Since all of my sources are at some level involved in the production of extreme music fanzines, and since this is a how-to and I'd like to gather insights from all of my sources on similar topics, I can ask them basically the same across the board. Here are some that I'm thinking about using:
1) What was the height of fanzine relevance? Are we anywhere near that today?
2) Why do people continue to make print fanzines in the age of the Internet?
3) What are the technical and physical considerations that one must take when publishing a fanzine? Paper, printing press, distribution, writers, contact with bands, etc.
4) Fanzines are the most democratic form of music journalism, eliminating the idea that it has to be done by "real journalists." Who do you think that style appeals to, and why do you think it appeals to them?
5) How narrow of a focus does a fanzine need? Is it dictated solely by the personal tastes of the person publishing it?
6) Why has fanzine culture gravitated toward extreme and underground forms of music? Is it sheer necessity, or do you feel that those bands that fanzines cover share a certain ethic with the zines themselves?
7) The people at a magazine like Terrorizer or Decibel are obviously fans of the music that they cover. What makes your publication a fanzine and theirs not one?
8) What is the process of securing paper and a publisher/press? Does that come before or after the collection of content?
9) How do you get in touch with bands? For those who published zines before the Internet, how was reaching bands different then?
10) Are there legal or copyright issues in interviewing bands and publishing the material alongside photos without a company behind you?
11) How do bands react to being approached for fanzine interviews? Do they differentiate between doing press for a zine with a tiny circulation and an article that's going to show up on one of the major metal sites, for example?
12) (For the zine publishers whose works have been compiled through Bazillion Points) What was it like going through a for-profit publishing house when the ethos of fanzines was so fiercely DIY? How did you decide that granting them permission to publish your zines was the right choice?
More will undoubtedly come up as I start to build the backbone for the article but I think these are a good start.
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