Over the past decade, our original writers have gone through the passages of life. They’ve moved, changed jobs, gotten married, had children, and celebrated many other occasions along the way. Others have come and gone since then, but we’re running a little low on writers and could use some fresh blood!
Do you have a passion for instrumental music? Do you enjoy delving deeply into the music you hear? Are you able to write in a professional, friendly and appealing fashion? Would you like to call attention to the music you love? Now, here’s your chance! We’re especially looking for female writers (since we have none, save for occasional contributors), but we are interested in all inquiries.
The process is simple. First, send a cover email to info@acloserlisten.com along with a few words about yourself and your musical taste. Include a sample of your writing. The sample can be about any type of music, vocal or instrumental. If we like what we read, we will invite you to audition.
The consideration period is five reviews, stretched over a period of months. You will be asked to choose a genre preference, after which we will send you links to streams of albums in that genre to choose from. Each review should average 350-400 words. They will be edited with feedback sent back to you, and if there’s not too much editing involved, they will be published on site. After five reviews, the existing staff will vote on whether to invite you to be part of our permanent staff. If you are voted in, you will be given downloads instead of streams, you will be able to choose what you review (as long as it falls within the instrumental and experimental fields) and for the most part, your posts will no longer edited.
A couple caveats: first, not everyone will make it. We pride ourselves on having some of the finest writers around, so our writing standards are high. And second, there’s no pay. We don’t accept ads, as we like to stay objective and are beholden to no one. But for the music fan, there are also huge rewards, the highest being the opportunity to hear new music before it is released, followed by the ability to promote the music we believe in ~ often before anyone else. We are extremely proud of what we do, having accumulated over 20,000 followers over the past decade. One of our greatest pleasures is seeing the name of our site in a press release or on an LP or CD sticker.
Our core values are kindness, communication and partnership. If you become part of our staff, you’ll join something special, and we hope you’ll apply! We look forward to hearing from you!
Richard Allen
a closer listen 
This is probably a good time to thank the team at “A closer listen” for their many, many recommendations of new music and musicians. I think that I have been reading you carefully for 10 years and can only say again and again: Thank you for the music that I have discovered through your recommendations!
Endless warmth and gratitude to ACL. What a long road it’s been!