conversation with people who are not fully aware that a 'music blog' could be defined as something more than a place to pick up downloads. Of course, it doesn't take too much poking around in the world of music on-line that you encounter Pitchfork, the NME, and Rolling Stone, what some ambitious music bloggers might aspire for their blog to be a bit like. It is, of course, worthwhile to note that Pitchfork does not have an accompanying physical publication, and all the while holds enormous weight in determining the success of many 'indie' bands and influencing the opinion of those who swear by it. All three have suffered much thumbing down, for lack of relevance in the case of Rolling Stone; after all they did recently give U2 - No Line On the Horizon a rating of 5 stars. Or because of over-hyping certain artists- pick your favourite, or least favourite, rather, indie sensation in the case of Pitchfork. As for the NME, they placed Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not at #5 in their 100 Greatest British Albums of All-Time list in 2006, right between the Sex Pistols and Blur.These are sources often read by a public who isn't all that familiar independent music blogs, save for if they are looking for an mp3 or ZIP download.

There are innumerable music blogs based around downloads, sometimes also offering commentary and even full-scale reviews, either original or cut-and-pasted from AMG or similar. The content here is subject to the taste of the blogger, and can range from current releases to specific eras and genres, and out-of-print material one might not find otherwise. You will find the familiar disclaimer about the mp3s being for 'sampling purposes only', and to please support the artists by purchasing their albums, merchandise, and/or concert tickets. Big-time music downloaders, being passionate about music, are more likely to be concert-goers; I know this from personal experience. These are the music blogs one often encounters on Google Blog Search, the Hype Machine, or Elbo.ws, on the hunt for downloads or reviews, and many are indeed notable for the scope and quality of content.

Though download-blogs and the following can be mixed, there are then the type of primarily news-based, fresh-content music blogs. Downloads are more likely to be singles or select album picks, and also less likely to cause any label uproar for removal, since the idea here is to promote the artist's work and not serve so much as a purchase alternative. Interviews, reviews, special features, live sessions- all prime pieces of the newsy music blog. Big-names here are Aquarium Drunkard, Brooklyn Vegan, Gorilla vs. Bear, and My Old Kentucky Blog, though perhaps the king of this variety is Stereogum. They serve a rather different role than downloads-based blogs, and are fast becoming an alternative (or additive) to the music news one can get from NME and Rolling Stone, with cases at times where they are amongst the first to break a big story.

Promoting this kind of would-be professional music blog can be trickier than with downloads blogs, which can come to anyone who happens to be looking for a particular song or album just through a little bit of searching. As with the download blogs, this type can gain visibility through appearing on other sites' blogrolls (lists of recommended, often similar blogs) and in blog networks. Chief among these is the MOG Music Network (MMN), which the music blog I started in July, A Future in Noise, was invited into in December 2008. If you run a blog that deals primarily in music news and reviews (it's helps, naturally, if it is also well-written and well-designed!), submitting your site to the MMN can be quite a boon, with their editors connecting articles to the relevant Artist Lounges on MOG, with particularly timely pieces occasionally ending up in the MOG headline ticker or front page; A Future in Noise has had the honor with our stories on Animal Collective, Jaydiohead, and the Serge Gainsbourg - Melody Nelson re-issue. Browsing the blogs in the MMN can give you an idea of the quality of content here, all the more a reason to join up.

The line between the so-called professional critics and amateur music commentary is often blurred, in the blogosphere at large, as well as with Amazon.com and Rate Your Music reviews, but that's the beauty of it, isn't it? There are so many potential sources of similar information on the Internet, but you have the power to put in your unique spin on what everyone is talking about, or bring to light what people ought to be talking about, and connect with bloggers on a similar wavelength.

One of the most rewarding bits about running a music blog is being contacted by labels and artists who want you to listen to and review their music, and even send physical copies, which comes as a pleasant surprise in the digital age. More and more people in the music industry are turning to music blogs as a means of promoting their material, as they should be. It is only a matter of time before the public at large catch up.

• UrbanFox wrote ...

• at 22:04, Tuesday 31 March 2009

"ref.last para, HEAR HEAR! And also the perma guestlist +1 status for all gigs in town is one hell of a bonus ;)"

• acidbearboy wrote ...

• at 12:25, Wednesday 1 April 2009

"Can you explain what MOG is all about? I got an invite too but didn't bother signing up. I just did after reading this and I'm still none the wiser. Is there a way to link it to my blogger account or do you need to manually make posts on the MOG site?"

• Marilyn Roxie wrote ...

• at 20:12, Wednesday 1 April 2009

"MOG's Music Network offers a syndication service, meaning that you still make posts through Blogger, Wordpress, or whatever current blogging service that you use. After you make the post on your own website, after a short while, that same post is indexed on MOG. For example, this is my music blog: http://www.afutureinnoise.com/rnAnd this is where my posts get syndicated: http://mog.com/blog_post/content/816rnThese posts are connected to the artist pages for musicians I'm blogging about, and editors can select particular articles for inclusion in the ticker or main page- all of which helps to get A Future in Noise, and the other MMN blogs more exposure! This occurs after signing up and adding the MOG badge and ticker to your own page. Plus, you are able to collect Adify revenue from any ads you choose to place on your page, as they are partnered with MOG."