- 1). Do your research. Before sitting down to prepare questions, research the artists and their history. Gather as much information as possible about who they are, where they come from, what their influences are and anything else that might be relevant. This will help shape your questions and will prepare you for anything that might come up during the interview.
- 2). Prepare your questions. Take the time to write out a number of questions. Base the number of questions on how long you have. If you only have 15 minutes, you don't need 30 questions. Write out some important questions and place them somewhere in the middle of your list. Open with some warm-up queries to get comfortable with the artist, then move on to the heavier questions as you go.
- 3). Start your recorder and takes notes. It is important to both record the interview -- let the artist know that you are doing so -- and to take notes. This will help ensure that you get accurate quotations and have a backup in case something goes wrong. If you are concerned about getting things exactly right, use two recorders in case one malfunctions or is damaged.
- 4). Prepare to go off script. As you get more comfortable with the artist, or as new and interesting information comes up, be ready to go with the flow of the conversation. Do not just follow your questions like a robot. If the artist is taking the interview in an interesting direction, let him go. You can always come back to your questions at the end.
- 5). Thank your interviewee and others. When all is done, thank everyone who made the interview possible, including the artist, the publicist and any others involved in the process. Being thankful goes a long way toward building good will and demonstrating appreciation.
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