Q: How can I get reviewed?

A: I suggest you reach out to me or to one of my writers, but be patient. Since we all have other “day jobs,” we don’t have as much time to discover new music as we’d like. So please, suggest a song or two we can find online, and we’ll try to find time to listen and get in touch with you if we’d like a full collection of your songs to review. At that point, you can send a larger collection to us via e-mail (or send a dropbox link to our e-mail) or, if you prefer, you can send physical product – you can discuss that with the particular writer – and unless we’re surprised that we aren’t impressed, we’ll probably review you.

And if I or any of my writers fail to get back to you when you reach out to us, please cut us some slack. I’ve been unable to keep up with the musicians who’ve started following me on twitter when I was just a former music journalist; I can only imagine I’ll fall even farther behind now. If you don’t hear from us, give us a month and try again. And be kind. We’re just people with other day jobs and outside lives doing this because we love it, even though we really don’t have enough time.

There are a couple easy ways to contact us. You can use this contact form.  Or you contact me via Twitter. (If it’s obvious from your Twitter profile you’re a musician, I’ll follow you back, and then we can start our discussion via private message.)  As my writers get started and I add their contact pages, you can contact each writer individually based on style of music (targeting the writers you think might be most interested) or geography (for live review requests).

Q: Why did you start Geoff Wilbur’s Music Blog?

A: After more than a decade away from music journalism, I began discovering new music again. It spurred my desire to once again help great musicians/bands find an audience, provide music industry executives with a place to discover talented musicians/bands in a variety of styles, and help music fans more easily discover excellent new music. As has always been the case with my writing and my publications, my goal is to introduce the music in a way that gives readers a glimpse into what the music sounds like. Of course, the way this blog differs from my old music publication is that there are no deadlines or pages to fill. As a result, we will share with you reviews and articles about music we like as our schedules allow (rather than reviewing most of what we’re sent and working around specific deadlines, as we did with my old print publication).

Q: What style of music do you cover?

A: We are willing to cover all styles of music. Through my years writing about music, I developed an interest in great music in a variety of styles, so I, personally, am able to cover most musical styles. I enjoy great voices, great musicianship, and great songwriting, which covers most styles of music. The others who write for me will have a varying ability to cover different styles. So if the blog seems to more heavily cover one style of music or another for periods of time, that’s merely a function of the music we’ve been discovering. All styles are welcome.

Q: What is the positioning and anticipated readership of Geoff Wilbur’s Music Blog?

A: After more than a decade away from music journalism, I’ll be banking on the reputation I have with some of my old contacts in the music industry and music scene veterans to provide Geoff Wilbur’s Music Blog with the reputation to, at a minimum, be considered a widely respected blog, whether or not it receives a large number of hits. In other words, whether or not we’re widely read, the reviews and interviews will at least be something from a respected source the bands we cover can link to. The hope, of course, is that as more people discover this site, it will become a more well-known resource for fans and industry professionals seeking great music.

Q: How can I make sure I see all of the great reviews and articles on Geoff Wilbur’s Music Blog?

A: If you’re interested in reading the blog regularly, it’s probably worth subscribing. You can do that by going to this page. Alternately, at the bottom of the right side-bar if you’re on your PC (or at the bottom of the page if you’re on a smartphone), there will be a way to subscribe to the blog by e-mail. My plan is to rarely post more than one blog post per day, so I promise I won’t clog your inbox. In fact, once you’ve subscribed, there’s an option that allows you to edit your subscription to receive blog posts as they’re created, to receive no more than one e-mail per day (not particularly necessary, as there will rarely be more than one per day [perhaps if writers catch multiple live shows, since I like to get those posted quickly], though the option is here for you in case that ever changes), or to receive no more than one e-mail per week.

If you want to see old posts, you can see the most recent posts along the right-hand side of the screen (if you’re on the PC – at the end of the post if you’re on a smartphone). Alternately, I’ve created a Pinterest board for Geoff Wilbur’s Music Blog. Here, you’ll be able click on any of the blog posts, with a brief piece of text and a photo linking to each post.

Q: Can I write for Geoff Wilbur’s Music Blog?

A: Sure. Absolutely. This blog is just an avocation, a labor of love, so there’s no money involved. But if you’re a budding music journalist looking for a few more writing credits for your portfolio or a music fan who would love a chance to write about great music, just as was the case with my print publication, I’ll welcome you aboard. I started this blog because I had recently started seeking out great new music again and wanted an outlet to allow me to write the occasional review or interview. When some former writers, friends, and contacts asked me if they could write for me, too (and in the case of my former writers, again), I decided I’d gladly again be an outlet for those who share my vision, which is…

The Geoff Wilbur’s Music Blog’s targeted writing style is descriptive. And we stand by the “if you can’t write something nice…” philosophy. Every band/artist has fans. Try to figure out what the band’s fans like about them. If you describe the music well enough, potential fans will know to check it out while those who won’t like it (even if that includes the reviewer) will know it’s not their style. If you’re convinced the band is simply not good and that no one would enjoy the music, don’t write the review. Personally, since I have limited time in my daily life, a lot of my write-ups on here will be about artists I love. And yes, if you think a band is amazing, you can scream that at the top of your lungs. This blog is meant as a place people can come to discover great new music. There will be enough amazing bands we want to tell the world about that we don’t need to pollute the feed with bad reviews.

So, if you’re interested, reach out. Send me a note using the contact form, which you can find at this link.

Q: What should I do if I find a broken link on this site?

A: Well, links do change or disappear from time to time, so if you spot something, we encourage you to reach out via our contact form. We’ll appreciate the assistance in helping keep Geoff Wilbur’s Music Blog a useful resource, even for older reviews. Because every album, no matter how old, is new to you if you haven’t heard it before, and great music is timeless. Whenever we spot a broken link, we replace it with a working link or remove it if necessary.