Building My Music Blog: The Journey Behind New Music Review
Back in the lockdown days of COVID, I started writing a few music reviews just for fun. That small spark grew into something bigger — I built my own music blog, NewMusicReview.co.uk. From designing the site to running Reddit feeds and social media, I dived into everything that makes a music blog tick.
In this short series of articles, I’ll walk you through how I built it, what’s working (and what’s not), and what I’ve learned along the way. If you’ve ever thought about starting your own music blog, this might just give you a nudge — because while there’s not much money in it, it’s a whole lot of fun.
What do we do..
Each blog post contains artist images, some Bio information, latest track release and a short review of the track. Links to their YouTube , streaming platforms and Social media ar also included to allow readers to go straight to the artists pages.
NewMusicReview.co.uk was created as a platform dedicated to indie music discovery — a place to highlight emerging artists, share honest reviews, and explore the gear and sounds that shape the music we love. What started as a small idea during Covid has since grown into a space where artists regularly send in their work for review, and where readers can find something fresh with every visit.
So, part one of my venture into creating this music review website. Honestly, when I first started, I had no idea what direction I wanted to take.
It all began during Covid. At the time, I was doing some YouTube reviews, and people started asking if I was also writing them up anywhere. At first, I wasn’t planning to — but that question planted the seed. Maybe it would be worth having a proper place for written reviews, something that could complement the videos.
That’s when the idea of a website came into play.
Figuring Out the Website
I had no clue where to start:
- What type of website should I build?
- Which platform should I use?
- How should I promote it?
- How do I develop it without spending a fortune?
At first, I tried some of the “build-your-own” platforms like Wix. It worked okay, but it was clunky and limited. I couldn’t fully shape it into what I envisioned, creatively speaking.
When I reached out to developers for help, none of them were keen on working with those drag-and-drop tools long term. They all recommended something more robust like WordPress.
So I thought: If I’m going to do this, I should do it properly.
The WordPress Struggle
I jumped in with WordPress… and immediately hit walls. I’d signed up for the wrong type of WordPress account (WordPress.com instead of self-hosted WordPress.org). Once I got that sorted, I still found it incredibly difficult to navigate.
What looks like a simple blog from the outside is surprisingly complex to build behind the scenes. When I asked around for quotes, I was shocked — setting up a basic review site could run into hundreds, even thousands of pounds.
That just wasn’t realistic. I never planned on charging artists for reviews or making huge revenue. The whole point was to create a free platform for discovery and support.
Finding the Right Help
I’ve always believed that if you keep asking, searching, and networking, eventually you’ll find the right person to help. And that’s what happened.
I connected with someone who was both supportive and affordable. They set me up properly with WordPress, using Elementor to create templates I could reuse for each new post. They also integrated Mailchimp for subscriptions and contact forms.
That became the real foundation of NewMusicReview.co.uk — a place where I could write about artists, share their images, link to videos, and connect everything to social media.
Building the Blog
One thing I quickly discovered is that blogs aren’t just about posting your own thoughts — they’re an amazing way to discover new artists. Over the past 2–3 years, I’ve probably covered hundreds of musicians, bands, and projects. Many of those artists now send their new releases directly to me for review and submission, which has turned the blog into a real hub for music discovery.
For example, I’ve featured acoustic storytellers like Jackson Harden with his track “Strangers”, indie rock energy from Western Jaguar (“Slow Death”), and genre-blending acts like Red Eye Pariah (“Draw Your Own Map”).
And it hasn’t just been about artists — I’ve also written about gear, such as my piece on the Yamaha SG1500 guitar (1982), showing how the tools of music shape its sound.
Each post gave the site more depth and drew in new readers, whether they were musicians looking for feedback or fans searching for fresh discoveries.
What’s Next
That was just the beginning of the journey. In the next post, I’ll go deeper into SEO, site promotion, and how I tried to gain traction (some successes, and many lessons).
Stay tuned and check out Part 2 .