Idolator

Every week, in the "Shhhh-it!" AnonIMous Super-Secret Music-Biz Interview Series (S-I!AS-SM-BIS for, uh, short) we interview a grizzled music industry veteran via the Absalom, Absalom!-like mysticism of instant messaging, lady mustaches and all. We talk about the person's job, the state of the industry, and whatever else comes to mind. This week, we bring you Mike Hellstrom, a music editor for an alternative weekly in a fairly large Southeastern city. His weekly is part of a very small chain but, as of right now, has complete autonomy. Given the news of the Chapter 11 filing by the Creative Loafing chain (home to weeklies in Tampa, Atlanta, and Charlotte, as well as the Chicago Reader and the Washington City Paper), we thought it would interesting to grill him about that situation, the state of weeklies in general, the importance of localism, competition from blogs, and how supportive to be of local acts. He also talks about why his scene (which shall remain nameless) never really stuck like Chapel Hill or Athens did, particularly after a super-huge band came from there:

Mike Hellstrom: when nirvana hit big, executives flocked to seattle looking for the next nirvana.
Mike Hellstrom: and they found it in spades.
Mike Hellstrom: when athens and the triangle area starting producing huge indie bands—r.e.m., pylon, superchunk, archers, etc.—execs flocked to those towns looking for similar indie artists.
Mike Hellstrom: and they found them in spades.
StumpyPete1975: yep
StumpyPete1975: and later with E6 in athens
Mike Hellstrom: exactly.
Mike Hellstrom: and when executives flocked to our town thinking they'd found a sound [after the previously mentioned huge band broke -ed.]
Mike Hellstrom: it wasn't there.
StumpyPete1975: aha
StumpyPete1975: that one band was an aberration
Mike Hellstrom: the band(s) that were popular from the area weren't representative of the town.
Mike Hellstrom: we were always much more in tune with the athenses and the raleighs of the world.
Mike Hellstrom: so i think that's perhaps why our scene didn't stick.

The entire interview after the clickthrough!

StumpyPete1975: do you have any inside scoop on the Creative Loafing situation?
Mike Hellstrom: not as such, unfortunately.
Mike Hellstrom: i only know what i've read.
StumpyPete1975: yeah, me, too
StumpyPete1975: I'm a little surprised it isn't bigger news
Mike Hellstrom: as am i, especially being from the southeast.
Mike Hellstrom: as that's where the majority of its papers seemed to be.
StumpyPete1975: yeah
Mike Hellstrom: atlanta, charlotte, a few in florida.
Mike Hellstrom: one in dc, too, i think.
StumpyPete1975: washington city paper and the Chicago Reader
Mike Hellstrom: yeah, chicago reader and city paper.
Mike Hellstrom: that's it.
StumpyPete1975: those aren't small papers!
Mike Hellstrom: not at all!
Mike Hellstrom: they just bought them, I guess
StumpyPete1975: does it freak you out at all?
Mike Hellstrom: last year, i think.
Mike Hellstrom: a little bit.
Mike Hellstrom: with mainstream and daily print media going the way its going, we can get a little ... i don't know, maybe sheltered is the word.
Mike Hellstrom: i think we think that weeklies are destined to outlast dailies.
StumpyPete1975: really!
Mike Hellstrom: obviously, chapter 11 doesn't mean creative loafings stop publishing.
StumpyPete1975: "reorganizing, right?"
Mike Hellstrom: but i think it speaks to a large problem in the newspaper industry as a whole.
StumpyPete1975: and what's that?
Mike Hellstrom: well, first and foremost, ad revenue seems to be drying up.
Mike Hellstrom: and the internet offering instant access.
Mike Hellstrom: to any and all information.
Mike Hellstrom: the daily newspaper used to be the go-to, trusted source for news and information.
Mike Hellstrom: now, we have wikipedia.
StumpyPete1975: ugh
Mike Hellstrom: which is almost completely unreliable as a source.
StumpyPete1975: sure
StumpyPete1975: but newspapers have adapted somewhat
StumpyPete1975: plenty of people go to nytimes.com
Mike Hellstrom: they/we/it have/has.
StumpyPete1975: what about weeklies?
Mike Hellstrom: i think the smart ones have adapted.
StumpyPete1975: I'm sure that ad revenues are peanuts for online compared to the print, right?
Mike Hellstrom: i would imagine, but i'm not up to snuff on the ad game to say for certain.
StumpyPete1975: sure
StumpyPete1975: y'all aren't part of a big chain, right?
Mike Hellstrom: we're not part of a big chain.
StumpyPete1975: what do you think the advantages are to staying independent?
Mike Hellstrom: we're part of a small-ish chain that owns three papers.
Mike Hellstrom: well, it's hard to out-niche a niche.
StumpyPete1975: haha
Mike Hellstrom: and that's what weeklies and alt-papers have to carve out.
StumpyPete1975: true
StumpyPete1975: you are one of about two games in town
StumpyPete1975: maybe three
StumpyPete1975: college paper
StumpyPete1975: daily
StumpyPete1975: weekly
Mike Hellstrom: well, there's the large, [conglomerate]-owned daily.
Mike Hellstrom: the student paper.
Mike Hellstrom: us.
Mike Hellstrom: and a handful of other local rags.
Mike Hellstrom: there's a black-news oriented paper.
Mike Hellstrom: a few arts and fashion rags.
Mike Hellstrom: we're the only aan-cerfitied game in town.
StumpyPete1975: what do you feel is a weekly's primary responsibility, particularly in the internet era?
StumpyPete1975: ombudsmen?
StumpyPete1975: raconteur?
StumpyPete1975: champion of localism?
Mike Hellstrom: i think it has to be a mixture of all three, and i say that perhaps because that's what we try to do here.
Mike Hellstrom: as a weekly, it can be hard to break stories and get big scoops sometimes.
Mike Hellstrom: but i think the trick is to be more ... maybe analytical about it.
StumpyPete1975: aha
StumpyPete1975: more depth
StumpyPete1975: a little time delay can offer good time for analysis
Mike Hellstrom: agreed.
StumpyPete1975: (that sentence makes little sense, but you understand...heh)
Mike Hellstrom: and google and sites like topix.net can't compete on a local level, because they have no local news gatherers.
Mike Hellstrom: the independent weekly staple is the local person.
Mike Hellstrom: it's often the "hip" crowd that's catered to.
StumpyPete1975: some are national, though, like The Stranger, the Voice
StumpyPete1975: do you ever wish you had that kind of presence?
StumpyPete1975: or do you think that you've got a good thing going focusing on local?
Mike Hellstrom: i think the paper i work for has a good thing going for it by staying local.
Mike Hellstrom: and i think that's what's going to keep weeklies afloat, is that provincialism, that inherent relationship it has with local merchants, bands, city councils, etc.
Mike Hellstrom: and perhaps i'm wrong.
Mike Hellstrom: but i don't think i am.
StumpyPete1975: no
StumpyPete1975: it makes sense
StumpyPete1975: hey look at the chain that just filed for bankruptcy
Mike Hellstrom: indeed.
StumpyPete1975: they bought Chicago Reader, a nationally-read weekly
StumpyPete1975: maybe got too big for their britches?
StumpyPete1975: I have a theory I want to float to you
StumpyPete1975: and it impacts your business
Mike Hellstrom: maybe tried to spread themselves a little too think, i'd say.
Mike Hellstrom: ok.
Mike Hellstrom: let's hear it.
StumpyPete1975: I've been thinking for a few years now that the blogs that will stick around
StumpyPete1975: besides a stray Stereogum or Fluxblog or what have you
StumpyPete1975: music blogs that stick around all have a strong local component
StumpyPete1975: MOKB has Indianapolis
StumpyPete1975: Each Note Secure is Cincinnati
Mike Hellstrom: the one in dallas.
Mike Hellstrom: uhh.
StumpyPete1975: Gorilla Vs. Bear is Dallas
Mike Hellstrom: gvb.
StumpyPete1975: (also I shot JR)
StumpyPete1975: in Athens we have the Day Jobs
StumpyPete1975: Brooklyn Vegan is a tip sheet in NYC, etc.
StumpyPete1975: I think that, in a lot of ways
Mike Hellstrom: and there are a few like that in [my town] as well.
StumpyPete1975: mp3 blogs are starting to muscle in on weeklies
StumpyPete1975: particularly in cities where the weekly presence might not be super-strong
StumpyPete1975: what do you think?
StumpyPete1975: do you feel encroachment from said blogs?
Mike Hellstrom: i suppose if i were in a king-shit town like new york or chicago or maybe in a scene with a strong history such as athens or raleigh i might.
Mike Hellstrom: but here.
Mike Hellstrom: ...
Mike Hellstrom: let me think of how i want to put this.
StumpyPete1975: ok
Mike Hellstrom: i guess the caveat is that i'm such an unrepentant homer for this scene here that when anyone starts a blog about our music scene, i'm happy that people are taking an interest.
Mike Hellstrom: but i think if you feel threatened by any and every blog, you're not doing a good enough job connecting with local folks.
StumpyPete1975: good point
StumpyPete1975: you have to get better
Mike Hellstrom: and it can also be helpful in certain ways.
Mike Hellstrom: say, if i see a new local band that's popped up that gets a shining review in a local-oriented blog, i'll see what's up there.
Mike Hellstrom: now, if a band from columbia gets a big write-up in, say, brooklynvegan, i've obviously missed something.
Mike Hellstrom: i think if the question is "will a local blog hurt local coverage," the answer is no, or perhaps more accurately, not necessarily.
Mike Hellstrom: unless, of course, your finger is far from the pulse of the community.
Mike Hellstrom: jammed straight in your ass.
Mike Hellstrom: then yeah, you might have a problem carrying some gravitas.
StumpyPete1975: I guess my main question is will it cut into ad revenues, coverage opportunities, etc?
Mike Hellstrom: coverage opportunities ... perhaps.
StumpyPete1975: but you don't see it as competition for now
Mike Hellstrom: i'd like to think that no one would turn down an interview with any paper simply because some dude on the internet did one with them.
StumpyPete1975: yeah, sure, though, as a publicist, you'd be very surprised what artists will turn down!
Mike Hellstrom: maybe it's just because of the situation i'm in, but i think right now, no.
Mike Hellstrom: ha ha.
Mike Hellstrom: i'm sure i would
Mike Hellstrom: i think that down the line, yeah, music blogs will probably become more and more of a threat.
Mike Hellstrom: as internet-enabled phones become more commonplace.
StumpyPete1975: but y'all can have blogs of your own
Mike Hellstrom: and we do.
Mike Hellstrom: we have a few.
Mike Hellstrom: and we're rolling out mroe.
StumpyPete1975: so...you are adapting as well
Mike Hellstrom: and many of our writers have blogs of their own.
Mike Hellstrom: and i'm lucky that they don't do it in direct competitin.
Mike Hellstrom: so yes, we're adapting.
Mike Hellstrom: i often get the sense that we've been slow in adapting.
Mike Hellstrom: but the local daily doesn't have a music blog that i'm aware of.
Mike Hellstrom: but again, their advantage is a round-the-clock newsgathering force that we simply can't afford to have.
StumpyPete1975: so your scene
StumpyPete1975: ever have scene(is) envy?
StumpyPete1975: I mean, you are in a pretty big American city
Mike Hellstrom: ha ha.
StumpyPete1975: with credible acts
Mike Hellstrom: uh ... yes and no.
StumpyPete1975: and good clubs
Mike Hellstrom: i think the grass will always be greener no matter where you go.
StumpyPete1975: but there hasn't been that breakout artist that I am aware of
Mike Hellstrom: well, other than ... [says a name of a positively huge band that everybody knows]
StumpyPete1975: oh haha
StumpyPete1975: YEAH
StumpyPete1975: breakout indie artist?
StumpyPete1975: hip-hop?
Mike Hellstrom: breakout indie artist, not so much.
StumpyPete1975: but I wonder why certain towns get it and others don't
StumpyPete1975: I've played with bands there
StumpyPete1975: I've seen the weekly
Mike Hellstrom: hip-hop ... well, there are a few emcees that actually have garnered a little interest from labels.
StumpyPete1975: I've seen scene support
StumpyPete1975: but why do you think it hasn't stuck nationally (and there are many, many more towns like that)?
Mike Hellstrom: uh ... the fickle nature of the industry?
Mike Hellstrom: i'm not sure, to tell you the truth.
Mike Hellstrom: well, i have a theory.
StumpyPete1975: shoot
Mike Hellstrom: when nirvana hit big, executives flocked to seattle looking for the next nirvana.
Mike Hellstrom: and they found it in spades.
Mike Hellstrom: when athens and the triangle area starting producing huge indie bands — r.e.m., pylon, superchunk, archers, etc. — execs flocked to those towns looking for similar indie artists.
Mike Hellstrom: and they found them in spades.
StumpyPete1975: yep
StumpyPete1975: and later with E6 in athens
Mike Hellstrom: exactly.
Mike Hellstrom: and when executives flocked to our town thinking they'd found a sound [after the previously mentioned huge band broke -ed.]
Mike Hellstrom: it wasn't there.
StumpyPete1975: aha
StumpyPete1975: that one band was an aberration
Mike Hellstrom: the band(s) that were popular from the area weren't representative of the town.
Mike Hellstrom: we were always much more in tune with the athenses and the raleighs of the world.
Mike Hellstrom: so i think that's perhaps why our scene didn't stick.
Mike Hellstrom: and with the ebbs and flows that any scene goes through, and with those days being the salad years for so many people, we have a lot of clamor about the scene being "better" back then.
Mike Hellstrom: and i think that's not true.
StumpyPete1975: oh God
StumpyPete1975: I get so tired of that here in Athens
Mike Hellstrom: i'd imagine.
Mike Hellstrom: i think athens and [name redacted] are similar towns in that regard.
Mike Hellstrom: but people here in [name redacted] absolutely love athens.
Mike Hellstrom: revere it.
StumpyPete1975: yeah
Mike Hellstrom: as if it were mecca.
StumpyPete1975: I've noticed
Mike Hellstrom: and not that athens is a bad town.
Mike Hellstrom: i like athens.
Mike Hellstrom: lot of good bands from athens.
StumpyPete1975: but you have to be your own town
Mike Hellstrom: cinemechanica totally one of my current faves.
Mike Hellstrom: but you're exactly right, you have to be your own town.
Mike Hellstrom: and i think that somewhere along the way, we forgot to develop our own identity.
Mike Hellstrom: we tried too hard to be athens or seattle or what have you.
StumpyPete1975: what is the point of localism? Why is what you do there important?
Mike Hellstrom: and whether that was the fault of people in this town or out-of-towners trying to make a [redacted city] sound, in the same way there's an "athens sound," i don't know.
StumpyPete1975: what is the weekly's responsibility? to be rarara?
Mike Hellstrom: i think that's part of it.
Mike Hellstrom: i've gotten shit for being a cheerleader at times.
Mike Hellstrom: but i think someone has to be supportive of bands that are doing well and doing noteworthy things.
StumpyPete1975: what about the bad ones?
StumpyPete1975: or worse
Mike Hellstrom: ah!
StumpyPete1975: the popular ones you hate
Mike Hellstrom: therein lies the rub!
Mike Hellstrom: that's the eternal question.
Mike Hellstrom: what do you do?
Mike Hellstrom: say you're in my shoes.
Mike Hellstrom: and there's one local band that you absolutely loathe
Mike Hellstrom: totally derivative sound.
Mike Hellstrom: absolute jerks.
Mike Hellstrom: terrible, terrible band.
Mike Hellstrom: but they land a major label deal, and they suddenly have a modern rock radio hit.
Mike Hellstrom: what do you do?
Mike Hellstrom: do you trash the band?
Mike Hellstrom: for being what they are?
StumpyPete1975: yeah, I think you can
Mike Hellstrom: or do you recognize them for what they do.
Mike Hellstrom: i think there's a balance there.
StumpyPete1975: but what about when they are just starting out?
Mike Hellstrom: and that, above all else, is what i strive for.
StumpyPete1975: do you trash baby bands that you don't like?
Mike Hellstrom: personally.
Mike Hellstrom: i try not to.
Mike Hellstrom: because i don't think that's either constructive or helpful
Mike Hellstrom: now, do i write glowing things about them?
Mike Hellstrom: absolutely not.
Mike Hellstrom: there has to be a level at which you prove yourself.
Mike Hellstrom: if you're in athens, and you start a band, do you immediately ask to headline the 40 watt?
Mike Hellstrom: not if you know what you're doing.
Mike Hellstrom: or if you're well-adjusted.
Mike Hellstrom: i think as a local alt-weekly music editor, you have to be supportive while being critical.
Mike Hellstrom: there's a balance.
StumpyPete1975: do you get hate mail?
Mike Hellstrom: i have before.
Mike Hellstrom: and i'm sure i will continue to.
Mike Hellstrom: it doesn't happen that often.
StumpyPete1975: that's nice
Mike Hellstrom: but i get phone calls or emails every once in a while from fans or family members.
Mike Hellstrom: or the band themselves.
Mike Hellstrom: you just kind of have to let it roll off your back most times.
Mike Hellstrom: last point on the last question: i think the bands that are worth their salt take the criticism you give and take it to heart.
Mike Hellstrom: they're not trying to please you, per se, but they take it as constructive.
Mike Hellstrom: but some folks, well, they're just gods of their own minds.
Mike Hellstrom: infallible in their tastes.
Mike Hellstrom: and there's no sense trying to reason with those folks.
Mike Hellstrom: those are the folks who will no matter what think their band is the best in town, and that it's a crime that universal hasn't listened to their demo.
StumpyPete1975: I may or may not have encountered such people
StumpyPete1975: heh
Mike Hellstrom: i was one of those people at one time.
Mike Hellstrom: when i was younger.
StumpyPete1975: that's pretty much half of the city of Atlanta
Mike Hellstrom: and first starting bands.
Mike Hellstrom: because i thought it was easy.
Mike Hellstrom: being in a band is hard work.
Mike Hellstrom: being in a band that's successful is harder.
Mike Hellstrom: being in a touring band, for a living, can only be excruciating.
Mike Hellstrom: i can't imagine.
Mike Hellstrom: i mean, i've played in bands and i've toured, and i can't imagine doing that with my life.
Mike Hellstrom: because it seems like a dream job.
Mike Hellstrom: but unless you're, like, pearl jam, it kind of sucks.
Mike Hellstrom: anyhow.
Mike Hellstrom: what was the question?
StumpyPete1975: haha
StumpyPete1975: are you concerned about the future of alt-weeklies and further homogenization of content
Mike Hellstrom: ah yes, homo alt-weeklies.
Mike Hellstrom: [tee hee! you see what i did there?]
StumpyPete1975: class move
Mike Hellstrom: i'm a dick, it's true.
Mike Hellstrom: am i hopeful for alt-weeklies or do i see them becoming more homogenized?
Mike Hellstrom: again, i think that provincialism is the saving grace for alt-weeklies.
Mike Hellstrom: i think that alt-weeklies inherently provide something to communities that dailies can't or won't.
Mike Hellstrom: that sense of pride that most alt-weeklies carry — or at least should carry — is that makes them viable in their communities.
StumpyPete1975: but what about these big chains?
StumpyPete1975: they can just come down and wave some money around and buy you up
Mike Hellstrom: they could.
Mike Hellstrom: it's true.
Mike Hellstrom: i suppose that's an inherent possibility.
Mike Hellstrom: but i like to think that smart publishers and smart chains look at the paper they're buying and if it's a good paper, they leave it alone.
Mike Hellstrom: they say, "you know, you have a good thing going here."
Mike Hellstrom: and i'm lucky in that i'm in a situation very much like that.
StumpyPete1975: yeah, you are
Mike Hellstrom: i'm a hockey fan, right?
Mike Hellstrom: and i knew the miracle story.
Mike Hellstrom: of the '80 olympic team.
StumpyPete1975: sure
Mike Hellstrom: and herb brooks said "i'm not looking for the best players; i'm looking for the right ones."
Mike Hellstrom: and that has to be the way any media outlet — daily, weekly, what have you — has to operate.
Mike Hellstrom: you're part of the new times or village voice chain doesn't mean you're king of the mountain.
Mike Hellstrom: so anyone chain that buys up a paper with a strong local bent and strong respect from the local community is going to have problems
Mike Hellstrom: i don't know specifically if that's what happened to the loaf.
Mike Hellstrom: but if they did, well then maybe we have our answer on why they went bankrupt.
Mike Hellstrom: i still think it's mostly the well of ad revenue drying up.
Mike Hellstrom: but once the economy bounces back, maybe some of that money will float back into alt-weekly pockets.
Mike Hellstrom: we'll see, i suppose.
Mike Hellstrom: i still think it isn't a bad time to be a weekly.
StumpyPete1975: of course, you could just take a big buyout and go live in the Caymans
Mike Hellstrom: ah, i'm not much of a beach guy.
Mike Hellstrom: i'm mostly irish; i burn way too easily and look ridiculous with a tan.