I couldn’t be prouder of how the site has gone so far. 14,000 hits so far and counting since December 1st. We’re getting up to about 400 hits a day now – I really couldn’t see this level of success even a month ago.
First, I have to thank everyone who’s contributed to the site so far because I couldn’t do it without them. They give the site the balance, versatility and additional voices it needs to be readable and to succeed at the next level. They’ve been especially helpful in the last few weeks when I haven’t had a chance to post as often as I initially did.
Unfortunately, as great as the site has been, I find myself continually pondering its future and my future in writing.
I’ve been lucky enough to be an unemployed student in the last three months, where I have all of the free time in the world to study, write for this site and DJ. Unfortunately, I’ll be employed hopefully sooner than later and won’t have the time to contribute to this site that I once did. I had a vision originally that I could sneak in posts for this site during work or on my lunch break or before/after work, but I don’t know what the reality of that will be once I’m employed. I know that even after I’m employed, I’ll still have to take classes and study for tests in my spare time.
I love writing though, and I think it’ll keep me sharp especially when I’m doing something as left-brained as actuarial work. I really do want to keep this website up in some capacity when I start working, but I have to figure out what the ultimate goal of the site should be and at what capacity I can actually contribute to it. Here are a few options:
1) Use the site primarily as an advertising tool for my DJing.
In this case, I’d probably post on the site fairly scarcely, and really only update to post new mixes, songs I like (enough to be on mixes), and places/dates where I’m playing. The drawback to this is that it would effectively stop serving its current purpose and general readership of the site might plummet.
2) Keep the site the way it is, but add on additional writers and keep myself at a minor role.
In this case, I’d probably use this as an advertising tool, but try to get a full cast of writers to volunteer for the site and then contribute weekly or something along those lines. The drawback to this is that it would be hard to recruit a full roster of writers who would volunteer to contribute to this site full-time, and it would essentially become “my site” in name only.
3) Focus the site more on writing than music-posting.
This is an option I’ve been pondering lately. My personal favorite part of contributing to this site is being able to do longer posts (like the single reviews); to me they’re the most fun to write and the most intrinsically rewarding. In this scenario, I would focus the site more on short essays and ramblings about music but also sports and anything in pop culture or politics. In this option I’d definitely have to recruit more people to write for the site. The downside of this option is that it takes away much of the appeal of the site (let’s face it: free music) and that it would be much harder to gain readership solely through writing. It’s obviously possible, it’s the nature of blogging, but I feel like I’ve been spoiled with this site’s success, especially when I know I can attribute most of it to the abundance of music to download.
_____
These are all just possibilities at this point. The first goal for me is to get a job so that I can have actual capital to put into this so that I can give the site its own domain and give it some of the features it’s sorely needed. Once I can physically update the site, I can then really make the decision of where I want the site to go in terms of its design and ultimate purpose.
Until then, I’m gonna keep it simple and keep writing. Hope y’all have enjoyed the current site and these behind the scenes updates so far.
The Science Behind a Music Blog 