Interview by Ross Hatton

CASSETTE MEDIA’S founder and interviewer extraordinaire sat down with us earlier this week to discuss the history and future of her thriving media empire.

What made you want to start up Cassette Media?

“I actually started writing and interviewing for Space Ship News a while back and by chance I met with an artist after an interview, who really encouraged my idea to start the show. It was something my friends and I had joked about after watching Video Hits one Sunday morning.  Their support really motivated me to get things started.

How have you found the response to CM has been so far?

“It’s been great! In fact things took off pretty much immediately. Before I knew it, I was getting literally inundated with requests from bands all over Australia. Unfortunately, being based in Perth meant that unless bands were touring here, I had to turn them down. As my own experience and confidence grows with the show, as does the demographic of loyal viewers, which is exactly what I’ve been working towards” Ruth explains.

Has interviewing always been a passion of yours?

“Not really, it’s just something I turned out to be good at I guess – which was completely unexpected to be honest. But I figured I may as well just go with it!” Ruth laughs.

What has been your favourite band/artist you have interviewed and why?

“My two favourite bands have been ‘British India’ and In League. British India because they were the first big band I had on the show and their support from day one will be something I will always be appreciative of – and ‘In League’ are a group of guys who have become good friends of mine since filming. And will undoubtedly make a real impact in the years to come.”

Was your plan to always showcase live music as well as interviewing or has CM just evolved naturally into more of a local scene showcase?

“It’s always been both. From the first day of filming I wanted the viewers to get a real taste of the music, which is something you can’t get from an interview. Although, we do have some live stage footage, the acoustics are by far my favourites.” Ruth admits.

Obviously in the very early piece you would have had to approach potential artists for interviews, but now CM is established do you find artists are now approaching you or are you still very proactive about chasing bands?

“It’s definitely a mix of the two now. Word of mouth has helped so much – as well as the sharing of videos on Facebook and Twitter. So more and more bands and genres want to get involved. But, of course there will always be a support band who I’ll see at a gig and I’ll chase them up the next day!”

Your videos always look very professional, are you using trained camera/production people?

“My crew are all skilled in their field and are either still studying or uni graduates. They always bring their own personal touch to the videos they edit and I like that.”

What does the future hold for CM? Do you any interesting plans forthcoming?

“There is so, so much happening it’s a bit overwhelming at times! I have been approached for certain opportunities, which I will be giving more consideration to before making any firm decisions. Cassette Media now has a second channel on YouTube (Cassettemediavideos) which showcases a variety of locally produced Video Clips for the unsigned bands. It’s a stop page just to scroll through videos without all the effort of searching.”

Be sure to stop by Cassette Media’s Youtube Channel to see Alexa Ruth’s latest interviews and live acoustic shows at www.youtube.com/cassettemedia1