TREACLE is a live music publication by Coda Photos. We cover shows, festivals and the people in the room, and most of it comes from photographers and writers who were there. You don’t need to be a professional, and we don’t need to know you yet.
Sign up to hear about paid photography opportunities through CODA and contribute photos, reviews or stories to TREACLE. Editorial contributions to TREACLE are unpaid, with a credit and a link to your work.
A club night, a support act, a festival you’re going to anyway. Smaller rooms say yes far more often.
Tell us on treacle.photos/access what you’d like to cover and what you’ll deliver. Need a photo pass? We’ll let you know if you can request one in TREACLE’s name. Already have a ticket or your own access? That doesn’t need a green light from us.
The day after the show you get a personal delivery link. We edit, publish under your name and link back to you.
What you get: published work with your credit, a track record that can lead to bigger shows, and a way in to paid jobs through the Coda network. Regular contributors can get their own contributor page. TREACLE work is unpaid.
No show yet? Join the network and we’ll find you when something comes up.
The date and venue can wait. Open with something that made the night worth writing about, and make sure readers know who was on stage.
What did the artist do? How did the crowd respond? Skip the press release or setlist recap. Tell us what you noticed and what you told your friends the next day.
Not every show is great. Say what worked, what didn’t and why.
Maybe it was their first show in the city, or the venue was an odd choice. If you write “first”, “only” or “biggest”, tell us where you got it. We check those before anything goes live.
Plain sentences are fine. Instead of calling a show iconic or unforgettable, give us the detail that made it feel that way.
It’s fine for catching typos or a sentence that doesn’t make sense. It shouldn’t add things you didn’t see or opinions you don’t have.
Before you submit
You don’t have to write a review to contribute. A good set of photos or a clip with a few lines about the night is often enough.
Send 5 to 10 of your best images. A tight selection tells us more about the show than 50 frames of the same pose.
Look past the stage too: the crowd, the room, the gap between two songs. If you can, pick images you haven’t posted yet.
If we agreed on video, send the footage or edit we discussed. A short clip works best when something happens in it.
Even if you’re mainly sending photos or video, tell us how the night felt from where you stood. A few lines about the artist, something that happened on stage or what made the show stand out are enough.
If relevant, include where people can see the artist next and a Spotify link. We'll check the details before publishing.
Within a week of the show is on time. We aim to publish while the show is still fresh, ideally within 48 hours, so earlier submissions are always appreciated.
If you agreed to deliver something specific, like a video or a written review, that’s what we’re expecting. If plans change or you can’t deliver, tell us as soon as you know.
You’ll get a personal delivery link the day after your show. Use that for everything.
Host your files on Google Drive or WeTransfer (Drive links stay up longer) and paste the links into the form. Don’t share a folder with us directly. Check that files are downloadable, and give Google Docs edit access.
Tell us how you want to be credited: your name, your handle or both.
We'd love to see photos and videos you haven't already shared everywhere. If possible, send us your strongest unpublished work so we can give it a proper first outing on TREACLE.
Your work stays yours. The rest is yours to post on your own channels right away. The ones we use, ideally once they've run on TREACLE, so they get their first outing with us. No exclusivity and no fixed waiting period.
Already posted some of it? That's fine. Just let us know when you submit.
You keep the rights to your work. If it fits, it runs on TREACLE or our socials: sometimes an article, sometimes a TikTok, a post or a story. Always with your credit, linking back to you wherever possible.
We may also reuse your work in future TREACLE coverage, for example in another article about the same artist, a festival guide or a social media post. Your credit stays with it.
You choose on the delivery form whether we may reuse it.
Your permission is non-exclusive, and published content may stay online indefinitely. We won't sell your work, license it to third parties or use it in paid advertising without asking you first.
There’s no single way to write about live music. These three pieces from TREACLE contributors each started somewhere different.
Maxi · Voices
No headliner, no main stage. Bedouin love songs on a one-stringed rababa and backgammon on the tables, at a museum afternoon in Munich. Maxi wrote about who it was for and how it felt to walk in.
Read the storyKatie Ramsay · Heard
A drag persona as the opening act, two backup dancers and CDs rhinestoned by hand at the merch stand. Small details that tell you what kind of night it was before the review even gets to the music.
Read the storyZach Aureliano · Field Notes
A new festival that said it booked bands on how they sound live, not on follower counts. Rather than trying to cover everything, Zach picked six sets across three nights and gave each one room to breathe.
Read the storyYou don’t need to write like any of them. Tell us what caught your attention and why.
Interviews need a different approach. A good question can reveal something a concert review never could. In Wild Wild Women, the conversation goes beyond the music to the people and experiences behind it. In Illbucks, practical questions about performing internationally become part of the story.
Finished writing? Read it once more before sending it in. Check the names, dates, venues and anything you're presenting as fact.
If you'd like a second pair of eyes, you can use the prompt below with an AI tool. It should help you spot problems, not rewrite your story.
I'm submitting a music story to TREACLE. Act as a careful editor, not a ghostwriter. Review the text below and give me a short list of suggested changes, each with one line on why. 1. Spelling, grammar and sentences that are unclear. 2. Repetition, clichés and promotional language (words like iconic, stunning, unforgettable, incredible). 3. Factual claims I should double-check, especially "first", "only", "biggest", "sold out", dates, venues and names. Flag claims you can't verify rather than assuming they're correct. 4. Places where the text stays general. Don't suggest a detail: ask me what I saw. 5. Patterns that make writing sound machine-made: - "It's not just X, it's Y" and "more than just" - lists of three, over and over - short dramatic punchlines at the end of paragraphs - a closing line that sums up or inspires instead of saying something new - em dashes (TREACLE doesn't use them) Rules: - Don't invent facts, quotes, crowd reactions or details. - Don't rewrite the whole text, and don't make it sound like you. - Keep my opinions, even the ones you'd phrase differently. Here's my text: [Paste your story here]
AI can’t tell what happened in the room. You can. Check every suggestion before you change anything.
Your contribution might run as an article on TREACLE, an Instagram post, a Reel, a TikTok or a story. Sometimes a few photos sit alongside a review. Other times, the photos are the story.
We credit every photo by the name or handle you choose, and link back to you wherever we can.
Stories also appear on our city and country pages, so someone looking into live music in Amsterdam, Berlin or Toronto finds your work next to other local coverage.
Regular contributors can get their own contributor page with their published work in one place. If you already have one, we add new stories as they go live.
The more we see of your work, the better we know what to send your way. Deliver on time, build your portfolio and show us what you can do. A strong track record can open doors to bigger shows.
No show yet? Join the network and we’ll find you when something comes up.
