Global GROOVE: Electronic Music Journalism

A workshop programme hosted by GROOVE Magazine in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut: Berlin-based magazine GROOVE and the Goethe-Institut have each been documenting, supporting and shaping electronic music and club culture for over thirty years. Together they are now inviting young journalists from all over the world to participate in a workshop programme with the aim of developing a written, in-depth feature on their respective local scene. Applications are now open until August 3rd, the full programme has been published here.

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has completely altered cultural life as we have known it. The sudden standstill of the global culture and music industry poses new challenges for artists, but also cultural journalists – with no gigs or club nights happening in most parts of the world, there is little to report about. At the same time, the new situation has led to the creation of new cultural formats, and spaces for discussion have been opened in the digital realm, not only by many of the figures from within the scene themselves but also by the institutions that are strongly linked to cultural events.

That’s how innovative synergy occurs: with their new cooperation, the Goethe-Institut and the Berlin-based magazine for electronic music GROOVE are welcoming ten aspiring music journalists from all over the world to participate in an international experience exchange in the digital realm. Both partners have been documenting and shaping the global developments in electronic music culture for many years. Their competence and vast experience will now be concentrated in a workshop programme under the title “Global GROOVE: Electronic Music Journalism,” hosted by the editors and writers of GROOVE magazine. They invite aspiring cultural and music journalists from all over the world and specifically from the so-called Global South to apply for the programme.

How does techno journalism work in the year 2020? How do you seek out relevant topics? What are the limits of music criticism and how do you even write a review? How can local voices make themselves heard in international conversations? What actually constitutes a good piece of music writing? In a two-week seminar block from the 17th to the 28th of August, we will collectively develop the tools with which music journalism can answer these questions. The workshops will take place online and are open for the general public. Once the seminars are concluded, the ten selected participants will take action on their own: in coordination with the editors of GROOVE, they will write an article focusing on the regional specifics of electronic music in their own countries, in their native language and with a respective English translation.

Besides the opportunity of having their piece published in both languages by GROOVE in November this year, the participation in the workshop programme and the article will be compensated by the Goethe-Institut with a one-time payment of € 500 per participant.

Applications are now open until the 3rd of August, 6pm CET at global@groove.de (subject line: “Global GROOVE: Electronic Music Journalism”). This offer is explicitly targeted at people whose native language is not German. Unfortunately, we thus cannot accept applications from the predominantly German-speaking countries, namely Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

 Requirements

• an interest in electronic music culture
• basic experience in journalism
• stable internet connection
• English language proficiency sufficient for fluent communication

Timetable for the application process

• August 3rd: application deadline
• August 17th to 28th: seminar block, one seminar per day from Monday to Friday between 1 and 3pm CET via Adobe Connect
• August 29th to October 11th: development and implementation of the writing project in coordination with the respective supervisor

Your application should include the following:

• a short cover letter outlining your motivation to participate in the programme
• a brief CV
• between one and three text samples (e.g. an album review, an interview or a feature) in both your native language and with an English translation. Pieces that have not yet been published will be accepted. The pieces do not necessarily need to focus on club culture.

Timetable for the workshop programme

• August 3rd: application deadline
• August 17th to 28th: seminar block, one seminar per day from Monday to Friday between 1 and 3pm CET via Adobe Connect
• August 29th to September 14th: project development, pitch to the project supervisors, evaluation of the pitches by the supervisors
• September 14th: feedback and final approval of the individual writing projects through the project supervisors
• September 15th to October 11th: research and/or interviews, writing period
• October 12th to 25th: feedback and editing period
• October 26th: peer review of all texts by the project supervisors and all participants
• From November 2nd: weekly publication of selected texts with an introductory note by the project supervisors

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Quelle: https://groove.de/2020/06/29/global-groove-electronic-music-journalism/