On Turning My Passion For Music Into A Successful Blog

Sian Parker

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Published: January 10th, 2021

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Sian Parker

Founder, That Blogger Music

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That Blogger Music

thatbloggermusic.com

from Leicester, UK

started July 2016

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My name is Siân Parker I run a music blog called That Blogger Music, the music blog aims to give publicity to small/unsigned artists and bands. The job of the blog is to review EP’s, albums, singles, gigs, and interview bands as well as this we also give advice and help to artists and bands towards getting more gigs, general help with their music, and getting their name out there.

We don’t make money as such, we do get donations from some incredible supporters which go into a pot and go towards helping artists and bands with putting on gigs, etc.

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What's your backstory and how did you get into entrepreneurship?

Music has been a huge part of my life, I grew up listening to a mixture of genres such as Blues, Country, Electronic, Soul, and Rock, but my mains ones I use to love listening to were Britpop, Indie Rock, Alternative and Electronic. My first ever favorite song was when I was around 18 months old and it was The Prodigy ‘Firestarter’ so I think it was safe to say from then I was going to have quite a different music taste to most kids. Before I created the music blog I was going to a lot of gigs but the gigs were from bands and singers who were signed and well known, I wanted to find more local talent and bands who were not signed but I struggled to find anything online to help find the type of artists and bands I was searching for.

The music blog was started in 2016 after I and a friend (Ollie) went to see my friends band play, they mentioned that they were struggling to get any publicity and Ollie said I should create a music blog to help them out and because I got to a lot of gigs I could write about them. It took me a few weeks but I finally gave into Ollie constantly nagging at me and That Blogger Music was created, since the blog was created we have found some incredible artist and bands, some of which have now been signed. We have also had some incredible writers join the team over the years, some of which have gone on to work for some incredible music magazines. My friend Ollie also now helps me run the music blog.

Take us through your entrepreneurial journey. How did you go from day 1 to today?

As soon as I created the website I made a list of the few bands and artists I knew that were unsigned and planned to write reviews on their music. I soon created social media accounts for the blog and began to follow artists, bands that I liked that were unsigned, and also the people I knew in the music scene. I also researched how to promote my music blog and I posted each time a review went live on my website and soon gained followers. I’ve worked to create a following by posting on social media, word of mouth, working with some other incredible pages on Instagram as well as being interviewed on local radio, etc.

I’ve been non stop promoting on our social media pages, creating a playlist, going onto podcasts, and connecting with people in the music scene as well as bands and artists, I find talking to people at gigs has helped as well as I’ve made a few connections and word of mouth I find is a great way to promote.

How are you doing today and what does the future look like?

Since March the lockdown and virus have made it difficult for artists and bands to put on a gig and make music, I thought maybe my blog would go quiet but that was not the case. Since March the blog's followers have doubled and I have so many requests for an interview or a review on music. I find at the moment a lot of artists and bands are reaching out to people like myself to promote their music as it’s really the only way they can get their music out at the moment so I’ve been incredibly busy. I’m also now getting more requests from bands and artists outside of the UK.

I started this blog on my own with help from my friend Ollie to help run the social media accounts and I now have an amazing team of writers, I currently have four writers from different musical backgrounds who help to write reviews and we are planning to build on the incredible team we already have. The future looks a bit different at the moment due to the strange times we are in at the moment but it looks promising and very busy for us.

Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?

I’ve learned quite a lot since I first created the blog, the main thing I’ve learned is how to create something successful out of a hobby or passion also how to use social media to help promote as much as possible.

Nothing happens overnight it takes time to build but with the right tools and skills, the wait will be worth it.

It’s not an easy thing to get a blog off the ground and keeping it going but that’s to all the tools and tips I’ve learned along the way it’s making running the blog a lot easier.

What platform/tools do you use for your business?

I use social media such as FaceBook, Twitter, and Instagram to help promote articles, I also use music apps such as Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, etc to find new music.

I also use a lot of tools on my website as well as emails, the main one being an email listing tool so I can send news, etc to the followers.

What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?

I can’t say I have an influential book or podcast, my main influences I would say are the artist and bands I write about. Some of their stories about what they’ve gone through just to get to where they are today are so inspiring.

Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting?

Research is a key thing to do, you can never stop learning when it comes to running a business. Patience is another thing you need, nothing happens overnight it takes time to build but with the right tools and skills, the wait will be worth it.

Where can we go to learn more?

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