How to Write for Music Magazines?
PS has worked as a freelance writer since 2012. When she's not traveling and writing, she helps people with web design and development.
Despite millions and billions of piracy and illicit downloads every year, the music industry still stands strong. The total revenue of the music industry increases by $2 billion or more every year. In 2017, it was $17.3 billion. In 2018, it reached $19.1 billion and in 2019, it earned a total of $21.5 billion. Now, who wouldn’t dream of becoming a part of this lavishing industry?
As a writer, you have the advantage to write over a wide variety of topics that has no end. It can be different music genres based on era, location, and people’s taste, such as Carnatic music, rock, RnB, heavy metal, and so on. The music industry is also a target of plenty of consumer and trade magazines.
To become a part of these magazines, you have lots of topics to write about, more than you can imagine. Here are the ten most popular and widely read topics:
1. Top/Trending Music Lists
Magazines like Billboard and Rolling Stone are the first-runners in this category. They regularly release top music lists both nationally and internationally. In fact, many other magazines and music streaming services rely on their report to organize the latest music playlists. Even you can write your own top list. Music lovers are always curious about the latest trends. Producing the list is the best way to do so. It raises curiosity, approval, and maybe a little bit of contradiction.
2. Independent Music
Due to their unique composition, indie music has gained immense popularity in the 21st century. Especially with the online world sickness, independent singers can build a strong fan base in no time through websites like YouTube, iTunes, Spotify, Facebook, Instagram, and so on. Also, thanks to the availability of inexpensive technologies.
Writing about this music genre is a win-win situation as you can become an expert in a specific genre and you can give listeners a different score to enjoy. The possible topics can be the growth of independent music, trending indie bands, hottest independent labels, how to break into indie recording, cross-over artists, and so on.
3. Album Reviews
Album Reviews are important when someone needs music for specific purposes. Even some music enthusiasts also like to read the reviews before buying the album. Producers also consider critic reviews before releasing the album. In short, such reviews can potentially make or break an artist’s career. If you are musically skilled, you must try to become a reliable critic in the industry.
4. Concert Paraphrasing
Concerts are vibrant events. They are organized not only for artists’ popularity but also for donations. Conducted both nationally and internationally, concerts are well received among youngsters as well as adults. It is enough to say that each year a single concert receives thousands to millions of visitors. You can cover live events, cause of the events, write your own personal experience, or inform readers about upcoming events.
5. Music Festivals
People love to watch and read about famous music festivals. Some examples are Woodstock, Coachella, Pitchfork, Big Spring Jam, and Voodoo Music Experience. You may receive an opportunity to detail a music festival along with a brand to simultaneously promote their services. You can write press releases or promotional e-mails/articles to increase the number of participants and raise festival popularity. Other topics can be festival event details, interviews with attendees or artists, and upcoming music festivals.
6. Musicians
You can give juiciest details about your favorite musicians like Adele, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, and so on. Since singers are not the only ones that shape the music industry, you have plenty of artists to write about that include music directors, producers, composers, instrumentalists, songwriters, and other professionals. You can share updates, interviews, or anecdotes.
7. Instruments
Articles about musical instruments are most sought after. Music lovers and professionals practitioners are always looking for instruments that can improve their technicality. Whether for leisure or work, your articles can help them make their final decisions. Many brands also look for writers who can write magazine advertorials about their products. As per your own, you can write about various types of instruments, different brands, upcoming brands and products, product reviews, places to buy them, details about new technologies being used, and also the instruments popular among brands and artists.
8. TV Shows
With the worldwide popularity of TV Shows like Sing-off, The Voice, X-Factor, Glee, The Masked Singer, and American Idol, viewers have become more enthusiastic about music. You can review these shows based on your experience and personal opinion. You can also write about upcoming episodes, behind-the-scenes gossips, future plans, interviews with hosts, judges, and artists. In most of these shows, credit for songs is not clearly mentioned. You can also cover music that’s being used in particular shows.
9. Movie Soundtracks
Movies are dull without songs and songs are meaningless without a story. They contribute success to each other. Their collaboration is often so mesmerizing that viewers want to know more. You can dive deeper into this interrelation and elaborate on how certain songs are selected for specific movie scenes. You can also write about the best soundtracks of popular movies or discuss the details of a specific soundtrack.
10. Music industry
There are many aspirants looking to make a mark in the music industry. Your articles can help them understand what’s suitable for them. You can write about how to become a part of the music industry, how to start your own music label, how to form a band, who are the key players, what are the rules, and so on.
Know Your Audience
There isn’t any strict division among audience demographics for different magazines. Still, it is assumed that the target audience for hip-hop or rock music based magazines is in the age group of 15 to 35. And magazines that deliver content related to country music or jazz aim for the audience in the age group above 35 or 40.
The best way to know your target audience is to directly ask the magazine about the audience’s demographics and psychographic reports. You should also read several articles to understand the type of language being used. A slang and modern language must be used for youngsters, while for adults, the language would be short of slangs.
53 Popular Music Magazines
Here is a list of popular music magazines.
1. Mojo magazine
Known for: Classic rock music
Total Circulation (June 2013): 79,345
Publication Frequency: Monthly
2. Making Music
Known for: Recreational music
Total Circulation (2004): 35,000
Publication Frequency: Bi-monthly
3. Vibe
Known for: R&B and hip hop
Total Circulation (2006): 858,469
Publication Frequency: Bi-monthly
4. Rolling Stone
Known for: Popular culture and rock music
Total Circulation (December 2018): 700,622
Publication Frequency: Monthly
5. Billboard
Known for: Music charts
Total Circulation (weekly): 17,000
Publication Frequency: Weekly
6. M Music and Musicians
Known for: Rock, hip hop, pop, R&B, folk, jazz, and country
Total Circulation (January 2017): 160,000
Publication Frequency: Monthly
7. Modern Drummer
Known for: Drummers and percussionists
Total Circulation (January 2017): 105,042
Publication Frequency: Monthly
8. Guitar World
Known for: Guitarists
Total Circulation (January 2017): 92,328
Publication Frequency: Monthly
9. Big Shot
Known for: DJ
Total Circulation (January 2017): 80,000
Publication Frequency: Monthly
10. JazzTimes
Known for: Jazz
Total Circulation (January 2017): 70,025
Publication Frequency: 10 times a year
11. Alternative Press
Known for: Band interviews and music charts
Total Circulation (January 2017): 297,222
Publication Frequency: Monthly
12. Decibel
Known for: Heavy metal
Total Circulation (2017): 51,000
Publication Frequency: Monthly
13. Guitar Player magazine
Known for: Guitarists related interviews and products
Total Circulation: 134,146
Publication Frequency: Monthly
14. XXL magazine
Known for: Hip hop
Total Circulation: 140,000
Publication Frequency: Monthly
15. Relix Magazine
Known for: Live music scene
Total Circulation (January 2017): 102,000
Publication Frequency: Monthly
16. Music Alive!
Known for: Educating teenagers about music
Total Circulation (January 2017): 500,000
Publication Frequency: Monthly
17. Revolver
Known for: Metal and hard rock
Total Circulation (January 2017): 150,000
Publication Frequency: Bi-monthly
18. Hot Press
Known for: Pop culture and politics
Total Circulation (2014): 17,084
Publication Frequency: 26 per year
19. New Musical Express (former magazine now a website)
Known for: Music news and reviews
Total Circulation: Not applicable
20. Uncut
Known for: Rock music
Total Circulation (2015): 47,890
Publication Frequency: Monthly
21. Kerrang!
Known for: Metal, punk, rock music, and hardcore
Total Circulation (2010): 85,377
Publication Frequency: Weekly
22. DJ Mag
Known for: Electronic dance music
Total Circulation (monthly): 35,000
Publication Frequency: Monthly
23. Classic Rock
Known for: Rock music
Total Circulation (2012): 56,714
Publication Frequency: Monthly
24. Under the Radar
Known for: Indie music scene
Total Circulation: 65,000
Publication Frequency: Bi-monthly
25. Metal Hammer
Known for: Heavy metal and rock music
Total Circulation (2015): 20,961
Publication Frequency: Monthly
26. Premier Guitar
Known for: Guitar news
Total Circulation: 255,000 readers per month
Publication Frequency: Monthly
27. Stereophile
Known for: Audio products
Total Circulation (June 2013): 72,159
Publication Frequency: Monthly
28. Hits
Known for: Music industry news
Total Circulation: 10,000
Publication Frequency: Monthly
29. Entertainment Weekly
Known for: Music, broadway, film, and TV
Total Circulation (2013): 1.8 million
Publication Frequency: Monthly
30. Music Week
Known for: Music industry news
Total Circulation: 5,218
Publication Frequency: Weekly
31. Q
Known for: Modern music and latest releases
Total Circulation (2015): 44,050
Publication Frequency: Monthly
32. BBC Music Magazine
Known for: Classical music
Total Circulation: 37,530
Publication Frequency: 13 per year
33. DownBeat
Known for: Jazz and blues
Total Circulation: 80,000
Publication Frequency: Monthly
34. Mixmag
Known for: Electronic dance and clubbing
Total Circulation (2011): 20,053
Publication Frequency: Monthly
35. Living Blues
Known for: Blues music
Total Circulation: 25,000
Publication Frequency: Bi-monthly
36. Bass Player
Known for: News related to bassists
Total Circulation: Unknown
Publication Frequency: Monthly
37. Goldmine
Known for: Discographies
Total Circulation: Unknown
Publication Frequency: Monthly
38. Electronic Musician
Known for: Music production and electronic musicians news
Total Circulation: Unknown
Publication Frequency: Monthly
39. American Songwriter
Known for: Art and craft of songwriting
Total Circulation: 30,000
Publication Frequency: Bi-monthly
40. Mix
Known for: News related to recording and sound production
Total Circulation: 3,944
Publication Frequency: Monthly
41. Halftime Magazine
Known for: Marching band and music education
Total Circulation: Unknown
Publication Frequency: Monthly
42. The Instrumentalist
Known for: Music education and performing arts
Total Circulation: 18,000
Publication Frequency: 10 times a year
43. Opera News
Known for: Classical music
Total Circulation (2018): 51,578
Publication Frequency: Monthly
44. The Score Magazine
Known for: Pan-genre music
Total Circulation: Unknown
Publication Frequency: Monthly
45. L.A. Record
Known for: Independent music
Total Circulation (2010): 40,000
Publication Frequency: Monthly
46. No Depression (Former Magazine now journal)
Known for: Roots music
Total Circulation: Unknown
Publication Frequency: Quarterly
47. The Hype Magazine
Known for: Hip hop
Total Circulation: Unknown
Publication Frequency: Quarterly
48. Fact
Known for: Focus on youth culture and international music
Total Circulation: 28,000
Publication Frequency: Monthly
49. Rock Sound
Known for: Rock music
Total Circulation (2016): 14,057
Publication Frequency: Monthly
50. The Fader
Known for: Music news
Total Circulation: 565,000
Publication Frequency: Quarterly
51. Variety
Known for: Entertainment news and film reviews
Total Circulation: 54,000
Publication Frequency: Weekly
52. Juxtapoz
Known for: Contemporary art and culture
Total Circulation: 127,000
Publication Frequency: Monthly
53. Texas Music
Known for: Music news
Total Circulation: 30,000
Publication Frequency: Quarterly
For detailed information, you can visit the Wikipedia page for Music Magazines. It contains all the names of possible music publications along with editors’ names and websites.
What do editors expect from you?
Editors are very strict with what sort of content needs to be published. You can’t trick them by rewriting already published works. You should:
- Have a passion for music
- Develop a character for music
- Understand the dynamics of the music industry
- Build relations with artists, respective managers, and labels.
Your articles can vary from 500 to 2,500 words. For more specific length, you can visit the magazines’ publication guidelines.
Related: How to Make Editor Curious to Read Your Email
How to pitch your ideas?
- Check for magazine’s publication guidelines
- If there are no guidelines, you can e-mail the editor or editorial staff to ask for them
- Review their current and upcoming editorial activities to understand their perspectives
- Do the topics match your interest? Can they be covered, if any?
- E-mail the editor with your proposed idea
- Don’t write long e-mails
- Write only one fully developed idea in your e-mail.
How much can you make?
Payment varies with magazines. It largely depends on the readers’ base and marketing. Top magazines like Rolling Stone and Vibe pay around $1 per word, while other magazines may offer between 20 to 70 cents per word. You are paid more if you include original photos. Don’t be disappointed if your article is not accepted by top magazines. Even for experienced writers, making into popular magazines is equally difficult.
© 2020 Prachi Sharma
Comments
Umesh Chandra Bhatt from Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, India on August 09, 2020:
Interesting points. It is a unique sort of article. Useful.
