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Is Music Journalism Dead?

Even more global journalism at the official website.

Before the digital age, music journalists were lifelines for music fanatics. A chosen group of critics reviewed the hot new album before it hit the shelves. Reporters went backstage to get the exclusive interview with the big-name artists. But as digital technology evolved and the economy faltered, it not only rocked the business model of the music industry but also left many who called themselves music journalists singing a different tune.

With the advent of blogs and social networking, album leaks are common, and anyone can be a critic. Within the music industry, the Web has exposed more people than ever to a multitude of bands around the world, effectively devaluing the superstars who were regulars on magazine covers. Not to mention, some Twitter-obsessed rockstars update their fans instantly every day and cut out the journalist as the middleman. How have music journalists wrangled the Web and used it to innovate? Has the Internet spelled doom for music journalism or is the field undergoing a metamorphosis?

Join us this week when our panel of music journalists from Rolling Stone, NPR Music and the blogosphere discuss how music reporting has changed during their careers and where they see it going in the future.