Task 4: Magazine information
- 1. Magazine 1: NME magazine The New Musical Express (NME) is an Indie and pop music magazine in the UK. It has been published every week since March 1952. It was the first British magazine to include a singles chart. It hosted many new British bands that had emerged, bands such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were in NME a lot of the time. In the 1970s it had a new editor and the magazine changed dramatically from an uncritical to something intended to be smarter, hipper, more cynical and funnier than any mainstream British music paper had previously been. In mid-1973, the paper was selling nearly 300,000 copies per week and was outselling its other weekly rivals, Disc, Record Mirror and Sounds. The year 1976 saw Punk Rock arrive on the music scene. Sales were dropping, and by 1985 NME had hit a rough patch and was in danger of closing again. Although the period from 1991 to 1993 was dominated by American bands like Nirvana, this did not mean that British bands were being ignored. The NME still covered the Indie scene a lot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NME
- 2. Magazine 2: Kerrang! Magazine Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on 6 June 1981. Named after the onomatopoeic word that derives from the sound made when playing a power chord on an electric guitar, Kerrang! was initially devoted to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and the rise of hard rock acts. In the early 2000s it became the best-selling British music newspaper. Kerrang! Was published on 6 June 1981 and was edited by Geoff Barton. Angus Young of AC/DC appeared on Kerrang!'s first cover. Launched as a monthly magazine, Kerrang! began to appear on a fortnightly basis later, and in 1987 it went weekly. The original owner was United Newspapers who then sold it to EMAP in 1991. During the 1980s and early 1990s the magazine placed many thrash and glam metal acts on the cover (like MötleyCrüe, Slayer, Bon Jovi, Metallica, Poison, and Venom) but later discarded them when grunge acts such as Nirvana rose to fame. Readers often criticise the magazine for repeating this process every time a new musical trend becomes popular. Rees went on to edit Q magazine and Ashley Bird took over as editor from 2003 to 2005. However the magazine's sales went quickly into decline in 2003 and Paul Brannigan took over as editor in May 2005. With the emergence of emo and metalcore, Kerrang! began to heavily feature this musical trend. However, the revamp was not welcomed by all readers and many complaints were received about Kerrang!'s sudden emphasis on emo and metalcore music. Brannigan took the magazine into its most commercially successful period with a record ever ABC for the title of 80,186 copies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerrang!
- 3. Magazine 3: Clash magazine Clash is a popular music and fashion magazine based in the United Kingdom. Its magazine title is published 12 times a year. The magazine alternates between modern bands such as The Horrors, Florence &The Machine and Jamie xx as well as hip-hop artists like DJ Shadow, Kanye West and Beastie Boys, who have all had cover spots in recent issues. It concentrates on music and fashion, and often their effect on surrounding culture, as well as film and technology. However they do also have a common theme throughout their reviews of slandering musicians who don't coincide with their almost extremist views and ideals of music - possibly for comedic value and entertainment for those who read the magazine. The magazine won the Best New Magazine award in 2004 at the PPA Magazine Awards and has won further awards in England and Scotland. Most notably, Magazine of the Year at the 2011 Record of the Day Awards. At the turn of 2011, Clash Magazine took on an entirely new look, ditching the previous glossy feel and music led design, for an altogether more artistically led approach. In September 2008, the magazine received a grant of £230,000 from the Scottish government, to develop its online presence. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clash_(magazine)
- 4. Magazine 4: Q magazine Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology. Q was first published in October 1986, setting itself apart from much of the other music press with monthly production and higher standards of photography and printing. In the early years, the magazine was sub-titled "The modern guide to music and more". Originally it was to be called Cue (as in the sense of cueing a record, ready to play), but the name was changed so that it wouldn't be mistaken for a snooker magazine. Another reason, cited in Q's 200th edition, is that a single-letter title would be more prominent on newsQ's current editor is Andrew Harrison. In 2006, Q published a readers' survey; the 100 Greatest Songs Ever, won by Oasis' Live Forever. In the April 2007 issue, Q published an article containing the 100 Greatest Singers, won by Elvis Presley. Q has a history of associating with charitable organisations, and in 2006 the British anti-poverty charity War on Want was named its official charity. In late 2008 Q revamped its image, with a smaller amount of text and an increased focus on subjects other than music. This "Rolling Stone-isation" has led to criticism from much of the traditional Q readership, though it is yet to be seen if this change in attitude will dramatically affect sales. Lady Gaga posed topless in a shoot for the April 2010 issue of the magazine, which was banned by stores in the United States due to the singer revealing too much of her breasts. The magazine has a close relationship with the Glastonbury Festival, producing both a free daily newspaper on site during the festival and a review magazine available at the end of the festival stands. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_(magazine)
- 5. Magazine 5: Rocksound Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts. It generally focuses on the pop, punk, pop-punk, emo, hardcore, post-hardcore, heavy metal and extreme metal genres of rock music, rarely covering indie rock music at all. The tag-line "For those who like their music loud, extreme and non-conformist" is sometimes used. Although primarily aimed at the British market, the magazine is also sold in Australia, Canada and the United States. The British edition of Rock Sound was launched in March 1999 by the French publisher Editions Freeway. The magazine was bought out by its director, Patrick Napier, in December 2004. The magazines offices are in London. Separate titles with the same name have been published under the same umbrella company in France since 1993, and in Spain since 1998. The magazine is well known for including a free CD in most issues, which has tracks from bands' new albums that have not been released as singles. These are now normally called '100% Volume' or 'The Volumes', but in the past compilations were also called 'Music With Attitude', 'Bugging Your Ears!', 'Sound Check' and 'Punk Rawk Explosion'. Buyer reaction has been very negative when there has been talk of turning the CD compilation into a digital compilation. Sometimes whole albums are included with the magazine, particularly from bands wanting to gain exposure, including Futures' debut album The Holiday in March 2010, and Burn The Fleet's debut album The Modern Shape in May 2012. The first issue was published in April 1999. Issue 2 featured British band Reef on the front cover, whilst issues 3 and 8 featured Terrorvision and Foo Fighters respectively. In July 2011 a host of "Through The Years" articles were written to celebrate the 150th issue of the magazine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocksound
- 6. Magazine 6: Revolver Revolver is a bi-monthly rock and heavy metal magazine published by NewBay Media. Before covering heavy metal, rock & hard rock solely, it was a more mainstream oriented magazine. The magazine is structured in a manner similar to publications such as Spin while covering many avenues within the heavy metal and punk subcultures. It features cover stories (usually centering on a band's new release or upcoming tour), album reviews, instrument reviews, bulletins, and a celebrity advice column featuring letters to Vinnie Paul, former drummer for Pantera and Damageplan, and current member of hard rock supergroupHellyeah. Vinnie took a hiatus from the column following the murder of his brother, Dimebag Darrell (he was supposed to be replaced by Slipknot member Joey Jordison, who decided not to do it when Jordison found out he was replacing Paul) but returned to offer advice to readers about music, life, sex and other topics. The column has recently included Lzzy Hale from Halestorm fielding questions. Another feature of the magazine is its coverage of underground and up-and-coming bands from all over the world. Rather than focus solely on mainstream acts, Revolver introduces many acts that are not played on the radio or on MTV. In 2009, Revolver held its inaugural hard-rock and heavy-metal award show in the U.S., the Revolver Golden Gods awards. Chris Jericho announced on Attack of the Show! that he would host it on May 28, 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolver_(magazine)