For almost 35 years, DJ Mag has been fertile ground for music fans, acting as a springboard for new and established producers to get their latest works in front of readers. But how does someone get their start in music journalism and ultimately end up writing for a title like DJ Mag?

Collabhouse asked the magazine’s albums editor and staff writer, Ria Hylton, a few questions to find out more…

• Name: Ria Hylton
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• Job Title: DJ Mag’s albums editor and staff writer
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• Job Role Description: I commission a pool of freelancers to write reviews for the albums section, write cover and other longform features for the print mag, sub edit and proof pages.
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• What does a typical day in the life of a DJ Mag journalist look like? Can’t say there’s a typical day as such, but throughout the week there will be a number of team meetings where we plan future coverage and discuss ongoing commissions.
  
  I get quite a few emails a day (I just counted 85 today) so will spend time trying to get through/answer those, but if I have a big feature I’ll try and block out time for research, interview prep, writing etc.
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• What do you enjoy most about your job? Interviewing artists is perhaps the best part of the job. I’ve had some amazing conversations with both musical heroes and up-and-coming talent and I always come away feeling inspired.
  
  Travelling is also nice — I received a random email from Insomnia, a techno music festival in Norway, last October and a week later I was in the Arctic Circle interviewing all these amazing local artists.
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• What are the biggest challenges you tend to face in your job? Keeping on top of all the new releases is tricky and I sometimes wonder about all the records we (I) might have missed. I’m also not a natural networker so press trips and industry events can be a little tricky at times.
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• What’s been your biggest success to date in your job? We’ve got a great pool of writers reviewing albums at the moment and some have gone on to write for other sections of the mag, so that’s nice.
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• How did you get started in the music industry? Was it easy? In 2018 I was living in Berlin and decided to go freelance after working at a news agency. I reached out to RA with a portfolio of recent work and they asked me to review this new queer festival, WHOLE. I did and from then on I wrote the odd RA review and feature.
  
  By 2020 I was back in London DJing in bars and pubs in the city and when the pandemic hit I decided to study for the NCTJ qualification. I reached out to RA again, basically said ‘I’m running out of cash so if you have any work I’m around’. They got me doing a news shift on the weekend and things grew from there.
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• What abilities did you learn in your early career that you still carry through to your role today? Patience. Sometimes ‘no’ just means ‘not now’. Best not to take things too personally.
  
• What advice would you give to someone who’s thinking about getting into music journalism? Listen to lots of music! Follow the work of music journalists you like. Read books about journalism and story telling. Get a journalism qualification — ideally an NCTJ as you’ll learn shorthand, media law, and court room reporting, plus it’s cheaper than a degree — and start following all the editors at the publications that you’d like to write for.
  
  If you start pitching, make sure you’re not proposing a story that the publication has already covered, and don’t take it personally if no one gets back to you. Key questions to answer in a pitch: why now and why me  — i.e. where am I in the world and what’s my access?
  
  For example, if you’re planning to be at a new DIY fest in Morocco in two months and you’re already in touch with the organisers and local music community, that could be really interesting. Or if you live in the same town as an artist who hasn’t given an interview in years but is willing to speak with you, also very interesting.
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• Is there one piece of advice you wish someone had told you early on? General money stuff — start putting money into a pension scheme as soon as you start work (open up a SIPP if you’re a freelancer). Learn to drive as soon as you can too.
  
  In terms of work, figure out what you love doing and find people who are a few steps ahead of you and willing to share their successes and mistakes. A good mentor will save you a ton of time.
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• Finally, how much joy does your job bring you? Eight out of ten :)

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