We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Samantha Colleran. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Samantha below.
Samantha , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?
Since the beginning of VIBING ON VINYL, I have been independently running my own website and its respective social platforms. Running everything by myself has allowed me to test the waters with different styles for Instagram and ideas of topics to write about without having to get permission from anyone. I’ve built up a following of over 700 on Instagram and over 1k on TikTok just by using my own creativity and judgement on what I think will perform well. For anyone looking to get into the world of music blogging/music journalism, I think establishing yourself on social platforms is important so people know what your mission/overall goal with posting is, whether it’s getting your music heard or simply sharing your favorite songs/artists/albums with people!
Samantha , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
When the pandemic shut everything down in 2020, I was in my second semester of college. I was writing papers for one of my music industry related courses and had been told by a few family members that my writing was really good and that I should get it published somehow. I didn’t think much of it until I got sent home and had a lot of free time since online learning wasn’t fully understood or perfected at that point. What started as papers on Maggie Rogers’ debut album “Heard It In A Past Life” turned into a two week whirlwind of drafting a few starter pieces, teaching myself how to use WordPress, setting up social media accounts for my blog, surveying friends and family to get opinions on different logos, and getting my writing into the world. I write about a wide range of topics from concert reviews to new artist reviews, and even other miscellaneous topics like my favorite album openers/closers, different playlists, etc. As of May 2023, I have slowly begun incorporating concert photography into my work (The Academic, who reposted my work, and Eli Smart). I am also partnered with Universal Music Group’s 1824 sub label which allows me to gain access to press conference opportunities with some of UMG’s artists (which I write about) as well as apply for media passes for concerts for UMG artists. I’m so beyond grateful for the opportunities I’ve had through this partnership, and I can’t wait to see what 2024 has in store!
If readers would like to see my work, they can view my website, vibingonvinyl.com, as well as follow me on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and Twitter (all social handles @vibingonvinyl).
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The fact that there are artists with so many different following ranges that trust me to write about their work. I admire songwriters/musicians so much, which is why I have an entire blog dedicated to talking about my favorite ones. Having artists read my work and want me to write about theirs is something so special. It blows my mind that there are artists who have enjoyed what I’ve written so much they ask to work with me again. Artists such as David Diaz, Lexi Mariah, LO LA, and Eli Smart have all reminded me just how important it is to keep the art of music journalism alive.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
COVID was a really hard time for me, as it was for everyone. My college campus was shut down for most of my college career (we were briefly back in Fall 2020 before being sent home within 2 weeks of being back due to a high number of cases, I didn’t return to campus until Fall 2021). Having VIBING ON VINYL was really helpful to have, it gave me a reason to keep going when everything else went to shit (can I curse here?)
The emotions surrounding my college experience got in the way of my writing a few times, it didn’t feel fair to me that my other friends and family of the same age were still allowed to be on their campuses and getting even the tiniest bit of normalcy for that time of our lives (I understand nothing about college COVID was normal, but not being allowed on campus made it feel so much worse). There were times where writing felt like such a daunting task, I was too caught up in feeling depressed about the world and the things going on in my life to care about it. Then there were little things that gave me glimmers of hope; falling into artist’s discographies such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Oasis, Wallows, Phoebe Bridgers, always somehow managing to get back to my One Direction roots, that gave me new things to write about and once again made me feel better about writing.
If there’s anything anyone takes away from this response, let it be that music is truly a language. The way artists are able to describe my exact emotions, provide an escape from reality, or simply serve as background music to some of the highest highs and the lowest lows is the reason I will never be able to pursue a non music related career. Without music, I wouldn’t know who I am.
Contact Info:
- Website: vibingonvinyl@gmail.com
- Instagram: vibingonvinyl
- Twitter: vibingonvinyl
- Pinterest: vibingonvinyl
Image Credits
All concert photos can be credited to me (Samantha Colleran)