| Submission Guidelines | Interview Guidelines
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
We're available to assist you with all aspects of the interview process,
from selection to contact, preparation, and publication. Please contact
John Kelman before setting up your interview, so that we can coordinate
publication and avoid duplication of effort. AAJ has a policy of
interviewing artists no more than once every two years, so please check the
Article
Center to determine if it's time for a new one.
CONTACTING THE ARTIST
You can either contact the artist yourself or ask John to help you
set up the interview, which will include acquiring promotional
materials, an important part of the preparation process. Please keep
John informed about your progress at all times--including when you
expect the interview to take place, and when you anticipate
submitting the piece to AAJ.
Should you choose to contact the artist yourself, the record label will usually help you out with this process, because they view it as good publicity when their people get interviews.
Email or call the appropriate person at the label to ask for an interview; usually they will get back to you relatively quickly with a date and time. You can also try calling or emailing the artist directly, if the label isn't helpful.
Once you've set up the interview, please ask for three or four images of the artist (promotional and/or performance photos) and forward them to John, along with all necessary credit information for photographers and/or sources. Links to existing .jpg images on the web are preferable, but you may also email images directly if necessary.
There are three ways to handle the interview itself:
- In person. If you're extremely lucky, you'll get to talk with the artist one-on-one. Interviews in person are always better, because the interviewee generally feels more relaxed and open in this setting. Bring a walkman to record the conversation. Get together over food or drinks in a casual setting.
- By telephone. If geography or scheduling prohibits meeting in person, use the telephone instead. Let the interviewee know in advance how long you would like to talk. Usually you have to pay for the call, but sometimes you can do it at the label's expense. Radio Shack sells a cheap microphone adaptor for recording telephone calls... just remember that it's illegal to record phone calls without first getting permission to do so.
- By email. Only as a last resort should you use email to conduct an interview. While email may be tempting because of the ease of transcription, steer clear unless you have no other choice. It's very hard to predict how forthcoming an interviewee will be. This can often determined by such irrelevant parameters as how well they can type, or when they have computer access. Another problem with the email interview is that answers don't lead to new questions unless you're assured of multiple rounds of Q&A.
QUESTIONING TACTICS
- First and foremost, do your research in advance. Listen to as many records as you can get your hands on. Read historical and discographical information from sources like the Penguin Guide or the All-Music Guide, as well as any articles already published at AAJ. If you have access to a library search service such as Lexis/Nexus, do a search and get your hands on some original articles. Because you should try to present as much new information as possible in your interview, you need to know what's already been covered.
- Introduce yourself to the artist up front. Tell them a bit about your interests and describe AAJ. This will give them a better idea about their audience during the subsequent conversation. Bring as much personality as possible to bear in the interview situation, but be yourself. This approach will encourage the interviewee to do the same.
- Avoid yes or no questions. Instead, try to make your questions as open-ended as possible without sounding ignorant.
- Encourage controversy. Try to encourage the interviewee to speak freely about whatever topic they desire. Often unanticipated subjects or issues will come up during an interview and end up being the best part of the interview.
- Always be prepared for a withdrawn subject. Have a list of fallback questions ready in advance, so you won't be caught with your pants down. If you find someone is not talkative, try to change the subject until you find something that piques their interest.
- Listen to the interviewee. Perhaps the most important part of a good interview is simply listening to your subject. The best question is often your followup question asking them to expand upon a comment they have made. You'll miss these opportunities if you're not paying careful attention. It's often best to allow the subject to determine the course of the interview, since that assures their continuing involvement and interest.
EDITING QUOTES
CHOOSING A FORMAT
You have two choices for formatting when you write up an interview. Choose what works for you.
1. Q&A format (Interview)
This approach is obviously easier because you don't have to do as much writing. However, it's sometimes not as effective as a well-written feature story, because you don't always get stand-alone responses from an interviewee. It can also be difficult to frame responses within an accessible context. While preserving authenticity, the Q&A format tends to have low information density.
The Q&A format is most useful when you're talking with an articulate person who feels free about expressing experience and opinions. If the interviewee gives short answers, babbles endlessly about minutiae, or otherwise presents himself as a dull person, you should strongly consider picking the very best quotes for a feature story.
- Please use the following convention when writing an interview in Q&A format:
AAJ: What was your first experience with butterflies?
CM: I got one stuck in my horn in Chicago in 1950.
- Try to organize the interview logically, especially if it transpired in a haphazard fashion. If the conversation had a built-in logical flow, you don't need to re-organize. Otherwise, don't be afraid to move things around to make it smoother reading. Just be sure not to change the meaning. When in doubt, the chronological approach is always solid.
- Compose a brief paragraph or two as introduction when putting together a Q&A interview. Briefly summarize the life and accomplishments of the artist; bear in mind any specific interview responses which may require explanation. Try to approach the material in a way which is accessible to all readers, but still holds the interest of those readers who already know something about the subject.
2. Feature story format (Artist Profile)
- Organize quotes around a theme. You're building a structure with your words that will serve as a foundation to frame the artist's words in the best light. Try to incorporate as much of the interview text as possible without ruining the flow of the piece. Somewhere around 30-50% of the text should come from your interview transcript.
You may find it useful to pick out the best quotes from your transcript and arrange them on the page before starting the writing process: this approach will allow the raw material to organize itself, and then you can just go about connecting the dots. When you get done with the first draft, read everything through carefully to make sure it flows evenly. Reading aloud can also be a useful approach during this process.
- It's important that your lead sentence reflect something unique to the artist, as opposed to a general statement which will cause the reader to yawn and move on.
- Strike a balance between factual information, descriptions of the music, and the lifestyle or opinions of the interviewee. Most people would like to hear about the music itself, but they also are curious about unique events in the artist's life, as well as the artist's opinions on interesting topics. Mix things up as much as possible without losing coherence. Try to come up with clever linking phrases that allow natural transitions between subjects, or play around surfing the interface between two topics.
- Strike a balance between the past, present, and future of the subject. The past history of a person's life can give great insight into the music that they make right now, but most readers are particularly curious about what lies ahead. Try to present information about upcoming projects, records in preparation, planned tours, etc. The fresher the material, the better.
- Close out the interview with something interesting. After the lead, your closer is the second most important part of the story. Usually by this point the reader feels somewhat comfortable with the life and opinions of the subject, so throw out a curve ball: something particularly quirky or distinctive which sets the subject apart. It's usually safe to close with a quote, but don't be afraid to embellish a bit, especially if the quote is a bit cryptic.
DISCOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
If it is reasonably possible for you to list the recordings made by an artist, please include this information as an appendix to your interview. (A link to another discography on the internet is, of course, more convenient and just as valuable.) For sparsely documented artists, a discography can be relatively easy to compile--and a welcome bonus for your readers. If an artist has made a hundred records, it's not reasonable to try and list them all.
When compiling a discography, you'll find it helpful to make use of the artist's publicity information, as well as record guides and other formal sources. Artists can often be quite helpful personally, as they often have a complete list handy to share with you. Please include the following minimal information for each disc you list: the artist, the title, the record label, and the date. Any additional data you choose to present would of course be welcome.
* Please use the convention illustrated in the following example:
Ron Miles, My Cruel Heart (Gramavision, 1996).
PULL QUOTES
When you submit an interview, please offer a suggestion for the "pull quote" that will appear in larger text alongside your interview transcript. Aim for a short and punchy excerpt that will pique readers' attention and help improve the general interest in your piece.
HOW TO HANDLE NAMES
Your first reference to the subject should include both first and last names. After that, you can use the subject's full name or last name only. Do not use his or her first name. Last names give you a more objective standing with the interviewee; first names tend to sound too chummy and isolate the reader. If other individuals come up on a first name basis, add their last names in brackets as described above.
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