Opinions please - the state of "music magazines"

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So, I see that Rolling Stone is bringing in FHM's (that's "For Him Magazine" - a British "laddie" magazine a la Maxim or GQ) editor to revamp the magazine for kids with shorter attention spans. They already shrunk the page size, the word counts of articles, etc. Is there any music magazine out there with any kind of credibility, steady readership, and interesting writing (besides maybe Mojo)? And that doesn't cost $7 and is full of crappy cigarette/liquor/bimbo ads? I never read anything anymore - besides the cruel fashion blurbs in Vice, which is at least FREE - but I'm curious as to how the music-fan/journalist community that we have here feels about the state of music journalism/media/etc in general.

― Shaky Mo Collier, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

go FreakyTrigger!

― Paul, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Uncut used to be great, cds, writing, new music focus but has now turned into a place for dribbly old farts to congreagte and drool over how cool the stoens and hendrix were

― Queen Deep ThroatinG, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

'tis true - uncut was great but is now q magazine reborn. i read the wire but then i'm a sad fuck.

― stirmonster, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

nah, I'm down with the Wire as well - that "mystery jukebox" feature is always interesting.

― Shaky Mo Collier, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Blah blah Mark Beaumont's a cunt blah blah blah.

― Dom Passantino, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i thought fhm stood for FUCKING HETEROSEXUAL MALE (dood)?

― maura, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Fuck magazines: BOOKS

― Julio Desouza, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Fuck magazines: BOOKS are the way forward shaky!

― Julio Desouza, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Fuck magazines: BOOKS are the way forward shaky!"

Bit 17th- Century, innit?

― Mr Swygart, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I occasionally enjoy "Uncut" when they're not banging on & on & on abt (bleargh) "americana", & occasionally pick up "TH3 \/\/!r3" & "Terroriser" if there's s.th. I'm into in there but other than that it's pretty much a desert. The INTaRWeB obv = very good for musick stuff, but it's a shame there isn't a more general/broad coverage weekly, like sounds in thee early 1980's. Why ANYONE would waste money & time on RUBBIDGE old "r0ll!|\|g ST0N3" is beyond me.

― Norman Phay, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

If I were a smart music mag editor, I'd shamelessly steal large chunks of ILM and print it. Beats paying journalists, and who'd sue me?

― phil, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The Wire reminds me of the fact English is indeed my 21347th language. But the pictures are nice. Seriously, yeah, The Wire, I love it. Apart from that I read too many books on Rock 'n' Poop.

― nathalie, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I would sue you Phil. I suggest you send me large sums of money now in order to avoid this sorry outcome ;)

x0x0x

― Norman Phay, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

When it comes to U.S. magazines, I subscribe to Magnet for want of something better. Alternative Press used to have some value until they went nu-metal.

― j.lu, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The metal mags (Terrorizer, Kerrang) seem pretty good when I leaf through them, but I've never felt the urge to buy one. I haven't looked at the Wire in a couple years, probably. I usually check the Village Voice and the Boston Phoenix online (Carly Carioli is my hero), the bay area alternaweeklies aren't so great for music writing. I'm not sure it really bothers me that "music magazines" are crap, since I never read them in the first place. Guitar Player was really good for a while in the early 90s, but who knows now?

― Kris, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Re: Books Bit 17th- Century, innit?
Nope. I've learned more about music in the last five days reading books (Stephen Reynolds "Generation Exstacy"; Lloyd Bradley's "This is Reggae Music" and Hirshey's "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place") than I have reading Q, Uncut and Spin in the last 3 years.

― Lord Custos X, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Whatever happened to 'Disco 45' it was a great mag from the 70's featuring lyrics from all the latest poptastic chart songs....plus some groovy pictures of the David cassidy , Tina Charles and Little Jimmy Osmond.

www.theerratix.com

― Falcon, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Y'know what though...if more music mags die out, maybe some musical trends would be able to develop in secret so that they'd be a surprise when they do bust out bigtime. Its a shame though that the two mags out there most likely to survive (Spin and Rolling Stone) are the two stale-ass rags that most need to die.

― Lord Custos v2.3_hv, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I do get exasperated that so many people think rocks mags get to be "music magazines" and anything that doesn't foreground rock all the time is ghettoised. I'm an old, middle-aged rock fan with loads of old rock albums, and I absolutely fucking hate these middle-aged magazines like Mojo and Q.

I buy several dance music mags regularly, and Muzik is the one that suits me best. Anna of ILX (not Anna Rose) seemed to think that I like that one best because it's more for old people, and she might be right, but she is biased because she writes (and very well, I have recently noted) for a rival mag that is more club- and less recording- oriented. Most of the writing in most dance mags is really dreadful, and I buy them mostly for the often superb free CDs. Biggest consistent quality gap between CD and mag: Hip Hop Connection.

― Martin Skidmore, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Er..........at the risk of biting the hand that feeds etc, I'd like to say I prefer Muzik to Mixmag and way prefer Jockey Slut to either. And er again at the risk of biting the hand that feeds, I'll say I prefer Jockey Slut to both because it's exclusively about actual music. I'd read any of the 3 but Jockey Slut tends to have no cheesey shit covered in it and no fashion sections or pictures of people. Also Jockey Slut is the only mag that knows Jon Carter exists.

― Ronan, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

that stephen reynolds is something.

― jess, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Uncut" is about the only mag I read and I dont know why I bother anymore, its gone downhill a fair bit. "The Wire"-very rarely, I havent bought it in a year, for every article on 2 step garage theres one on piccolo nose flautists or some shit like that ;)Muzik is all right sometimes but is overpopulated by wanky London soul boys. Mixmag is veering too close to laddish Ministry territory for my liking. Never read Jockey Slut but 7 magazine is allright, although I've only read it once. NME=shit obv. I'm not too pushed to be honest really. The interactivity of ILM has given me more er, pleasure than any music mag.

― Michael Bourke, Friday, 14 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

the wire sucks a doggy dog. i read it in the library when i go to christchurch cause at least it isnt the NME or MOJO but shit. even when they write about something cool they make it sound stupid & boring.

the only music mags i like reading are the '70s CREEMs that i sometimes find at records records.

― unknown or illegal user, Saturday, 15 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

jess who gives a flamin shit what stephen reynolds's 1st name is?

― unknown or illegal user, Saturday, 15 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Answer: Jess.

― nathalie, Saturday, 15 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

call him stephen.

― unknown or illegal user, Saturday, 15 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

obviously you two.

― jess, Saturday, 15 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I'll read the wire at the newstand cause I'm cheap, I'll buy URB I like it's mix of techo and hip-hop, etc. spin and rs are too cheezy fer me...

― gas face, Sunday, 16 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I think most people expect too much of Mixmag, Muzik, Ministry, et al. - these magazines service the club culture. They aren't mags strictly for obsessive DJs/trainspottery types. So you get some music articles, and a review section - but you also get fashion, coverage of issues like drugs and such, club listings/reviews, and a bit of humor. It never fails to amaze me how many people forget that clubbing is supposed to be FUN. In my opinion the above mags do a good job of servicing the dance community. I read them all the time, and buy them if the cover CD looks interesting. Every once in a while Mixmag will put out a damn good cover CD. They had Timo Maas do an interesting mix before he got huge and put out all these commercial mixes and artist album. Also the Cass "Planet Progressive" mix was pretty hot - that was on the issue that featured Anna's informative, entertaining Digweed article.

― patrick, Sunday, 16 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"If I were a smart music mag editor, I'd shamelessly steal large chunks of ILM and print it. Beats paying journalists, and who'd sue me?"

I think Everett True already beat you to this one...

― did, Sunday, 16 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Patrick I'm hardly an obsessive DJ or trainspottery type, and I'm sure you'd agree that music is the best reason to go clubbing. As many times as I've forgotten it I've seen someone fantastic and then remembered it. And for that reason I want to read lots about the new singles or whatever.

It's this "come on man have some fun" attitude that has led to dance music (a)never being taken seriously and (b)not being written about seriously. (not often enough anyway).

Dance music is about having fun, but there's something a little wrong when magazines can sell thousands because they're not focussing on the music.

― Ronan, Monday, 17 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The Wire too has degenerated into an old farts' convention (or worse, young farts) drearing on interminably about how great Coil/Keiji Haino/Sonic Youth are/were.

Doorag OTM about their making even interesting things sound boring.

Were it not for Ben Watson and Dave Tompkins it would be unreadable.

― Marcello Carlin, Monday, 17 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Also decent descriptions of tunes or emerging styles or suchlike would be fantastic. Jockey Slut is the best dance music mag by miles, but it's still not perfect.

― Ronan, Monday, 17 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i have been really appreciating punk planet. aside from the surplus of advertising (which is still pretty cool punk rock advertising) there is some good writing, interviews and some interesting political pieces. my fave was last year's john k. samson interview (weakerthans). amazingly well-written.

also i liked the last issue of resonance (the first i've heard of this magazine). it focusses more on experimental and improvised music without being too heavy about it (so occasionally it comes off like a wIRE jUNIOR). the writing is good, and a less pretentious take on improvised music is a welcome change.

― fields of salmon, Monday, 17 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I like "Straight No Chaser". It tends to clue me into things in the world/dance/jazz scene that I'd otherwise miss. I probably buy more CDs from SNC reviews than any other magazine.

― phil, Monday, 17 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

six years pass...

What does the future hold for music magazines? Will there be any in major newsagents/newsstands in 5 years?

― the old grey mare hoos ain't what he hoosed to be (state of the world today), Tuesday, 12 May 2009 14:47 (sixteen years ago)

three years pass...

I just bought "Prog" magazine, the (ahem) prog rock monthly, cz a friend's band are in it. It cost EIGHT POUNDS! I don't know whether to be horrified at a mag milking the genre faithful for all they're worth or just shrug and say, well, that's what it takes for a niche magazine to stay afloat these days, so fair play to 'em.

After all, it's probably 2+ years since I bought a music mag, and from age 13 up until whenever Plan B went bust I used to buy at least one a month and often many more than that.

(8 pounds is currently a little more than $12.50 in USian dollars, currency conversion fans)

― still small voice of clam (a passing spacecadet), Friday, 20 July 2012 15:04 (thirteen years ago)

two years pass...

http://recode.net/2014/08/20/next-up-on-mediums-list-a-music-magazine/

― maura, Wednesday, 20 August 2014 18:34 (eleven years ago)

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