The British Council, in partnership with Afisha Daily presented a free short course on contemporary music journalism. The course run from 26 – 29 Septemberas part of Selector PRO 2017, the professional development programme for the music industry.
Selector PRO 2017 aims to create links between UK and Russian industry and entrepreneurship, provide training and support for developing Russian musicians, managers and journalists and share professional expertise and showcase new talent from the UK.
About the course
The course ran for four days, from 10.30 to 20.00, and included lectures, panel discussions and seminars with industry experts.
The course looked at contemporary music journalism from a number of perspectives: history and global trends; techniques; professional ethics; the qualities of a good critic; and how to navigate the modern music landscape.
Course leader
UK music journalist (the Guardian, The Sunday Times, Q, Record Collector) Paul Lester leaded the course.
Paul’s career has spanned over 20 years in which he has interviewed hundreds of musicians, from Mick Jagger to Snoop Dogg, written more than dozen music biographies and launched the monthly music and film magazine Uncut together with Allan Jones. For half a decade he presided over The Guardian’s New Band of The Day column and for the past four years has been running his own new music show on Amazing Radio.
Paul Lester is Head of Music Journalism at BIMM.
