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As far as regular journalism goes, you are probably right, but for music critics, you are not.
There are many people I know who do this that have been to college, and others who have not. Our local arts weekly is in the process of getting a new music editor, and the qualifications they listed include a strong writing voice, knowledge of local and international music, eclectic taste and a strong drive to cover the local scene, as well as submissions of clips. A degree was not mentioned at all.
This isn't even a freelance position, it's a paying staff position at a good local paper.
Music critics can get a lot farther on style, skill and knowledge without a degree than most "journalists" can without one. I'm just saying.
The four-year liberal arts college degree is the biggest scam ever. The employment culture perpetuates it by inflating the importance of the piece of paper, which is sad. In some ways it makes life easier, but in other ways (like being tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt by the time you're 22 years old with a degree in an area of study that is not generally considered financially lucrative) it is not so great.
I personally majored in English/writing, and dropped out in mid-senior year with no regrets. I thought it was a huge waste of time and money on a degree that is far from a meal ticket on the best of days (Business and science maybe, but writing? I think not), and learning things in supposedly "senior level" writing classes that I learned in my 9th grade honors English classes in a public high school.
If you have a portfolio of clips and have been published, you can get freelance gigs and build yourself up. A degree is very helpful in a lot of instances sure, but not completely necessary.
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