Some truths, or why I have to change the way this site works

For the past six months or so I've been wrestling with the fact that either I have to change, or this site does. 

BlackPlastic.co.uk started out as a hobby and an outlet for my views on music. Despite the modest size of the site in terms of visitors I find that over the past few years it has taken an ever larger amount of my time to manage. For those that don't know me personally this is just a side project - I have a separate full time job and run the site in what little spare time I have. And to be clear, BlackPlastic.co.uk makes almost no revenue, and is as such a loss leader (the annual hosting costs more than affiliate links have made in six years or so, not that I am complaining, or counting).

In other words, I only do this for the joy of finding, sharing and writing about music. Yet of late, I feel like it's killing what I like about music completely. I receive something like 30 emails a day from bands, labels and PR companies and to date have always tried to at least give the contents a listen. Some of what I receive is good, but quite a lot isn't... And the result is a massive burden in terms of time and a lot of what I listen to ends up dictated by external parties, which isn't fun for me and isn't necessarily great for readers.

Earlier this week I seriously considered just shutting the site down. I still plan on an extended leave of absence from mid-November, probably for a month or so to cleanse my pallet, but instead of shutting the site I'm going to try and change the way it works.

This will broadly mean two things:

1. The smaller change is that I want to most more short-form content, just sharing what I'm enjoying but not always critiquing or describing it. I've always been keen to be a blog that actually writes rather than just posting videos without any comment. That isn't going to change, but there just might be some more Soundcloud, YouTube and Spotify posts amongst the longer content. I've been dialling up this component for 12 months or so anyway but expect more short-form, and a bit less long-form. I hope this makes the blog easier to consume, more timely and more varied.
2. The bigger change - I'm no longer going to listen to everything (or even most) or what I get sent by email or through the site's contact form. I simply can't keep it up - it is slowly grinding me down and killing my passion for music. For a long time I've refused to respond to confirm non-coverage, those emails I receive, listen to and then decide not to feature (about 98%), just confirming when I do like something. But I'm now going a (big) step forward. I'm only clicking those links and listening to those samples when I fancy it.

Those two changes should enable me to better focus on the music I really care about and less on the music that just has PR muscle behind it. I hope it will make the site better for readers and less of a chore for me.

I'll try and communicate this change to anybody that regularly contacts me now, but I wanted to post it here publicly and give some insight into how things have worked in the past. If you currently send me music and this makes you want to stop, then I'm sorry and understand, but okay - do what you need to. If you were going to send me a message through the contact form just be aware that I will read it, but may well ignore requests to listen to links now... I never did before. I'm sorry that it has come to this, but something has to give.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you continue to do so. Comments are welcome on this list or feel free to send me a message.

News: Glastonburgh Festival Emerging Talent Competition 2013

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Now that entries are closed Glastonbury Festival have confirmed this year's judges for the Emerging Talent Competition and I'm delighted to once again be on the panel of judges.

If you are unfamiliar with the competition it basically gives one unsigned band the opportunity to play the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury. They've had some pretty notable breakthrough acts in the past so it's a exciting competition to be a part of.

You can read up on my thoughts on the 2011 contest - obviously keep an eye on the Glastonbury website and these pages in the coming weeks for news on the long list and this year's winners.

I'll be judging with 39 other bloggers to create the long list - from here Glastonbury's own judges will whittle down to the overall winner. All entries are divided across the 40 bloggers (listed here) so if you entered there is no guarantee I will be assigned your entry. If you have entered please note that I can't respond to questions around the judging. Queries to the blog tend to go up around the judging period so I'd urge you to not contact the blog unless you have a legitimate reason. Usual submissions are of course welcome as always - I'll just be extra busy!

News: 2012 Festival Round-up

Latitude Festival Image source: Commonorgarden

The clocks have gone forward and Easter is out they way... It's the time most music fans start thinking about the summer and which music festivals to go to. To help you decide here is a brief round up of some of the better ones.

It's a Glastonbury 'fallow year' meaning all is quiet at Worthy Farm until 2013. Some suggest it is down to a restriction on the number of portable toilets available within one country in an Olympic year but it seems more likely that they simply wanted to give the land a break. Normally every year with a one or a six at the end passes by without a Glastonbury anyway - after the festival last year we are overdue a 'break'!

Rearing up to fill Glastonbury's pretty large shoes are two pretty well established festivals that take Glastonbury's cue in focusing on more than just the line-up, although they definitely have those too.

First-up out of the two then (literally) is Suffolk's Latitude. Held from 12-15 July it brings music plus a lot more to the big blue skies of the East. The line-up is spectacular, with Bon Iver, Elbow, The Horrors, Simple Minds, Richard Hawley, M83, The Antlers, Chairlift and the War On Drugs providing highlights. There is much more though with poetry and literary arenas as well as a sizable selection of comedy, including Jack Dee, Rich Hall and Reginald D Hunter along with Brian Cox, Robin Ince and Al Murray turning up to present their Inifinite Monkey Cage. Very Radio Four. If the weather is good expect a blinding weekend. Get tickets here.

The other big hitter this summer looks to be Bestival 2012, which arrives on the Isle of Wight as the last major festival of the season from 6-9 September. I've not been to Bestival but rumour would suggest it is the closest you can get to Glastonbury without actually being there. The line-up may not be quite as broadly curated as Latitude's but it's almost certainly as comprehensive when it comes to the bread and butter that is music. Highlights include Stevie Wonder, New Order, the XX, Sigur Ros, Friendly Fire, Soulwax (twice, DJing and live), Justice and Gary Numan. Tickets can be ordered here.

If the big picks aren't your thing then there are still stacks of alternatives out there...

Lovebox continues to be your best option for a weekender in London. The line-up boasts Hot Chip, Friendly Fires, Grace Jones, Maceo Plex, the Rapture and Azari & III. Tickets are available here.

In the same London location of Victoria Park Field Day provides the usual selection of latest bands for hipsters - Com Truise, Gold Panda, Kindness, Peaking Lights, Rustie, The Men and When Saints Go Machine all feature on a line-up that is frankly too busy for the single day festival that Field Day is. Get tickets here.

Vintage Festival promises to take you on a trip back in time - expect vintage music and more besides. Chic and St Etienne and musical highlights but there are also plenty of DJs, including the Horse Meat Disco DJs, Danny Rampling, Norman Jay and Craig Charles - the full line-up is here. Elsewhere there will be classic cars, a vintage fashion catwalk show - coming from MAMA Festivals, winners of last year's Best New Festival award for their innaugral event Wilderness, Vintage Festival looks like it may be the dark horse of the festival season. It falls the same weekend as Latitude and tickets can be ordered here.

So there is a very non-comprehensive of some of the festivals that have me excited this year. What did I miss and where will you be going come the innevitable torrent of mud and rain this summer?

New: LCD Soundsystem Documentary Trailer Released

LCD Soundsystem made a documentary covering their last days. This is the trailer:

Apparently this isn't a simple video of the the shows although there will be a DVD of that. I'm rather excited.

Find out more here: shutupandplaythehits.com.

BP x

News: Domino Records launch Domino Radio

In the spirit of the current pop-up shop movement the plagues the East End (where I spend my days) Domino Records, one of the UK's best independent labels, have come up with the (much better) idea of launching a pop-up radio station for one week.

From tomorrow Domino will be running Domino Radio on FM 87.7 in London, or online everywhere else. Thankfully unlike most radio stations they won't be bothering with anything as dull as playlisting so expect some interesting music and presenters.

Head on over to the site to listen and to get a preview of the artists - I'm particularly excited for Bobby Gillespie, James Ford, Junior Boys, Liquid Liquid, Twin Sister, Yuck and Zongamin (whatever happened to Zongamin?!). You may also want to follow the station on Twitter for news as it happens.

BP x