Possible Artists to use in my Music Magazine

In my surveys I found that the reasons people didn't read music magazines was because no artists appealed to them so I looked at alternative charts to see what was popular in the UK, to be more precise I will also look at not just national charts but regional charts as my magazine is regional my audience will be interested in local music as wall as national. This is just a brainstorm on possible artists suitable to feature in my magazine and to place on the contents and front page. I am researching this area due to in my survey 57% said that they didn't read music magazines because no artists interested them, so to avoid this I will cover as many artists as possible.

Vance Joy

Riptide

Vance Joy is a Australian singer-songwriter who is new to the UK alternative scene. At the moment this post was written he is number one, this is important as this means he will be a well known figure among the alternative music scene this will attract my demographic as they are likely to know who Vance Joy is due to him having the most superior place in the chart. In the overall main charts his song Riptide is the only one from him but is in number 18 and has risen 17 places, this conveys to me that his popularity is increasing. In conclusion I think Vance Joy would be a good artist to use as he is new on the scene meaning that information on him would be quite hard to get hold of in magazines as he is a brand new artist so therefore will draw attention from the audience as well as magazines but before this breakthrough information would be scarce. Vance Joy would also be recognised by my demographic due to being number one in the alternative charts there is also a chance of him being recognised by other viewers as he is climbing up the charts and receiving airplay from BBC Radio 1 this station is aimed at the age range of my audience and by raising the profile through this it can draw new readers to my music magazine. Although checking on his website his upcoming tour is excluding the East Anglia region meaning that he will have nothing to do with the region therefore excluding him from the regional aim for my music magazine, I will have to consider this when I decide on whether to use this artist.

Bastille

Of the Night

Here is number two in the alternative chart. It is their sixth single to enter the mainstream charts so unlike Vance Joy with the possibility that he might be recognised there is an extremely high chance that this band will be recognised by the viewer including a high majority within my demographic but also a high majority outside due to high airplay from BBC Radio 1 so therefore bringing in other readers who recognise the band. Due to their high success rate this will be an unexpected result as stereotypically local music magazines don't cover top, high profile artists. Looking on the mainstream chart I see that Bastille 'Of the Night' is 17 in the chart and went down since the previous week but this is expected after 9 weeks in the chart and how mainstream music constantly changes from new entries pushing them down. This could slightly effect my decision on whether to use them within my music magazine as this shows a lack of demand but still Bastille are a high profile band who have visited Norwich twice and both selling out therefore portraying a demand for the group within the area therefore attracting viewers and Bastille fans which can be outside of my demographic and become interested in my music magazine through their passion for Bastille. Looking at Bastille's website I see that there are no upcoming gigs for this area meaning that they won't be 'talk of the town' when released but there are very few gigs in the United Kingdom and the majority are international therefore meaning that interviews with Bastille will be scarce therefore creating another reason for a viewer to become a reader.


Half Moon Run

Full Circle

Here is Half Moon Run which was number three in the alternative charts. Like Vance Joy, Half Moon Run are also new to the UK music scene and this song Full Circle will be considered to be their 'breakthrough' track. The track receives a lot of airplay on BBC Radio 1 which, as I have previously said, has a similar age demographic to my music magazine so by using Half Moon Run I can attract people who don't completely fit my target audience. Doing some research on the band the song Full Circle received over 1 million hits on YouTube overnight therefore could be portraying that this band isn't a 'one hit wonder'. This sudden spike in views can convey a demand for this band which could possibly reflect onto my magazine and cause more copies to sell. Looking in the mainstream chart there is no sign of Half Moon Run meaning that their music hasn't completely broken through yet but this can be a good thing as the stereotype of alternative fans is the way they like music to remain individual and unique rather than be in the charts, so maybe I should follow the stereotype of my demographic to meet their expectations. Looking on their website I find that they are only touring Canada for the majority of 2014 so therefore might not be relevant to my local area so therefore interest in the band can be low.

I will now search for local alternative bands. Sadly there are no local alternative charts which could be something I introduce in my magazine as a unique selling point. I found some local artists by looking at certain local venues that held bands of the alternative, rock and indie genre.





The Interpreters

Actions Not Words

Here is The Interpreters a band which plays at local venues and gigs. I discovered this band on a list of all the bands within the local area. They seem popular with 5705 plays on their Actions Not Words songs and are 'connected' to 1.5K on their MySpace page this conveys a popularity and demand for the group that if I were to feature them on my front cover or within my magazine then viewers could be brought in and purchase my music magazine. Although they seem popular their MySpace page isn't updated and there are no current events/gigs the dates the music was last released was in 2009 which conveys that this band doesn't exist anymore and even if they do there is no recent music to suggest they are in demand or in the Norwich alternative music circuit.

When looking for alternative bands within the area of Norwich I found it extremely difficult to find them online and when I did find bands their genre wasn't suitable for my magazine or that their audience were older than my demographic. I now understand why there was a gap here in the market because there simply wasn't enough established bands to create an interest or enough readers for the magazine to be consistent. This search was fruitless and took a huge amount of time so therefore I have made the decision to change the aim of my magazine from regional to national and aim for the more mainstream bands this means that I will have to research more mainstream bands within the alternative genre as this shift is a huge one and can damage the intimacy of my magazine but if I go about this transition cautiously I can still create the desired effect when I wanted the magazine to be local. 

Arctic Monkeys

One for the Road

Arctic Monkeys have been on the music scene since 2002 and ever since have made alternative music with 5 albums and receiving nominations and awards, seven BRIT's and a Mercury prize. With the fastest selling debut album ever and always placing in the top 40 with new tracks the Arctic Monkeys are leaders of this music genre. They perceive the typical 'bad boy' persona which is the stereotype of the alternative scene and quite often set trends such as the vinyl, Arabella their new single will be released on vinyl on the 28th March 2014,  which has become stylish again after Arctic Monkeys started selling their music on the platform. Their currency in the music industry is present due to their new single Arabella being released on the 10th March 2014, their AM tour just finishing and their new album AM at number two and in the album charts for 25 weeks.  From the high amount of awards, albums and trends it is clear to me that the Arctic Monkeys are popular within my target audience and remain current enough to appear within my magazine.



The White Stripes

Seven Nation Army

The White Strips were formed in 1997 and were parents to the famous bass riff and are known as one of the iconic parts of alternative music. They gave permission for Marcus Collins from The X-Factor to sing Seven Nation Army which could've tarnished their popularity from how opinions of The X-Factor, especially those who enjoy music where those have worked hard for fame like in the alternative, rock and singer songwriter, have declined in popularity. Also researching into the band I find that they had broken up in 2011 meaning that The White Stripes aren't current or trending so therefore interest in them would be low and due to their career being at its peak so long ago in 2002 it is unlikely that by just using their name in the magazine some would not recognise the band, in my magazine I have got to keep with my generation and ensure that there will be names of artists that the majority of my demographic will recognise.

Imagine Dragons



On Top of the World

This is Imagine Dragons who have only very recently, unlike Arctic Monkeys who have a high number of years within the music scene, broken into the alternative industry in September 2012, but are hugely popular among fans and those who listen to the genres music. They have been recognised by NME and MTV as the biggest breakthroughs of 2013 in America, yet their completion of a world tour emphasises their worldwide popularity and specifically to Great Britain have been in the album charts for 48 weeks with Night Visions. Although this is meant for the greats of alternative rock the amount of publicity, popularity and awards Imagine Dragons are apparently set to be the next big thing for alternative music. This band would be great for my music magazine as it could make them award of this up and coming band although I feel it might be too late for them to be classed as huge as they have already made it.

Finally I was hoping to have a page on a less high profile alternative band so I decided to look around in the alternative section of iTunes and find a band with not a huge amount of publicity for this section so I can make my viewers aware of the next big thing.

Little Comets

Little Italy



The Little Comets are an English trio who have been around since 2009 and have released two albums, In Search of the Elusive Little Comets and Life is Elsewhere. They've been known for their slightly more crazy side by performing in unusual places as a publicity stunts, venues have included the bakery aisle in Marks & Spencer and University lecture halls. It is certain that this band have been trying to break through since the beginning. Releasing EP after EP and being dropped from Columbia records before the release of their album this band are truly independent. They are now in the process of releasing a new EP, The Gentle EP, making them current and independent enough to have a page spreading their talent while pleasing their tight knit group of fans which will bring in readership for the magazine.