1.1 Introduction

CHAPTER ONE

1.1 Introduction

Music magazines are magazines dedicated to music and the culture associated with it. Music magazines usually include music news, interviews, photos, essays, reviews and occasionally cover mounts. Example of music magazines are such as Rolling Stone from the USA, NME from the UK and The Big M from India.

 ‘Fanzines’ or ’zines’ (pronounced fan-zeen) in short are non-professional or homemade magazines. The word fanzine comes from the words ‘fan’ and ‘magazine’. This term is coined in 1940 by an American Science Fiction enthusiast, Louis Russ Chauvenet in his fanzine, Detours to differentiate this kind of small circulation publication with the mainstream magazines. (Triggs, 2010 p. 10)

Fanzines are mostly duplicated using cheap methods such as photocopy and mimeograph. Fanzines have existed in every imaginable format, from a letter in an envelope format to 3D interactive booklets to a 256 pages paperback booklet. Mostly, they are typed or hand-written, and using cut and paste technique for the layout. Then they are photocopied and stapled into booklets. Most of them are roughly hewn. Fanzines are less formal and less commercial compared to professional magazines.

Fanzine is a type of publication that is very free in its format. They are made by any individual in their own bedroom, kitchen or even work place. These fanzine publishers can use their wildest imagination and creativity in designing their fanzines. (Todd and Watson, 2006)

They are mostly produced by an individual or a small group based on passion, not for money or other commercial motives. The press runs of fanzines are between ten to ten thousand copies with the most average around two hundred copies which are much less than most professional magazines. Fanzine publishers do not fit in any demographic group, they can be anyone who wants to write and share about an interest or a phenomenon with anyone who is willing to read them. (Brent & Biel, 2009 p.1)