Sheffield music scene

[GFUNK86]

Never seen it before where do I find it looks quite interesting.

 

Here: http://www.sheffieldmusicscene.info

[clea_4eva]

Hi, I'd be happy for you to come along to some of our gigs if you like. Email me at Natz@allthatpromotions.com if there's any you fancy attending

[bluemonday]

However, not alot of people are willing to go on a site, and click around for hours seaching content of which can sometimes be a bit to overwhelming and time consuming. In this sense, the traditional format of an actual hard copy of a magazine is so much more appealing.

 

Saying that, there's obviously factors to take into consideration such as cost and marketing, which is what makes the online mags so good as they're free.

 

I agree that the traditional hard copy format of a magazine is more appealing to flick through.

 

I think you're saying the searching for hours thing is as a criticism of websites, however you have also hit upon what is my main problem with the current online magazine format of SMS - you have to click through pages and pages to find what you want.

 

I think a good website gets round this by having a good search tool and also promoting articles through other platforms - eg Twitter, Facebook. Then a user can drop in on an article of interestwith just one click.

 

You're right about cost and marketing for a traditional magazine but a Wordpress.com website + Twitter + Facebook is totally free and pretty easy to set up.

 

I would say either print a traditional, physical magazine and do it well (there are some good examples in Sheffield, eg Exposed, Article, Toast, Now Then) or pour your content into a simple but effective website instead. The middle ground of an online magazine isn't playing the strengths of either format.

[MTheo]

One dimensional, I mentioned when this magazine started that 'hopefully' it wouldn't be like others and stick to mainly one style and ignore the rest, but it seems this does.

 

I can name many bands (not my own) that are real quality but unless they have scruffy hair and try to copy arctic monkeys or libertines they don't get a look in. And even if they did they would get panned as everyone involved seems to be into the same style of music. To expand and make it an actual reflection of the sheffield music scence it would need to have have different views and people who like different styles of music contributing to it (no point having a metalhead review a indie gig etc).

[Diamond Sea]

I agree that the traditional hard copy format of a magazine is more appealing to flick through.

 

I think you're saying the searching for hours thing is as a criticism of websites, however you have also hit upon what is my main problem with the current online magazine format of SMS - you have to click through pages and pages to find what you want.

 

I think a good website gets round this by having a good search tool and also promoting articles through other platforms - eg Twitter, Facebook. Then a user can drop in on an article of interestwith just one click.

 

You're right about cost and marketing for a traditional magazine but a Wordpress.com website + Twitter + Facebook is totally free and pretty easy to set up.

 

I would say either print a traditional, physical magazine and do it well (there are some good examples in Sheffield, eg Exposed, Article, Toast, Now Then) or pour your content into a simple but effective website instead. The middle ground of an online magazine isn't playing the strengths of either format.

 

Totally agree with what you're saying, especially online magazines being a bit of a middle ground.

 

I've actually written for http://arkmag.co.uk/ which is basically the same concept, although the format is a bit different - and I think slightly better, as it’s easier to navigate.

 

It’s pretty ambitious to expect a large audience for these local mags because they’re mainly written about unrecognised musicians. - Writing successfully about other genres, on top of being unsigned, would require a lot more work.

 

Even though the concept of local online magazines is great, there’s so much more room for improvement and tbh, I think along with most forms of media; a lot of time, a bit of money and **** loads of commitment is required for them to succeed to any significant extent.

[Diamond Sea]

One dimensional, I mentioned when this magazine started that 'hopefully' it wouldn't be like others and stick to mainly one style and ignore the rest, but it seems this does.

 

I can name many bands (not my own) that are real quality but unless they have scruffy hair and try to copy arctic monkeys or libertines they don't get a look in. And even if they did they would get panned as everyone involved seems to be into the same style of music. To expand and make it an actual reflection of the sheffield music scence it would need to have have different views and people who like different styles of music contributing to it (no point having a metalhead review a indie gig etc).

 

I’ve definitely come to realise that the musicians which feature in online magazines tend to be of a certain type, and yeah as you said it's pretty **** because there's so much more (and better) out there.

 

Writers are allowed to write about pretty much any artist as long as the subject’s local...Which in theory is great because it suggests every type of musician is given a chance...but it definitely requires a bit more innovation to work properly.

 

I think the limits of who actually features in the articles, has a lot to do with the magazine(s) attempt at attracting readers, and creating something people feel they can relate to, because the bands which feature in the articles are unsigned, which already limit’s the amount of people who are inclined to read the articles.

 

It’s already extremely challenging being an unsigned artist, and writing about unsigned artists, so opposing the conformity of a specific genre and aesthetic makes the process even more difficult - Because of this, and although not always intentionally, the magazines limit the range of artists to write about.

 

It’s totally impossible to exist successfully in an industry so mass, without conforming to a certain degree.

[Jon P]

Palying a gig at The Washington on tues 31st May if you want to come and do a review