A Craigslist ad offers a glimpse into the world of music journalism. Online music and entertainment destination Prefix Magazine posted looking for writers with "an encyclopedic knowledge of music or film... previous experience in journalism preferred". The compensation? Less than a penny a word.
Excerpts from the ad:
"We’re looking for self-motivated writers that can work from home. Must have an encyclopedic knowledge of music or film. Previous experience in journalism preferred, but a lack of published clips can be overcome with entertaining, high-quality writing and a strong desire to be published.
Daily News Bloggers: Must submit a minimum of three news posts a day. (200+ word posts)COMPENSATION: This is a freelance position. $2 per blog post with the possibility of traffic based bonuses. Because of the volume of submissions we receive, we cannot guarantee that we’ll be able to respond to each applicant.
To be fair, Prefix is not the only online publication that offers very small fees to writers, and some of the writing on the site is quite strong. In fact, many blogs and sites offer no compensation. That's true for most guest posts on Hypebot. The payback is often just a writing credit and a link back to the writer's site or business.
Think being a musician pays badly? When was the last time you bought a t-shirt or ticket to see a music blogger?
via The Daily Swarm
