While activity on Cul-de-Sac and Who’s Laughing Now has slowed somewhat in recent weeks, behind the scenes things are still happening which will hopefully give added impetus in the future. The word ’strategy’ springs to mind, and so there’s bound to be lots of scribbling of notes, typing of emails and plucking ideas from the ether – not to mention banging heads against walls. All part of the process, and any major developments will be recorded here in due course.

Bye for now!

The past week or so has seen a lot of activity with Birmingham Comedy Festival 2008, and so I’ve been at a few shows including those by David O’Doherty, Ivan Brackenbury and Mark Steel, plus I’m off to see Richard Herring tonight. It’s a good time to be launching a new venture as well, which is more or less a sister site to Cul-de-Sac – called Who’s Laughing Now?, it’s a blog which is hoping to stimulate community around live comedy in Birmingham and beyond, although we’re also going to be looking at other media too and not just the stage.

It’s a website which has been developed in conjunction with Rich Batsford, and we’re looking for other people who want to take part in what we think is a really exciting project. So if you’re interested in contributing reviews, or want to find out more, then drop me a line.

It’s been a busy time lately. I’ve been working on a feature for the next issue of 4Talent magazine, about online comedy and drama – that’s taken up a lot of my time but been a fascinating article to write (more on that nearer the time of publication).

I’ve also been “inspiring” the next cohort of students from the Media Enterprise MA, attempting to pass on my words of wisdom. I’m currently trying to work up some ideas for my dissertation or MA project, and I’ll post here with details once I start to work on the project for real.

The next step is the development of a new project addressing the comedy scene in Birmingham, in conjunction with Rich Batsford, and more on that soon when things are underway – I’m particularly excited about this project and hope that all goes according to plan.

So what makes you laugh? And what do you look for in live comedy? I’m eager to hear!

Before I start, let me promise to never quote Lionel Richie again. Thanks to my involvement on the Media Enterprise MA I’ve been getting a bit of publicity on the Birmingham City University website, and their press release about the evolution of Cul-de-Sac has been picked up by the Birmingham Post too.

So, there are exciting times ahead. While a few things are ironed out and the big plans are looked over with a fine-toothed comb once more, let me point you in the direction of this plea for help. Cul-de-Sac needs your help to make a real difference – if you’re going to a gig in the West Midlands, we want your reviews and your photos. We’re trying to start a conversation so your input is vital.

To quote a certain Mr Baker, “Keep watching the skies…”

The Guardian’s digital content blog is reporting that the music store Wippit has closed down. It made its name selling DRM-free music long before the major labels caught on, although I only began to use their site when Danny Baker’s All Day Breakfast Show podcast was sold exclusively through it. When that series of podcasts ground to a halt, many were quick to blame Wippit (read the Candyman’s side of the story, and former Wippit head honcho Paul Myers expresses his take here), but it’s quite a shock to learn that it has ceased to exist.

So where are you downloading your music from? And do you think we’ll start to see other online music stores shutting up shop too, unable to compete with the muscle of the market leaders? I’d like to know what you think.

I’m holed up trying to write assignments for my MA, and evaluate how the Cul-de-Sac project has gone so far. So far there has been a decent amount of very nice attention for the site, despite me not being in the position to give it much of a push at the moment. There has been the rather lovely 4Talent piece mentioned in these pages before, plus Birmingham: It’s Not Shit and Created in Birmingham have picked up on it too, which will hopefully get more people looking at the site and provoking discussion.

So, with everything else going on Cul-de-Sac faces a bit of down time for the next couple of weeks, but I’ll be blogging more soon about developments with the site and other projects, including what I’m doing in the freelance world – that looks like it’ll be gearing up in September, and I hope to have some news about at least one other project that I’m really excited about.

In the meantime, please do get in touch with any feedback you have about Cul-de-Sac, as I’d love to hear what you think.

It’s finally time to let the eyeballs of the world gaze upon Cul-de-Sac. For the past month, this blog has charted the progress of the site in its development, and issues around the business of online journalism, and now we get to the exciting bit. You can find the Cul-de-Sac website here, in all its glory.

But first, some more details about the project. Cul-de-Sac is intended to operate as an online music magazine covering music activity in the West Midlands. Content on the site will include news stories, general features, interviews (with local bands, acts signed to local labels, and also artists due to perform live in the region), reviews of local live music events and a general slew of record reviews, as well as a host of other stuff of interest. I am launching the website as part of a project for my MA course, which explores Media Enterprise.

Now, when the site becomes fully operational I would like to cover as many forms of music as possible. However, this is also contingent on sourcing quality writing about music which exists outside of my own expertise. So, once a team of contributors is in place you can expect to find all manner of musical exploits being discussed within those very webpages. The content at present is a bit sketchy, and some of it has been taken from articles I have written for other publications of late, but you should be able to get an idea of what the site will be about.

This is the bit where you come in. The Cul-de-Sac website is still at the test stage and I’d love to hear what people think about it. If you like what you see, then that’s great. But I also want to hear from you about what you would want to see on the website – what would make you want to read regularly or subscribe to feeds, what do you think could be done better, and what do you think I should be covering? In order to learn more about where to take this project, I need to hear from you and by posting your comments at the bottom of this blog post you will be helping me enormously. So please take a look around and let me know your thoughts – all constructive criticism and abuse (and, dare I say it, praise if you think it’s worth it) will be gratefully received, so that I can properly evaluate the site and where to go next.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank several people who have been instrumental in the formation of the Cul-de-Sac website, and their input has been very much appreciated. Special thanks go to Geoff Dolman, Rob Strong, Andrew Cowen, Ben Javens, Lisa Meyer and Jenny Moore, Paul Bradshaw, Gareth Main, Stephen King, Dave Allen, Susi O’Neill, Kerry Thomas, David Hendley, Vanessa Myers, Zara Parekh, Annette Naudin and any other people I’ve absent-mindedly neglected to mention.

So, what do you think? I’m looking forward to hearing your comments!

It seems that IPC are doing particularly well in the online magazine stakes. With the announcement of the latest ABCe figures, NME.com has enjoyed a year-on-year increase of 107% in terms of unique users, while Nuts (121%) and Loaded (51%) also had significant success. Of course, this massive increase in traffic can only be good for their advertising revenue because of all the eyeballs looking at the website. Accordingly, NME publishing director Paul Cheal said:

“NME is dedicated to optimising cross-platform content, extending brand reach, taking its music-loving audience in new directions and offering innovative solutions for advertisers. Via its various platforms – print, NME Radio, NME TV, mobile, online, events – NME reaches up to 1.5 million music enthusiasts every week.”

This is heartening news for online journalism enterprises focused on music, although it does again raise the question of ‘culture versus commerce’. The journalist in me, who is all about the writing, finds that kind of language to be in conflict with the ‘art’ of writing, but from a business point of view it’s perhaps natural to talk in these terms. So, can the two exist happily alongside each other in perfect balance, or do the interests of one overshadow the other? What are your thoughts?

Right, I haven’t updated this for around a week, so here is a brief post about what’s going on. I’m currently readying some content to put on the site, ready for a launch very soon. I want this to happen very shortly so that I can gauge some feedback on it as part of the project evaluation for my MA assignment. More details to follow soon!

The inimitable Dave Allen has penned an article on the genesis of Cul-de-Sac for the sparkling 4Talent Central England site. Despite much preferring to be the one asking the questions rather than answering them, I actually sound relatively coherent. Which is odd, because if I remember correctly the interview consisted of me rambling for 45 minutes in a pub while Cher songs blared out in the background. So, just like any other interview then.

It’s a nice way of generating publicity prior to the ’soft’ launch that is scheduled to happen before the end of August, and also gives a nice promotional push for the Media Enterprise MA. I’m yet to hear whether I will get commission from the tuition fees for students who sign up for September, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time. Possibly the most amusing part is the fact that the article includes a cropped version of my Gardeners Click profile photo, standing in front of my shed. It’s only rock ‘n roll but I like it etc…