What do we need to know for starting a music magazine?

Question by six feet under.: What do we need to know for starting a music magazine?
My friends and I are starting a music magazine and have some general questions about it, like what do we do to raise our credibility, press passes, distribution, cost, stuff like that. Anything would be greatly appreciated. (:

Best answer:

Answer by Insecurity
The first thing you need to know is that it is TOUGH. Music media is a over-saturated market. I personally read a few good zines, but there are other ones, some of them quite big, that I was also a fan of and they have long ago discontinued because they run out of money/readers/coverage/respect. Most people would rather read NME, Q or Rolling Stone, stuff like that – especially as they are all free online. But there are people like me who prefer zines… there not corporate, less hype.

It’ll take you a long time to earn the respect needed to gain access to bigger bands and shows. Why not try collaborating with a zine that already exists? Maybe a printed one you like in your area, or for online try one that is looking for volunteers. Of the ones I read and trust, I know that Music Vice is advertising for contributors, so maybe try them: http://musicvice.com/getinvolved.html

If you do go it alone then good luck! But think about my suggestion to try getting in touch with a magazine that already exists, because a lot of them die out because of a lack of a team, and you could get quick access to bigger shows through helping out a creditable mag.

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