OPM: Pause/Hiatus

After two-plus years and more than 500 releases reviewed, Other People’s Music is taking an indefinite hiatus. Traffic/interest has been down for a while, but worse, submissions have dried up. Can’t review music without a queue of submissions! And while I used to have, and spend, four to six hours a week to listen and write this, plus another 10 hours a week to promote this and seek submissions, that is no longer a possibility for me.

When I started this project I was in the midst of a period of dire unemployment. It felt like I’d never be gainfully employed again at time, but of course, I was. I am, more to the point. Boss likes me and keeps adding responsibilities, money, and assignments. And now I no longer have the capacity, time or energy wise, for a part time job, no matter how personally rewarding I find it.

I could keep doing this, perhaps, at a cost of giving up my own musical pursuits. That is not a reasonable trade off for me. I could also ignore my family, or neglect them by turning down paid work. Those aren’t reasonable options, either. Giving up sleep, dog walking or the occasional hour or two of TV is also not on the table — I do need to do some recreation that isn’t productive, after all.

That leaves quitting for good, or a hiatus. I am choosing a hiatus. The archives, with all 500+ reviews, will be online as long as I have the money to keep the site alive. I will still be taking submissions, too! And when I have enough for a new entry, I’ll do one. Could be next week. Could be a year from now. Could be never. It’s entirely up to fate, and/or you, if you’re a musician who has a release I would cover.

Subscriptions to the email list version are the best way to make sure you don’t miss it, when a new installment happens — sign up at the bottom of this post! RSS is also an option! Or come find me on social media; I will surely announce when/if another entry happens.

Until then, there’s always the archives. Or you could check out my music. Or heck, start your own version of this and review a bunch of cool stuff for yourself and your friends. Or even just…submit!