What is Music of the Day about?
It’s about music that has touched me in some way. Music has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember. My parents had eclectic musical tastes, so I grew up listening to a wide variety of music with virtually no snobbery about any of it. As a result, the “radio station in my mind” often presents bits of songs I’ve not heard or thought of for years, and there’s usually some kind of connection to something that’s going on with me or around me. Music of the Day (MotD) gives me a place to explore these connections, as well as marking significant musical events, or whatever seems appropriate to share on a given day. The best part is when readers share their responses, thoughts, and recommendations.
MotD has evolved since I launched it in July 2023. Originally, the focus was on music that comes to mind at odd times, but that’s broadened as I explore new things. Now I also write about music I discover that enchants me so much I want to share it; and unusual instruments that I discover and want to introduce to others.
I’ve also added a collaborator, Al Bellenchia. Others may be invited to similarly share, either as their muse strikes or in a one-off capacity.
What’s your content moderation policy?
First and foremost, I’ve always wanted MotD to be a place where others feel welcome to share their musical stories of whatever flavor. Thus, commenting is open to everyone and will remain so unless moderation becomes too unwieldy. All I expect is that comments be relevant to the topic and respectful of the musicians, the MotD author, and fellow readers and commenters.
Spam will not be tolerated; the first offense will lead to a ban. Similarly, proselytizing anything/anyone is unwelcome. Healthy, respectful discussion is welcome—including exploration of disagreements. Trolls are not. Bigotry of any sort will not be tolerated. Profanity is not an issue for me, as long as readers can grasp the message between all the F bombs or whatever.
How do you handle your subscribers and followers?
Respectfully! By which I mean I value your time and presence, and your decision to stay, participate, and/or leave.
The welcome email when one subscribes is short and to the point, with no upselling.
When one unsubscribes, they receive a simple “thanks” message, with no begging to reconsider.
I don’t game MotD’s metrics by unsubscribing people who don’t read regularly.
Posts never have upsell buttons or affiliate links to any shop.
I strip tracking elements off the URLs I use. (Semi-relatedly, I almost always use the current permanent link for Wikipedia resources, because revisionism has become an increasingly popular activity for too many people for me to trust that future versions won’t have content that’s exactly the opposite of why I’ve linked to the article.)
I am deeply grateful to all who subscribe and/or follow my Notes, but for me there is no prestige in having a large following. While I enjoy and appreciate cross-posts and links to other ‘stacks with similar interests, I’m not interested in promotional efforts of any sort.
What will change when you monetize MotD?
Well, nothing: I will not monetize it. My desire is to create a place for good conversations about, and explorations of, music. It doesn’t feel right to me to try to profit off of musicians’ hard work, as all I’m adding is my personal ramblings… and they aren’t worth much even to those who know me well.
I like your style and would like to read more from you on topics other than music. Is that possible?
Yes! Al has his own ‘Stack: What fresh ….?, which I highly recommend. As for me, I have a blog, WordPlay. While it does focus some on languages, linguistics, writing, etc., the content is an eclectic assortment of whatever I want to write about; it regularly includes content on psychology, philosophy, atheism/secular humanism, history, and whatever strikes my fancy when I have the time and energy to write. It isn’t monetized either: I just like thinking and sharing my thoughts in the hope of having a substantive conversation.
