THE WRITE STUFF: Pop music journalists are...

THE WRITE STUFF: Pop music journalists are a pretty spoiled bunch, getting albums and tickets to just about any concert for free.

So why would they pay to go to a bunch of music showcases and panel discussions?

That’s what a lot of them are wondering about the Music Journalism Awards and Conference being held May 24-28 in Los Angeles. But the event’s producers say that many of the scribes have already shelled out $150 or more each for the five-day, schmooze-filled series of concerts and seminars, with the centerpiece being an awards ceremony May 25 at the House of Blues (for another $50, and an additional fee to enter the competition).

Peter B. Collins, a veteran San Francisco radio talk show host and vice president of conference organizer MJA Productions, says the models used in planning were Austin’s South by Southwest--a hotbed of independent and alternative-rock showcases--and a yearly conference sponsored by the trade magazine Gavin Report, both of which journalists routinely pay to attend.

“I’d love to let everyone in free,” says Peter B. Collins, “but this is a conference and if we comp everyone, we can’t do it.”