Interview Questions

Below are the questions I am going to include in my interview with my artist on my double page spread; I plan to ask about their journey to where they are now, what their music recommendations are for our readers and their plans for the future. I want the artist to come be comfortable with answering the questions they are being asked and that they are portrayed the right way to their fans and the readers of Vinyl magazine. Before I jump into the questions I will include an introduction that is a couple of sentences long to ease the artists into the questions and create an instant connection between the reader and the article. Below is my finished interview:

VINYL: I’m here with Sam Jones, who before anything else I want to congratulate on his debut album, ‘Let the wind take you’, entering the top 5 on the Indie charts and the success of his tour, having sold out all 14 nights in only 30 minutes.
SAM: Well thank you, it’s all happened so fast, it seems like just yesterday I was supporting Jeremy Loops on tour and writing the first song for the album.
VINYL: Yes, we remember how incredible you were as his support act, would you say he is one of your biggest inspirations?
SAM: Yes, he’s always been someone I had admired and having the chance to work with him has been amazing, he changed the way I approached writing and performing music.
VINYL: Who would you say are some of your other inspirations, or someone you would love to collaborate with in the future?
SAM: Well one of my biggest inspirations was, my granddad, he played music his whole life and it was his dream but he never pursued it. It is him who inspires me to work harder to achieve my dreams. The next part is hard as there are so many artists out there I would love to work with, one that I would be honoured to play with would be Newton Faulkner… that man is a genius on guitar.
VINYL: Well we’ll take your advice and make sure to see him this summer as he’s on the lineup for Reading Festival 2016. Now we heard rumours that you would be joining the lineup this year amongst the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foals, The 1975 and Chvrches… is this true?
SAM: *laughs*, I can see my manager giving me an overly enthusiastic thumbs up so I’m guessing that its okay for me to announce my place at the festival this year.
VINYL: Ooh, a VINYL magazine exclusive, you heard it here first! Sam Jones will be playing on the BBC Radio 1XRTA Stage on the Saturday.
SAM: And I’ll be roaming the rest of the festival all weekend so come find me if you want, I love to meet fans and fellow musicians.
VINYL: Speaking of musicians, do you have any advice for those who are trying to get signed, book gigs and break into the industry?
SAM: You have got to be passionate and be willing to put blood, sweat and tears towards achieving your dream. I wish I had someone to guide me through it all as it was a fight but once you’ve made it, you can see how it was all worth it.
VINYL: And do you feel like you have reached success then?
SAM: I don’t think I will ever feel like I have reached ‘success’ as that it too difficult a level to define. I think that I will always be striving to write better music, perform at bigger venues and create a bigger fan base.
VINYL: Would you say that having lots of fans is important to you as an artist then?
SAM: Yes, but I don’t think that the amount of fans defines you as an artist, they are there to support you, the same way a family would. I don’t make music for the money, although it doesn't hurt, I make it for the people who come to my shows. For me, it was always just about the music… nothing else matters.
VINYL: Have you always known that you wanted a career in music?
SAM: YES! From the age of 7 when my parents bought me my first guitar I was always putting on shows for our family and friends and every year when I blew out my birthday candles I would wish that I became famous when I was older and now I feel as if I’m making my wish come true
VINYL: well dreams certainly do come true!
SAM: *laughs* ha. Yeah I guess all those wishes were well used.
VINYL: So your debut album ‘Let the wind take you’, what inspired it? We desperately want to know the truth behind the lyrics of each song
SAM: Well I’ve had to overcome some big things in my life and I like to think that they’ve helped me put such raw emotion into my lyrics. I usually have to be in a good writing environment and I am sometimes inspired by people around me
VINYL: Would any of these people that inspire you be perhaps a girlfriend?
SAM: No, I don’t have a girlfriend but I wouldn't say that I am not seeing anyone right now but I would like to keep my private life under-wraps at the moment and focus on my career right now
VINYL: Okay, we won’t pry! Just promise us that we’ll be the first to know if your mystery girl is ready to come into the limelight any time soon
SAM: I’ll be sure to do that
VINYL: And on that note I would like to thank you Sam for your willingness to answer our questions and learn more about you and your new music. We hope that you go far and take the Indie music industry by storm.
Don’t miss out on Sam’s debut album ‘Let the wind take you’ before its too late! Now available on Itunes, Apple Music, Spotify and in music stores near you.

I will then finish the interview by thanking the artist for answering our questions and wishing them well in their future career in music to leave the reader in good mood after reading the article and with a good impression of the artist and the Vinyl interviewer.