1.5 Statement of the Problem

This research is carried out to offer reference for new design approaches to music magazines using fanzine graphics. This is to cater to the task that most music magazines have to experiment with a new design approach and give an alternative to the current look.

Norman C Brannon (2009), a fanzine publisher and music magazine writer said that music magazines’ looks should be experimented. He suggested that aesthetic value can be added to music magazines by incorporating fanzine looks and desktop publishing methods. The readers would be more compelled to buy for its alternative aesthetic. This is also supported by Mallory Gevaert from Alarm Press who said fanzine graphics can be eye-catching and well noticeable at newsstands. The researcher intends to adapt the amateur looks of fanzines to be an alternative style for professional printed music magazines design.

On 17 February 2011, British Media trade magazine, Press Gazette reported that six out of eight music magazines in the UK sales for the second half of 2010 have dropped. Below are the figures from their website; 

Magazine Name	Sale	Percentage change year on year
Empire	179, 064	-11.1%
Mojo	91, 678	-3.9%
Q	89, 450	-6.9%
Uncut	74, 067	-3.9%
Classic Rock	70, 323	-5.0%
Metal Hammer	44, 013	0.1%
Kerrang!	44, 013	4.5%
New Musical Express	33, 875	-16.4%

Figure 9: UK Music Magazine sales statistics for second half of 2010

As written by Jonah Weiner, music magazines are decreasing in sales mostly because of the threat from internet technology. Readers prefer to read reviews in weblogs or download the music themselves rather than reading the reviews in printed magazines. The same goes to Malaysian music magazine industry as agreed by Mohd Rom Mohd Nor, the manager of ROTTW music magazine.

Recently in August 2010, one of the local leading music magazines, Junk also ceased publication after 47 issues. They’ve been publishing since October 2006 and their final printed issue was on August 2010. They continued their journey as a brand through online magazine and event organizing.  The music magazine industry has to face the threat of internet technology takeover.

Mohd Rom Mohd Nor suggests that for music magazines to survive, the most important thing is the packaging of information. It must be updated before the appeal to the market drops. The publication has to be repackaged to give a fresh and prolonged life. 

Figure 10: Local music magazine that used to be published consistently but vanished from the market.