Brett Newski does what other smart and talented indie musicians do. He writes, records, tours, posts videos and even has a core of supporters on Patreon. So when he submitted an article to Digital Music News on “7 Ways to Find a Place to Crash Day-of-Show (and 3 to Avoid),” he was hoping to help fellow musicians and maybe gain few new fans. Then, things went very, very wrong.
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ONE OF THE CREEPIEST THINGS
THAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME:
REBUTTAL AGAINST
DIGITAL MUSIC NEWS
Guest post by indie musician Brett Newski
“I DON’T WANT TO POST CORRECTIONS OR HAVE SOME FIGHT IN THE COMMENT SECTION. SORRY. JUST TOO MESSY. NO HARD FEELINGS!”
– FOUNDER/PUBLISHER OF DIGITAL MUSIC NEWS
Want to hear something really creepy? A few days ago I submitted an article titled “7 Ways to Find a Place to Crash Day-of-Show (and 3 to Avoid)” to prominent music industry blog Digital Music News. It provided touring artists useful tips in finding last-minute lodging. After I submitted the piece, the publisher/founder did something truly dark and twisted. He went into my piece and added bullet points WITHOUT MY PERMISSION including:
“4. [stay at a] Groupie’s Apartment: often comes with a warm breakfast and coffee the next morning, among other benefits.”
I immediately was sick to my stomach. Not only would I never write this myself (“groupie” isn’t even a word I use…I personally find it disrespectful), I would never encourage musicians to abuse the artist-fan dynamic. How could the publisher/founder of a “legitimate” blog commit such an extreme violation of journalistic ethics? What a massive compromise to their integrity and lack of respect to their writers. After emailing the publisher/founder, he took out that bullet point but refused to post a correction at the top of the story, opting instead to “kill the piece” altogether. (His exact words were “If you don’t like the alterations, that’s okay. We move quickly on stuff. I don’t want to post corrections or have some fight in the comment section. Sorry. Just too messy. No hard feelings!”) Given the prominence of the blog and the number of people who may have seen this before it was taken down, and may now consequently have an irreparably damaged opinion of me, I have no choice but to defend myself and expose Digital Music News.
Over the years, I’ve had numerous pieces published by prominent industry blogs, but never has something like this occurred in the course of “editing.”
As much as the Internet has changed our lives for the better, this is a reminder of how dangerous it can be AND how we must choose carefully who we associate ourselves with. I don’t believe Digital Music News was intentionally trying to throw me under the bus, but based on this experience I do believe their content should be taken with a grain of salt. Consider sharing this for justice against irresponsible journalism & its catalysts.