What is Avant Music News?

A place where information related to avant-garde music is available. Currently most of this information consists of new release, review and tour dates, but the content of the site is not limited in any way.

Who is behind it?

That would be me :-). If you’re really curious, take a look at my web site.

What is your definition of avant-garde music?

We provide no definition, as avant-garde is by definition limitless. We keep a fairly open mind about it and are not against stretching boundaries and definitions, or going off-topic occasionally.

What is your policy on podcasts?

We used to post reduced-quality podcasts of pieces of music that we’ve been listening to here at AMN. Presently our podcasts are via a promotional agency, are much higher quality and contain album graphics and links to where you can learn more or purchase the recording.

How do I get an article posted on the site?

Send an email to mike@avantmusicnews.com. Alternatively, register for the site and if you develop a good track record via comments, we will let you post on the site.

Do you post all submitted articles?

No. We tend to avoid posting submissions that fit any of the following descriptions: (1) Commercial in nature or otherwise self-serving, (2) Articles / topics that are not tied closely enough with avant-garde music, (3) Anything that links to a web page that requires a registration (we have made very few but notable exceptions to this rule, for example the New York Times, because of the quality of their articles).

Do all submissions have to be in English?

Yes, although the music does not have contain English lyrics nor does the physical location or cultural background of the artist matter.

I’m an artist, label, publisher, or promoter and I’d like your site to have an entry on me…what should I do?

Send an email to mike@avantmusicnews.com. Include a link to some downloadable music samples of your work. We will listen and decide if your material fits our scope.

Do you get paid to review or say nice things about music discussed on the site?

From time to time, we are sent “freebies,” or promotion copies of CDs, MP3 files, and the like. Sometimes, this will result in the material being given a positive writeup on AMN, and other times it will not. On the other hand, the majority of material that receives positive writeups on AMN was not sent to us as a freebie. In other words, just sending us a freebie will not necessarily result in our saying anything at all about the material, and our opinions are not for sale.

How come there is more news on some days than others?

That’s just the way it is. Some days have more newsworthy submissions. If we don’t hear any news on a given day, we don’t post anything for that day. Having said that, it is very rare for us to not have at least one post for a given day.

You sometimes post just a one-liner with a link. Why not add more insight?

We prefer to let the news speak for itself rather than adding our spin to it. Not to say that we never add our spin to articles – sometimes we do. However the main goal of the site is just to link people to information of interest.

You have some links on the AMN site to other sites of interest. What is your criteria for linking to other sites?

We try not to link to too many sites because that would probably be more confusing than useful. The sites that we link to are ones that we think that our readers would get the most out of.

Are you on any social networks?

Yes, we’re on Facebook and Twitter.