Music News: 5 Great Music Blogs to Get Your Fix

Not sure where to find music news on the Net? There are many sites, but often fan-driven ones are the best. Since they aren’t part of a corporation the news doesn’t need to be edited by a number of different people before being put out. This results in both frequent and fast updates. Whether you’re looking for a show to go to in your city, a review of a recent release, or just general buzz in the music industry these sites might be just what you’re looking for.

1. Brooklyn Vegan is the first music site I check during the day. It has up-to-date and often the first postings on tour schedules. It was on this site that I was able to learn of a pre-sale for The Editors show back in the spring and how to become eligible for it. The show sold out in minutes, so had I not bought my tickets during the pre-sale there’s a good chance I could’ve been shut out. As of today on his main page alone there’s information on pre-sales for Flaming Lips and Sufjan Stevens. Along with tour-schedules, Brooklyn Vegan also posts of in-store performances by bands. I find this to be good because unless I’m specifically looking for it, I never find out about in-store performances.

2. Stereogum is a great blog that touches on many genres of music. Scott, the man who runs Stereogum often has news about bands that are working on new albums and their progress, and even provides links to samples when available. It’s a great way to hear a preview of a band’s next offering. Looking for the new “it” music video? Chances are you can find it here courtesy of Youtube or a link to it somewhere else on the web. In addition, Stereogum contains excerpts of music news from major publications such as Newsweek and The Observer.

3. Coolfer focuses more on the music industry than on specific bands. If you want a daily round-up of music stories in the news this is the place to start. Articles range from record sales to new album release dates to chart re-caps. This is also the site where I first read about Sony’s rootkits (the technology put on cds that limits the number of copies that can be made of a cd and limits the number of computers a cd can be imported onto).

4. The Modern Age is a music-based blog I like to read because it doesn’t take itself to seriously. The woman who writes for it is not afraid to editorialize and insert her own witty comments (about the lead singer of Keane “Tom shook and touched so many hands in the front row I thought he was a Presidential nominee”). She also provides links to the music news of the day.

5. Largehearted Boy doesn’t produce a ton of original content, however it provides readers with links to various types of music-related news stories from a large number of sources. Here you can find links to stories about what products to buy, including portable speaker systems and the best MP3 players available for under $100.00, links to information and reviews about music festivals like Bonnaroo and the Midwest Music Summit, links to interviews with musicians like Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, and links to fun stories and essays like “The Garden State effect” and “12 Delightfully Odd Concept Albums.”

While it’s very easy to use the usual sources like Rolling Stone or Spin to find out about all things music, why not try a different route? You might be pleasantly surprised at what’s available by just exploring outside the typical avenues.