My first internet writing job was fun
A look back at ‘365 Albums A Year,’ which just wanted to show you good music.
In 2012, I was in college and enchanted by the idea of writing about music for the internet. I was involved with the student paper, and while local print bylines were exciting, I wanted to be like Bill Simmons and the Pitchfork critics I admired. I wanted to share my thoughts on music and culture with the world. Who doesn’t want to hear a 20-year-old tell you about his favorite indie bands?
365 Albums A Year gave me the chance to do that, giving me my first online writing job. 365AAY founder Charles Rousseau responded to my email application on July 29, 2012: “I’d like to congratulate you as I’ve made my choice and decided to include you in our writing staff.” It was unpaid work, but I was part of the online music world. My name was on a “real” music site. That felt amazing.
365AAY had the same goal as That’s Good, I Like That and many other sites in the MP3 blog age: To show music fans good stuff to listen to. Beginning in July 2012, I wrote an album recommendation every Monday, and was given the freedom to discuss whatever release I wanted, so long as I had 300–800 words to say about it. I took that autonomy and ran with it, covering everything from a Bobby Vinton compilation to instrumental guitar music from Jack Rose.
It was great, until it was over.
Charles emailed me on September 25, 2012:
“I wanted to share an important decision that I had been considering for a while and finally decided to take after talking with people who’ve worked on the site with me since the start of it [in 2009].
With the third year of the 365AaY coming to an end, I’ve realized that going on for another year isn’t the best idea. Although I’m proud of what I did with the site and don’t regret the adventure, I’ve been losing motivation in expanding the site and putting up new material. Somehow I feel as if the concept is too limiting to be pushed further at this point and I’d rather put an end to the site while it’s still going fairly well and while there’s a good opportunity to close it on a good note.
I hope you understand my decision and support me with it. I’ll admit that it’s really heartbreaking for me to depart from something I’ve spent so much time and put so much effort into.”
After I had written just 11 recommendations for the site, 365 Albums A Year announced it was publishing its final posts on October 20, 2012. Shortly after that, 365aay.com was no longer accessible.
After the final recommendations went live on the site, Charles emailed me one last time:
“With all the final posts up on the website we’ve officially put a close to 365AaY and I figured I’d send one last round of emails for this occasion. I just wanted to thank you one last time for taking part in it and for all the recommendations you’ve written. It’s weird because usually when I’m thanking a writer for his work it’s after he or she decided to leave. Anyways, if you’ve read my letter on the website by now you’ve seen how grateful I am for all of you writing on the site, and also I truly mean all I’ve said in it. We didn’t get to work together for long and I think that’s unfortunate because I really enjoyed your writing. You should’ve joined us earlier!”
I wrote this mainly so I could easily access all my 365AAY articles online (see below), but I think there’s a lesson here too. When you’re just starting to get involved in a new field, take whatever work you can find and try really hard at it. Be enthusiastic and put yourself out there, because early on, your job is really more about your next job. Prove to potential employers that you’re capable of doing well with a tangible example of what you can produce. 365AAY was my start, and I’m grateful.
I don’t know what Charles is up to nowadays. He told me he’d “definitely have some other projects when the time is right,” and that I should stay in touch via his personal email address. Googling his name yields obituaries for Burgundy wine ambassador Charles Rousseau, and I’ve emailed him a couple times since 2012 with no response.
If you happen to be reading this, Charles (maybe you’re still getting Google alerts for “365 Albums A Year”), I want to say thanks. Having my work on 365AAY kickstarted my writing career by giving me the motivation and courage to apply for other opportunities. This gig allowed me to talk with Jared Bell of Lymbyc Systym, one of my favorite bands. (ed. note: That conversation will probably be posted on TGILT soon enough). It seems the site was as important to me as it was to you. Feel free to email me (contact info on my website), I’d be happy to catch up.
All of my posts on 365AAY are gone now, or at least that’s what I thought. Immediately before writing this, I logged into my Evernote account for the first time in a long time, and remembered I had archived all my album recommendations. I republished all of my 365AAY posts here, and they were on these albums:
- Youth Lagoon, The Year of Hibernation
- The Men, Open Your Heart
- Novos Baianos, Acabou Chorare
- Theodore Treehouse, Mercury: Closest To The Sun
- Lymbyc Systym, Shutter Release
- Darondo, Let My People Go
- U2, Boy
- Jack Rose, Red Horse, White Mule
- Buckethead, Shadows Between The Sky
- Buggles, The Age of Plastic
- Bobby Vinton, Bobby Vinton’s Greatest Hits
The writing may be a bit crude, perhaps juvenile, but I think you can tell it was coming from a place of excited passion.
