I started writing this whilst finishing my last assignment of my university course, and evidently gave up as it’s now over a year later. This may or may not sum up my post university experience.
I didn’t at the time know exactly what to write as I hadn’t even finished university yet but I wanted to give an insight to even a couple of people if I could about how I felt at the time. I then realised that everyone’s going to feel something different, and now a year later – it might just be the best time to write this.
When it comes to the point in the journey when you’re completing your last exams or assignments, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for most students to be frankly, well, fed up as the end of their the university period draws closer and closer.
Finishing university seemed like an exciting prospect – I was excited to not have to be part of the education train anymore and be free to do / write / be whatever I wanted. My degree was writing related – however towards the end of my degree I ended up sort of despising writing (due to the assignment side of the degree – all my work being critiqued massively which brought my confidence down a little), which is why I wanted to start writing again even if it was just for a small audience – even just my friends and family reading it. Yet, regretfully here I am a year later having not even written a creative sentence since I’ve left university.
Coming back to this piece after nearly a year of COVID-19 and lockdown looming, it seems the words I wrote nearly a year ago have become all the more prevalent. With job unemployment reaching an all time high, mental health climaxing and the government struggling to cope with current times.
If I thought my University and post-university experience was difficult, it’s become obvious that I was one of the lucky ones. With many university students locked in accommodations and attending university virtually.
The struggle I can only imagine of the lack of motivation to learn is more evident than ever – you only have to turn to social media to see the countless reports of students struggling with not only coursework and exams but mental health and social expectations. University should be – above all things – a social haven for anybody and everybody, yet being forced to socialise with only those you live with could prove detrimental to the particularly socially-dependant generation attending university.
I don’t really know what the purpose of this piece was, and I still don’t – apart from a way to get some of my feelings post university; not knowing what I want to do, lack of support, feeling like you’ve failed at something. One good thing I believe to come from this is friends – seeing my friends and even past university friends succeeding is the little glimmer of hope I believe everyone needs. Whether it be friends or family you’re proud of – or people you see on social media or in the news, being happy for other people and seeing them succeed could be the push you need to succeed yourself.
Hope everyone is staying safe and remember to take care of your loved ones đ
There’s this sensation people have where they lose interest in things once other people start liking it – the thing that you liked then loses its originality and therefore becomes ‘mainstream’, which is something that is unattractive to many people. This same idea applies to music.
The rise of unsigned artists gracing the music world is ever-present, and so small fan bases are more and more common. A small fan base is enticing to a lot of music lovers and it gives them a better chance of interacting with the band/singer, helping them create a relationship with their favourite artist.
This relationship is special to a lot of fans and so when a band becomes signed or just gains more popularity this can be difficult to take. Itâs a bitter-sweet emotion, as any artistsâ dream is to be recognized for their work, as with any profession, yet as a fan, you want them all to yourself â a hidden treasure.
When MySpace was at the height of its popularity in the early 2000s, many unsigned artists used it as a platform to promote their music, with the likes of the Arctic Monkeys, Calvin Harris, You Me At Six and Kate Nash all being signed after they gained popularity on the social media website.
However, this may have caused some disappointment amongst original fans who had supported the artists through their lowest points, backing them even through possible hate and rejection from critics. The success may fill fans with pride, that they got there first, and they ultimately helped the artist get big. Nevertheless, in some cases, once artists sign to a label they are pressured into changing their sound or image, much to the dismay of fans.
In 2015, the late icon Prince warned artists not to sign recording contracts saying,
âRecord contracts are just like â Iâm gonna say the word â slavery, I would tell any young artist… donât sign.â
He claimed that signing most contracts with big labels gives artists little control over the music they make, and the companies take big profits for – basically – no work. âOnce we have our own resources, we can provide what we need for ourselves,â Prince said of why he chose to join Jay-Zâs own streaming service Tidal. âJay Z spent $100 million of his own money to build his own service. We have to show support for artists who are trying to own things for themselves.â
It is evident that most established artists understand the pressures and control record labels have over new artists – and how difficult they are to get out of.
It seems the only resource artists need from record companies is the initial outing of their music – and the finance to get it out there.
Hopefully, in the future, bigger artists will come together to put a stop to the exploitation of new artists when signing record contracts and make it easier to put your own music out independently.
You never think a simple rummage through your parentsââ âŹold knick-knacks would lead to a full research project and eventually an articleâ âŹâźââŹâ âŹyet here I amâ. âŹ
Merchandise booklet from The Police tour.
After looking through my dads’ stuff I stumbled across some concert ticketsâ âŹâźââŹâ âŹI was intrigued due to my keen interest in musicâ, âŹhowever, it wasnât the artist or the venue or even the worn-down condition of the tickets that attracted me to delve in furtherâ, âŹnoâ, âŹit was the price on the ticketsâ. âŹ
Most fans would be willing to pay over-the-odds to see their favourite band nowadaysâ. âŹItâs difficult to imagine seeing big artists like Beyonceâ, âŹAdele or Ed Sheeran for any less thanâ âŹÂŁ50â âŹâźââŹâ âŹyet these artists sell out tours with tickets these pricesâ, âŹand even spark huge re-sales on ticket-selling websites for upâ âŹtoâ âŹÂŁ1000â – much to most of the artists’ dismay.
Soâ, âŹjust imagine seeing one of these artists for as little asâ âŹÂŁ8.40â âŹâźââŹâ âŹkids back in the 80s did just thatâ. âŹAfter looking through my dadsââ âŹhistoric tickets to see The Smiths in 1984â , it would have cost himâ âŹÂŁ8.40â âŹin today’s moneyâ, âŹas well as bands like New Order forâ âŹÂŁ12.94â, âŹjustâ âŹÂŁ16.71â âŹfor the Liverpool City Council Benefit featuring The Smithsâ, âŹNew Orderâ, âŹJohn Cooper Clarke and The Fall and arguably the most famous at the time The Police in 1980â âŹfor justâ âŹÂŁ20â âŹâźââŹâ âŹreasonably priced compared to an Ed Sheeran concert costing doubleâ, âŹif not triple the priceâ.âŹ
Merchandise price list from The Police Tour.
Another issue fans face is merchandise pricesâ – âŹespecially at toursâ. âŹArtists charge over the oddsâ, âŹstarting at aroundâ âŹÂŁ30â âŹfor a tour t-shirtâ. âŹMost fans often are willing to pay this as wellâ, âŹas they feel this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity toâ âŹbuy these itemsâ, âŹto prove that they attendedâ.
âŹHoweverâ, âŹin a lot of cases, the artists then end up selling this merchandise online after their tour anywayâ – âŹand often at lower pricesâ. âŹI looked into old merchandiseâ – âŹfor exampleâ, âŹThe Police who charged aroundâ âŹÂŁ4â âŹfor a t-shirtâ, âŹandâ âŹÂŁ8â âŹfor a sweatshirtâ. âŹHowever nowadays they chargeâ âŹÂŁ30+â âŹfor a t-shirt and up toâ âŹÂŁ60â âŹfor a sweatshirtâ. âŹIt has become apparent that nowadays merch prices are extravagant and not catered towards all fansâ, âŹas manyâ âŹwould struggle to afford these extravagant pricesâ.âŹ
Artists like Beyonce and Justin Bieber also charge extortionate prices for their merchandiseâ, âŹstarting at aroundâ âŹÂŁ40â âŹfor a t-shirtâ, âŹandâ âŹÂŁ60+â âŹfor a sweatshirt or any other type of merchandiseâ. âŹHoweverâ, âŹthese artists have created a more revolutionary way to sell moreâ âŹby making their merchandise appealing to even those who are fansâ – âŹtheir merchandise is consideredâ âŹâfashionableââ âŹamongst young peopleâ, âŹand so not just worn by a fanâ.âŹ
For exampleâ, âŹJustin Bieber’s range of merchandise is sold in Topshop and Topman throughout the UKâ.âŹ
When researchingâ, âŹI felt it would be interesting to look into whether some of the artists my Dad saw back in the 80s still charged appropriate prices for their gigsâ. âŹ
I decided to focus on The Smithsâ, âŹas Morrissey is still touringâ. âŹI found out that in 1991â âŹMorrissey charged onlyâ âŹÂŁ12â âŹfor ticketsâ âŹâźââŹâ âŹstill extremely reasonable for the timeâ, âŹwhereas the most recent tour charged up toâ âŹÂŁ50â âŹfor a ticketâ – âŹwhich arguably may be a decent price to see a renowned musician liveâ, âŹyet when considering how cheap prices were up until the early 2000âs it seems prices are continuing to escalateâ.âŹ
The price of tickets and merchandise nowadays arguably seems to take advantage of the youngsters who would do anything to see their favourite singer or band in concert and be able to take away ultimately a piece of the artist home with themâ. âŹThis inevitably puts a lot of pressure on parents/guardians as they want to provide everything for their childrenâ – âŹwithout breaking the bankâ.âŹâ âŹ
Looking back on the cheap prices of concerts back in the 80âsâ, âŹit made me question whether artists in this day and age are as passionate about their musicâ âŹâźââŹâ âŹis there a need for artists toâ âŹperform at big venuesâ, âŹtherefore inflating ticket pricesâ, âŹas apposed to wanting to provide a smaller intimate gig for their fansâ âŹand more of themâ âŹâźââŹâ âŹultimately providing a better experience for both artist and fans alikeâ.âŹ
How we stream music seems to change through the decades, from vinylâs starting in the 50s to cassette tapes in the 70s, then CDâs in the 80s, all the way through to the late 90s with mp3 players and now music streaming apps where you can play music from pretty much any device.
However, it seems these old platforms are slowly making a return, most famously: vinyl. After an almost 30-year hiatus from their prime popularity, vinylâs are unexpectedly making a return â and maybe for good. In 2017 more than 4.2million vinyl albums were sold in the UK alone, their highest level since 1991. Yet it seems it is only vinyl that is making an increase in sales, with both physical and digital album sales decreasing since 2016 by 19.5% according to Nielsen Musicâs Q3 report, whilst also stating that vinyl sales are continuing to grow by up to 3.1%. Vinyl has seen a successive climb in sales in the past eight years, despite almost dying out in 2006.
Subsequently, it is due to the incline in vinyl sales and the increasing popularity of streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, that offset the decline in CD sales. WEA, the global distribution, marketing, sales and research arm of Warner Music Group, sent buyout letters to over 130 employees in January of 2018 in relation to physical product (CDâs). The move is in reaction to the declining CD sales mainly in the U.S. in 2017 and with a prediction of a similar decline to happen in 2018, foreseeing a 19.6 reduction in CD sales for 2018.
.It has become evident that more and more people are finding the modern form of music more appealing – with the exception of vinyl – the on-the-go aspect of streaming music from an app on your phone, laptop or tablet is an exciting concept that will surely continue to grow throughout forthcoming years.
Comebacks and reunions have always been aâ âŹâthingââ âŹthroughout the erasâ, âŹwith musical artists and bands dramatically splitting upâ, âŹonly for them to return with a bang a few yearsâ âŹlaterâ. âŹIt seems most artists reform due to lack of moneyâ, âŹand in most bandsââ âŹcases due to lack of solo career successâ. âŹMore often than notâ, âŹbandsââ âŹreunions start with the iconicâ âŹâreunion tourââ. âŹThis tends to attract a bigger audienceâ, âŹfor those who didnât get the chance to see them during their childhoodâ, âŹor those who may not even have been fans but are intrigued to see how the reunion will goâ âŹâźââŹâ âŹa great money-making scheme for even the worst of reunionsâ.âŹ
Artists such as Bustedâ, âŹBlink 182â, âŹFall Out Boyâ, âŹMGMTâ, âŹBritney Spears and Liam Gallagher have all returned recently to musicâ, âŹfollowed by a successive climb of fameâ, âŹfortuneâ, âŹand even a new wave of fansâ. âŹArtists that reform may have a tendency to stick toâ âŹtheir original soundâ, âŹhowever, substantial success could come in the shape of an artist trying something new and fans still sticking by themâ.âŹ
Blink-182â âŹfan Jordan Newallâ (âŹsee imageâ) âŹwas over the moon when he heard his favourite childhood band were reforming in 2016â âŹforâ âŹtheir first headlining tour since their 20th-anniversary tour in 2011â. âŹTheâ âŹâCaliforniaââ âŹTour supported the bands’ seventh studio album and featured support acts Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls and The Front Bottomsâ.âŹ
Jordan Newall in the Blink 182 Tour T-Shirt
â âŹLong-time fan Jordan saw the band at Liverpool Echo Arena back in 2017â, âŹand said that the concert was one of the best nights ofâ âŹhis lifeâ âŹâthe atmosphere was incredibleâ, âŹeveryone sang along to every songâ âŹâźââŹâ âŹthe old and the newâ. âŹThe band were so good at getting everyone hypedâ, âŹit was like surreal seeing my favourite childhood band on stageâ, âŹI loved itâ.âŹââ
The bands most recent albumâ âŹâCaliforniaââ âŹnamed after their originsâ, âŹstill sounds like their old traditional pop-punk style musicâ, âŹmuch to the appreciation of fansâ, âŹshowing they havenât changed their iconic original sound since they first formed in 1992â. âŹ
Subsequentlyâ, âŹfans still feel like itâs the same band only improvedâ, âŹJordan statedâ âŹâI was worried I would hate the new musicâ. âŹI had no idea if the sound would change or notâ, âŹespecially compared to the iconicâ âŹâEnema Of The Stateââ âŹalbumâ, âŹbut I was surprised I actually loved the albumâ âŹand liked every song on it as wellâ, âŹwhich made the tour even more excitingâ, âŹâcos it was the classics as well as their new stuffâ. âŹAnd it was goodâ âŹâcos people actually didnât just sing to the old stuff which I thought they wouldâ.âŹââ.âŹ
It seems the bands’ reformation wasnât a flopâ, âŹwith the tour selling outâ, âŹmaking a staggeringâ $âŹ2.8M from its first 28â âŹshowsâ, âŹwith 119â âŹshows in total and an attendance of 745,395â.
Howeverâ, âŹsome bands only set out to reunite for a reunion tourâ âŹâźââŹâ âŹwith the intention to simply excite fansâ, âŹor earn some money before going off the radar againâ.
âŹA prime example of this was with pop-punk band Bustedâ, âŹtheâ âŹâest.2002ââ âŹbandâ (âŹfeaturing members James Bourneâ, âŹMatt Willis and Charlie Simpsonâ) âŹwere teenage heartthrobs in their dayâ, âŹfollowing a similar sound to bands like Green Dayâ, âŹBlink 182â âŹand Sum 41â âŹâźââŹâ âŹbut with a British twistâ. âŹDespite the bands’ success during their 3â âŹyears activeâ, âŹthey only had 4â âŹnumber ones and only two of their three albums managed to make it into the top 10â âŹâźââŹâ âŹregardless of theâ âŹfact they had 3â âŹsell-out tours during this timeâ.
All of Busted’s albums to-date.
It came with a huge outcry in 2005â âŹwhen the band announced they were splitting upâ, âŹdue to Simpson wanting to focus his efforts onâ âŹbeing part of heavy metal band Fightstarâ. âŹMyselfâ âŹand thousands across the country were inevitably disappointed by thisâ âŹâźââŹâ âŹseeingâ âŹtheir favourite band breakup with no real promise of ever getting back togetherâ, âŹsimply saying they couldnât go on without a memberâ, âŹsaying theyâre not going to retireâ, âŹbut havenât thought about the futureâ.
âŹThe members each did their own solo stuffâ, âŹwith Bourne firstly forming his own pop-punk bandâ âŹâSon Of Dorkââ âŹand then went on to have his own solo career under the identityâ âŹâFuture Boyââ, âŹalthough Bourne did have some success with a sell-out acoustic tourâ, âŹit was short-lived and led to him writing his own musicalâ âŹâLoservilleââ âŹbased on a single he released with Son Of Dorkâ, âŹthis musical proved a success and led to Bourne working on two other musicals before the famous forming of the super-groupâ âŹâMcBustedââ.âŹ
Matt Willis also went on to do his own solo stuffâ, âŹsigning to label Mercury Records and releasing three original singles and oneâ âŹcover of The Primitives Songâ âŹâCrashââ âŹwhich was famously featured inâ âŹâMr. Beans Holidayââ. âŹAlthough Willis received some success it wasnât enough for him to continue with his solo careerâ, âŹas before he released a full album he joined super-groupâ âŹâMcBustedââ âŹalong with former Busted member James Bourne and pop group McFlyâ. âŹ
The super-group McBusted provided Busted fans with an exciting opportunity to see Bustedâs songs performed by two original members alongside McFlyâ, âŹnearly 10â âŹyears after the original bands splitâ âŹâźââŹâ âŹthey played over 42â âŹsold-out shows across the UKâ, âŹperforming both Busted and McFly songsâ, whilst âŹalso releasing two songs in the processâ. âŹHoweverâ, âŹmuch toâ âŹBusted fans dismayâ, âŹthe third member Charlie Simpson refused to join the bandâ, âŹstill working on his own solo stuff and was adamant he wouldnât reform anytime soon with the other two members due to his solo career taking offâ. âŹ
Youngest member Charlie Simpson was the main reason the band broke up in 2005â, âŹdue to him wanting to focus his efforts on heavyâ âŹmetal band Fightstarâ âŹâźââŹâ âŹwhich he did stay with up until 2010â (âŹlonger than Busted were together forâ). âŹAlthough Fightstar were popular within their own genreâ, âŹthey only managed to have one top 10â âŹsingle during their time togetherâ. âŹMoreover, it was Charlieâs solo career that surprised fans the mostâ âŹâźââŹâ âŹwhen in 2011â âŹhis albumâ âŹâYoung Pilgrimââ âŹwas releasedâ, âŹwith a surprising folk sound to itâ, âŹyet entering the UK albums charts at number 6â âŹâźââŹâ âŹa huge success for Simpson’sâ âŹfirst solo albumâ. âŹHis next albumâ âŹâLong Road Homeââ âŹreleased in 2014â âŹalso charted straight at number 10â, âŹfollowed by his final releaseâ âŹâLittle Handsââ âŹin 2016â. âŹAll three albums had a strong acoustic-folk soundâ, âŹyet suited Simpsons character well and proved popular with Busted fans and new fans alikeâ.âŹ
Thankfully 2015â âŹsaw the band announce aâ âŹâcomeback tourââ, âŹannouncing 13â âŹarena dates throughout the UKâ, âŹselling 100,000â âŹtickets within the first hour and more dates added due to high-demandâ. âŹFans still queried whether this return would be short-livedâ, âŹhowever, the band announced they would be releasing a thirdâ âŹstudio album within the next yearâ. âŹWhen theâ âŹâNight Driverââ âŹalbum finally came in 2016â, âŹfans were shocked at the new innovative soundâ, âŹwith the album being described as aâ âŹâsynth-popââ âŹsoundâ, âŹadding electric guitars and a more classic electro soundâ. âŹThe sound still enticed old and new fans with their Night Driver tour still selling out for 49â âŹdates across Europeâ, âŹNorth America and Asiaâ. âŹ
Since thisâ, âŹin 2018â âŹthe band announced new album ‘Half Way There’ as well as another tour to go along with this album. The band teased the album by releasing four songs over the months since the release, with first song ‘Nineties’, which excited fans due to it replicating Busted’s original sound, followed by All My Friends, Reunion and Radio, all which still replicate Busted’s original sound. The music videos for ‘Nineties’ and ‘Radio’ also follow suit in the vintage Busted style-video.
The album is officially released on February 1st, but you can pre-order now here:
Reilly entered the stage screaming for himself, imitating a crowd cheer as the audience were initially silent â âIâm from Nottingham, so you have a right to be excitedâ, the sarcasm dripping from his voice, as the audience let out a chuckle, âMy names Christian but I donât want people from other cultures to be excluded so Iâm using a Jewish microphone!â.
Reillyâs odd comedic style includes a guitar and a cowboy outfit – an unusual appearance for the act who was headlining the gig on Saturday. The audience seemed slightly perplexed at this unusual style, in comparison to the other comedians of the night in their jeans and t-shirts. Yet, despite this and his late arrival, his satirical jokes and witty sense of humour shone through his entire performance â opening with a dig at Coldplayâs âsame riff in every songâ joke, winning over the audience from the get-go.
Liverpoolâs iconic Hot Water Comedy Club hosted five comedians on Saturday night, ending with Christian Reilly. Up until this date Reillyâs career as former part of the Perrier award-winning show Otis Lee Crenshaw and the Black Liars, had taken him around the world multiple times.
Since then, he has gone solo, making a name for himself in comedy clubs around the country â headlining the majority of them despite being more unknown than most headliners.
The stage at the comedy club.
Reilly isnât shy in revealing chunks of his personal life for comedic gain â typical of his usual performance style, with the second joke in the show poking fun at his previous failed relationships, and recent bad break-up â however, lightening the mood through the C and D chords on his guitar, portraying a typical âsad songâ.
Although, unlike most of the comedic line-up that night, Reilly had little interaction with the audience which was unusual for most acts at the comedy club, with their audiences eager for interaction with the comedians. However, all Reilly did was address one woman at the back who couldnât stop laughing â âYeah it wasnât that funny!â.
Reilly addressed some political issues throughout his set, with a song about the âdifficultyâ of being Donald Trump âTrumpin 9 to 5â, where Reilly sang about Trumps controversial views on race, finances, and global political and social issues.
The climax of Reillyâs set was the mockery of popular artists, and his divine story-telling ability. His mocking of Ed Sheeranâs âGalway Girlâ lit up the clearly alternative audience – the story of meeting an Irish girl who turned out to be Ed Sheeran ended the show on a side-splitting note.
Christian Reillyâs use of putting together the nations love for music and comedy â created a solid structure for his entire show.
Reilly is worth seeing if you havenât already, his set is always similar, addressing popular figures and using them for comedic gain, however, every show he tries to make personal for the audience, adding a new song, or integrating an audience member into his show â making for a unique performance every time.
It is important that artists face not only positive appraisal but criticism to help shape them as an artist. I feel it is important for artists nowadays to be honest in their lyrics and performance style, as this encourages consumers to trust them.
It is evident that some parts of society may not be as welcoming of Jamie Treaysâ mental health conditions â which is reflective of society as a whole, the general British public find it difficult to talk about these difficult topics, with organisations like Time To Change and Mind, who encourage people to speak openly about mental health. It is artists like Jamie T who are advocates for these organisations and help and encourage people to speak about difficult issues.
In an interview in 2016 Treays revealed he has received a lot of letters from people suffering from anxiety who found solace in a shared experience, âItâs hard when youâre afflicted with a disorder of some type, and it can be kind of debilitating.
I’m glad that it made some people feel a bit better
The first time I heard Jamie T, I was in the canteen at Sixth Form College, âZombieâ was playing through the speakers; the unusual lyrics and fast tempo intrigued me from the outset, “âCos I’m a sad sad post-teen, could have been a love machine, no dream, come clean walking like a zombie..” Treays was speaking the lyrics rather than singing them â as if telling a story.
Originally from Wimbledon, London, Treays was privately educated however, suffered severely with anxiety and panic attacks throughout the entirety of his early life â ultimately leading to his first album âPanic Preventionâ (2007). What struck me about the indie, alternative, post-punk eclectic sound was Treaysâ unusual yet relatable lyrics â these were intriguing, and made me want to listen to more; I started with his first album âPanic Preventionâ, with iconic tracks like âSheilaâ, âIf You Got The Moneyâ and âIke and Tinaâ.
In Treaysâ own words, this was the point in his life where his anxiety hit its peak, he felt that songwriting and performing was his only escapism. In an interview with FaceCulture in 2016, said: âperforming took my mind off it â dare I say it was therapeuticâ. In a one-off intimate performance in 2015, Treays performed new material, âWeâre going to be playing some weird stuff, like âLonely Bastardâ. I donât remember writing this, but it says I wrote it six years ago and I must have been pretty depressed at the time.â
Treays has had his fair share of criticism throughout his career â with critics not appreciating his quirky performance style and revealing lyrics, in an interview with The Guardian in 2016 Treays stated âPeople were a bit iffy about it – I continued to speak about it on other records and things and people tended to be like: âWhat, you still going through that?â
People get weirded out by it. But it seemed natural to me to talk about it.
However, it is Treays’ reckless attitude, ‘I do whatever I want, I’m not watching anyone else, I’m not trying to fit into any box’ that shows he takes no notice of criticism and makes music for himself. This is a huge selling point for him, and why I particularly like him. In 2018, Treays released an album of B-Sides from the past 10 years of his music career. This was accidentally leaked by a friend of Treaysâ from university â a situation in which Treays was able to laugh about, through a statement on Twitter, âthat was how we celebrated the fact that Joe went to university!!â
It is unknown what Treays’ new album will sound like â he is no stranger to the personal touch, so that is a given, but the sound has changed with each album and since his last album in 2016, Treays may have adopted a new sound or experienced something that may shape his writing â the wait will definitely be worth it.
Pets Not Profit was a campaign I started as part of my 3rd-year University studies,
however, it turned into something much more important.
I became an advocator for animal rights, through my own personal blog Pets Not Profit, with the hashtag Backyard Breeding, and a petition started on Change.org.
Backyard Breeding is a term used to describe amateur animal breeders whose breeding is considered substandard, with little or misguided effort towards ethical, selective breeding.
My campaigns aim was to raise more awareness of backyard breeding â taking into consideration new breeding laws and encouraging people to check conditions thoroughly before adopting animals, in an attempt to stop backyard breeding altogether.
I feel I successfully achieved this through social networking, and a range of articles – published on my own personal blog and the Northern Quota.
The success of my campaign earned me a first-class grade.
My first story – the story that inspired the campaign as a whole – was the story of pitbull Tally. I reached out to owner Adam Householder who told me the heartbreaking story of Tally’s years of abuse due to backyard breeding.
For this article, I spoke to famous dog rescue organisations RSPCA and Dog’s Trust who spoke to me about the backing of new government regulations enforcing tighter restrictions regarding backyard breeding.
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South Australia already ahead of the game in the fight for the reduction of backyard breeders
For this article, I spoke to local in South Australia Shelley Wells who informed me about up-to-date and more effective regulations involving backyard breeding.
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Are certain dog breeds being exploited when it comes to backyard breeding
My final article was inspired by numerous stories I had heard when researching backyard breeding – with a specific focus on pit bulls, and brachycephalic dog breeds such as bulldogs and pugs, who are bred for specific appearances. I spoke to animal advocacy group ‘Howl To Help Animal Advocacy Group’ about this important issue.
Working as part of a 5-piece group, we were tasked to create our own full magazine, with an equal number of pages each. We chose to create a music magazine, based primarily around less-known artists.
We each took on a particular music genre within this category – mine being folk and rock, as well as feature pieces based on something we were passionate about.
The finished production earned us a first-class grade, although looking back the finished product could use some tweaks, as an amateur production, I am extremely proud of what myself and my team produced.
Sarah 