It’s been a year since I took over the day to day running of FOTN. That year has gone quick! So much has happened, and all in the space of a few weeks between each other – not only did Tom and Steve pass on the legacy of a fantastic institution I was made a Godfather. I love you CJ.
I’m not going to lie, when Tom and Steve asked me, I immediately said yes, I then realised the responsibility that was being handed over – it’s a lot. My first thought was I’m being handed the keys to the porsche, but at the same time I was being given the world’s nuclear codes. You are responsible for lots of decisions being made, and it taught me some valuable lessons, I’m not a leader by any means I’m more of a mentor, that’s the way I’ve always seen myself but in one year I’ve learned how to lead, give feedback, resolve disputes, have difficult conversations and work to deadlines, as well as making sure that what the public see was to the standard that has always been maintained. It’s several life skills rolled into one.
By the way, imposter syndrome is real.
I have just been reading back on my old journal entries from around this time when I took over FOTN and in the week before it was announced I had a dream that I was on the Death Star. It was during the battle of Yavin and just as Luke Skywalker was about to blow up the Death Star, I caused a power cut, shutting down the Death Star completely. It was an anxiety dream and it certainly made me laugh at the time and it still does now.
A wise lady said to me (Louise Toal, ex moderator forever FOTN legend) nobody dies it’s okay. She was right. I panicked the first few weeks, but once I got into it, with the support of Neil March and Joy of The Happy Somethings helping me with counts and reminding me of what was in my scope I’m still here and feeling pretty accomplished.
So – what have we achieved?
Well, first of all, while many team members left, I have added new mods:
John D/Arpraxis
John Michie
Sherry Sahayaraj
Thom Harrison
Chiana Pettitt
Antonella Gambotto-Burke
We also saw the return of long time moderator Chris Ingram, which was cool and he returned triumphantly with a fab review recently!
I’ve also added guest moderators which has always been a thing, but I’m also using it to onboard new moderators if they like it.
Neil, Sherry and I have organised the second FOTN Live Festival which happened at The Lower Third in London, and The Musician in Leicester, it was the first ever festival I’ve ever organised and it went down a treat.
I’m in the process of organising meaningful discussions about issues affecting musicians today with the arrival of AI in music as well as it landing in the FOTN inbox thanks to Will Farr, and we are looking at other topics to cover including mental health for artists and what help is available.
So what do I see the future of Fresh On The Net looking like?
Well, it’s always going to be a site where people can submit music. That’s not going to change.
I’d like it to be the town hall for where artists and other like minded creatives can come together and experience each other’s art – it could expand into film, books and other media you never know.
I want it to be a support network for each other, let’s be honest – music can sometimes be seen as a competition – who’s got the most amount of streams, or who’s got the most amount of followers – this is the reason why FOTN has never allowed people to come and flood the listening post with how many votes they can get based on the amount of followers they can get over three days, your song has to reach the faves on its own merit.
I want it to be a community where we set the gold standard for music blogs everywhere, I want people to know you the artist, you the writer, you the blogger, you the creative exist out there, and are just looking to be heard.
FOTN will always remain free, Tom funded FOTN out of his own pocket and I will keep that going.
To finish I’d like to shout out my current team of mods:
Antonella Gambotto-Burke
Chris Ingram
Chiana Pettitt
Hugh Gillian
John D/Arpraxis
John Michie
Neil March
Paul Kerr
Sharon Pearce
Sooz Ferro
Steff Lane
Sherry Sahayaraj
Thom Harrison
Tony Hardy
Also the Eclectic Picks team:
Nick Parkinson
Will Farr
John D/Arpraxis
Dirty Freud
Michael Donoghue
Without their encouragement and their keen ears I don’t think I’d have been able to do this, and to them I owe a debt of gratitude.
Finally to you our esteemed readership, thanks for all the support week in week out. Let’s see what fun we can have going forward, shall we?
One more thing, if you like what we do – spread the word. Let fellow artists know what we do, and if anyone’s ever looking for new music tell them to come and visit us.
Congratulation on the past 12 months Del.
As a moderator for 12 years, it was finally time (last summer) to hand the reigns over to the new mods who have joined, and I hope they are enjoying the ride as much as I did.
But I still look forward to the weekend, diving into those 25 tracks, finding 5 or more that I have been blown away by, and then often digging deeper to the artist’s previous releases, and awaiting the next.
Fresh on the Net has always been a wonderful place to explore new music, even if I don’t love every track (that’s the beauty of art), and I have met some great people I count as friends along the way too.
Best wishes for the next 12 months, and beyond, Del.
FOTN has always been such a supportive force in the independent grass roots scene. There has been a real evolution over the last year with the support of the team and with you at the helm Del. I 100% agree with and support the community aspect as this layer within modern life can be thin in places. It’s been another layer of complete eye opening wonder to hear so many people making such great music. Thrilled to be a part of the team. Whoooah!
Thanks Jim and John!
Happy Anniversary Del!
A great job done by yourself, and much appreciation of the time and effort put in by all the mods and all the “Friends Eclectic” and, indeed, the FOTN regulars… and irregulars!
The standard of music in The Listening Post remains exceptional – exceptional compared to elsewhere; here, exceptional is the norm – and that is proof positive of a very successful transition from Legend Tom to Legend Del!
FOTN is one of the most vital corners of the internet for music; and its importance and relevance continue to increase as other avenues become progressively compromised.
Junkyard Salute from LS (purveyor of bespoke noise for Junkyard of Silenced Poets)
I laughed out loud at the Star Wars dream! …If you shut down the Death Star just as Luke’s approaching, does that mean you made it harder for Luke (like turned off all the Death Star lights so he can’t see or something…lol) and thus saved the Death Star? And does that mean FOTN is the Empire and you are Palpatine?
Thanks Leo! The quality of the music is what really attracted me to joining FOTN in the first place, I have been exposed to so many different genres in the last five years I wouldn’t know where to begin if someone asked me what kind of music we accept. The quality has to be good, and it consistently has been.
Garlen, I think my brain was subconsciously telling me that I am going to screw it up, and if I do that’s okay, there’s always a fix, a plan b. Hahaha FOTN being the Empire! Trust me I’ve had weirder dreams fuelled by anxiety in the past.
Del
We have always been massively grateful for this platform and Tom’s work…for us this is the only public remnant of the diverse interest in music that was fostered by John Peel and got us into playing and listening in the first place…thanks so much for your efforts!
BTR
thanks Del and all for keeping it all going. It is amazing how many artists I’ve been introduced to via FOTN over the years. Quality stuff.
Hi Balloon Twister and John thanks for your kind words! It’s five years since I joined the team, and I have really enjoyed listening to some great tunes here, and I’ve made some lifelong friends through this as well. Music is such a communal thing, I text my friend Eddie early in the morning when I’ve made a discovery and he’ll reciprocate.
When I was at school, my friends and I would read Smash Hits magazine to find out about the latest releases, and we’d talk about what was on TOTP or the chart show that week, not to mention the endless amounts of mixtapes we made and sometimes shared. Who remembers going round to their mates house on a saturday to play some tunes? I certainly do.
While social media is becoming a bit of a dumpster fire right now, I’d like to think that people will find a haven here for them to be able to come and share their music.