Dance mag duds

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OllieW

New Member
Just a note to reply to the news topic on dance mag duds.

Now, I have no idea if there are gangs on Ibiza toting guns and generally threatening to destroy the fabric of society. Frankly, I doubt it.

However people in general should stop thinking that Mixmag is a newspaper - it isnt. It doesnt have to report the facts and doesnt have to reflect public opinion. Its a style mag/consumer mag and as such can be viewed fairly and squarely as entertainment.

Like TV, anything that is entertainment can have no basis for fact whatsoever. Agreed, Mixmag is for a specialist group and does report latest releases, club dates etc but please dont think the features need to be 100% true.

Do the readers of Cosmo/Red/any other womens mags seriously believe that by reading an article they can tell what their man is thinking? Do the readrs of FHM/Loaded/any other blokes mag seriously believe that all those women wander round in skimpy unides all day long? (OK, some do)

No of course not.

Mixmag wouldnt be doing its job properly if it didnt irritate you from time to time and thats why its still sells over 50,000 copies a month. This of course does not come close to the number who actually READ it (estimate at lease 2.5 readers per copy)

For it to drop below 40,000 it has to lose 1/5 of its circulation which is a huge amount and I would doubt that it would be closed unless it stops making money. I think therefore it will go on irritating & entertaining people with its tabliodal headlines for some time to come.
 
OllieW said:
and thats why its still sells over 50,000 copies a month. This of course does not come close to the number who actually READ it (estimate at lease 2.5 readers per copy)
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8O Jesus, are there really that many cyber gimps around still? :lol:
 
SHot in the dark here, but does Ollie work for MM?

Face it, Mixmag is nothing. End of.

It's laughable to even suggest it as a realistic 'clubbing' guide or respectable account of our scene.

Its the pits of dance music info, sold for/to and read by idiot drug-monkey teenagers who don't know any better.

Like comparing the Daily Star as a respectable source of news info.

But not as funny.
 
I love the Daily Star, and Mixmag, but I take them for what they are, Mixmag is desperate for more readers due to the pressure Emap puts on them
 
The problem that I have with MixMag is that it used to be pretty good, with the best club listings, great CD's (ok, most of the CD's are still pretty good) and accurate and informative articles. Since the demise of Ministry Magazine, Mixmag has pretty much had that niche in the market to itself. As a result, the listings are usually inaccurate, woefully out of date or just plain junk, the journalism is ill-thought out, lazy, sensationalist or (as in the Ibiza article) just plain lies, and it has become little more than a copy of Loaded with more nipples per issue and crap that is mainly about mainstream clubbing. Cutting edge it aint. I would heartily recommend Klub Kulture- an up & coming mag that started out in the London area and is rapidly gaining bigger circulation around the country (and no, I don't work for 'em).
 
*sigh*

I knew saying something like this would prompt a whole load of abuse.

For the record, no, I dont work for MM. I do however work in publishing (12 years) and therefore have a pretty good idea why the product is as it is.

Whoever said that it was like the Daily Star actually wasnt far off the mark. Yes its sensationalist, Yes the stories aren't always totaly accurate but what everyone is failing to recognise is that they are FEATURES not NEWS.

This is not meant to be heavyweight investigative journalism. Theres no undercover MM employee digging around for the real truth about gangs, drugs etc. The article was probably comissioned and the conversation probably went something like this:

"Hmm, the whole dance scene is looking a bit safe at the moment, what can we do to make it seem sexier?"

"I know, lets run something about dodgy geezers, carrying guns taking over the show"

"Good idea, lets make it topical too ......say they are in Ibiza"

"Brilliant! Send someone out there, interview a few people and get their pics. Get the picture editor to dig out some shots of guns and give me 2000 words on gang culture in clubland by next Tuesday."

Lets face it, the music press bent over backwards to let everyone know that the UK garage scene was populated entirely by gun toting psychopaths and suddenly the whole scene became massive. Danger makes it sexy, sexy makes it cool again, as everyone thinks they are buying into something "underground".

MM is almost certainly bought largely by people who have never been/may never go to Ibiza. I dont read it and im fairly certain that a large percentage of people who visit this board dont either. What it does do is promote the whole idea of club culture to lots of people who in turn.............buy records!

Yes - Magazine exists to promote record sales shocker!

Everything else is just filling, so we really shouldnt get upset by hastily written, ill researched articles. None of it should be taken seriously in the same way that none of the lads/girls mags should be.

If anyone wants proper factual information and a real look at whats happening to clubs there are other titles that do alot better job. It's completely unfair however to have ago at MM for doing what in reality they do very well, which is help sell CD's to a public who want to believe they are involved in some kind of scene or other.

I do not understand those people who get so incensed by something which would in other circumstances become chip paper (were it not for the ink and the glossy finish on the pages) in all but a few days.

Incidentally - Libel is where something is written and published about a specific person or persons that can be proved not to be true and deforms their character in some way. Entertainment or fiction is therefore exempt from Libel as it isnt directed any any specific individual and has no basis in fact.
 
OllieW said:
What it does do is promote the whole idea of club culture to lots of people who in turn.............buy records!
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yeah crap ones mainly...

also, dont u think that any magazine has a responsibilty to the public.

all this uproar over binge drinking (and all twattish behaviour).

isnt it a co-incidence that, with the rise of the above and the popularity of mags like loaded, and as someone mentioned the decline of mixmag into its current state...

just my opinion of course.
 
OllieW said:
I knew saying something like this would prompt a whole load of abuse.
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Incidentally, what was the point of your post? if you don't work for them, maybe you work for Emap? Otherwise why the hell do you care?

Mixmag is rubbish. I don't care whether it's filling a gap in the market or whatever, it's poor, lazy journalism. It is also misrepresenting a group of people who could do with more accurate portrayals in the press - clubbers. We're not all munchkins from gurn.net you know :roll:
 
God poor Ollie 8O ;)

I used to work in Advertising so agree with some of the things he says cos I used to work closely with lots of the media owners. I sometimes read Mixmag only cos I get it sent for free but I read in the same way that I read Cosmopolitan, Heat, Marie Claire etc, it's just a light hearted read and I certainly don't take anything I read in any magazine as gospel.

Mixmag used to be infititely better but remember most of us were all in the youth of our clubbing days then, now I know I for one am definitely older than Mixmags target audience these days :lol:

There's other music mags which are way more accurate and informative and I read those but I think that Mixmag serves the purpose it's designed for for a lot of younger clubbers maybe just getting into the scene for the first time. I know for one I wouldn't have wanted to read something like IDJ when I was 16.

And for info, most magazines are actually seeing decline in circulation so Mixmag's decline is no different from most popular titles.

Incidentally great free Carl Cox CD with this months Mixmag ;)
 
chewie_oo7 said:
but young impressionable bods who dont know better do...
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Yeah but the kids of today want excitement and sex and drugs in articles, give them a choice between reading bout the latest new DJing equipment in IDJ or an article on sex in clubs in Ibiza in Mixmag and the latter would win hands down.

They'll read it when they're young and grow out of it like most of us have done, I mean I used to read Just 17 when I was a little pup-pess it hasn't harmed me and I've managed to move on to more 'grown-up' reads :lol:
 
No I dont believe that every magazine has a responsibility to the public.

Newspapers and those titles which proport to deliver factual, academic, scientific or political content etc I think definitely do.

As I have said before, style magazines are published purely as a commercial medium for advertisers to reach either a widespread or (as in this case) niche audiences to promote their products. The content can be as controversial, tabloidal or reactionary as it pleases so long as it continues to attract readers who then are promted to buy the products (whatever the quality) that are on the pages in between.

Theres nothing new in this. Virtually none of the content of ANY consumer magazine is exactly what you would call high brow journalism. If you want in depth reporting - go for a broadsheet. If you want to be entertained, buy a glossy mag.

The point of the post was to question why anyone thought it was necessary to launch an attack on what was a fairly run of the mill article.

Its not like anyone who reads it will actually take any notice ("ooooh MM says that Ibiza is controlled by gangs .....must avoid it incase i get shot" - Hardly likely is it?)

One point I would however agree with is that clubbers do not on the whole get a fair hearing in the press at large. Im not entirely sure though that it is really MM's job to portray us all as fine upstanding pillars of the community.

This really wont sell copies (and in turn many CD's) so the option they have is to publish material that makes us all look like crazy, pill popping loonies that are living a CRAAAAAYYYZEEEEEE life amongst gangsters, drop outs, bohemians and various ne'er do wells to give the impression that by buying the latest 'Clubland ' CD you are becoming part of this group of people that live on the edge and "ave it large" every weekend.

The last thing I am saying is that MM is a terrific title, but it is no worse or better than anything else that costs about 3.50, has a glossy cover and a stack of full page advertisements. The point I was making in my orginal post was that whatever MM prints should not be taken seriously, so why get so angry about it.

One thing that the more devoted MM haters might like to consider is that all the munchkins (your words, not mine) who DO buy the CD's advertised in mags like MM are in turn subsidising the production of all the rather more obscure (and better) music that you and I listen to. Without these people, major labels would be unable to support the indies which would mean we wouldnt have the quality that we enjoy so much.......

So next time someone wishes the death of a mag because it has "sold out" or become too populist, think on.......


[/quote]
 
Thanks Barbie by the way for coming to my aid! I was thinking i was a voice in a crowd for a second there. I wrote the above before reading your comments.

You are spot on.
 
OllieW said:
Thanks Barbie by the way for coming to my aid! I was thinking i was a voice in a crowd for a second there. I wrote the above before reading your comments.

You are spot on.
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Just that you were getting a big of a harsh ride when a lot of what you said is valid and true ;)
 
I have taken one hell of a slating in this thread being someone who buys mixmag!!!

I have bought every mixmag since the first time i bought one in IBIZA in 1999,

to be fair i dont read them much now i generally just flick through looking at the pictures but there is one thing nobody can argue about on this board and that is that for £3.85 you get some brilliant cd's which is why i keep buying it.

On the issue you are talking about David Guetta mixes the cd and it is a really good cd. Carl cox has done this months which im listening to now, i think it was worth the money just for the first track!!
 
I do not understand those people who get so incensed by something which would in other circumstances become chip paper (were it not for the ink and the glossy finish on the pages) in all but a few days.
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ollie, i don't think you quite realise the impact that an article like that could have on tourism to ibiza.

750 000 brits come here every summer.
of those maybe 40% are clubbers.

going by your 2.5 readers per issue of MM, that makes for a high proportion of potential tourists to ibiza who read MM about gun-toting gangs in the club scene here. that is really bad and completely unwarranted PR for the island.

our attack was more than justified. unlike MM, who are trying to sell a few issues by resorting to scandal, the whole of ibiza is trying to survive another bad season, made worse by yet another example of GB Ibiza-press gone to the gutter (sky uncovered still makes me cringe).

my mum (lives in norfolk) was telling me the other day about the driver of the bus which takes her to work everyday. he is over 50 and she overheard him telling a friend of his who got on about this gorgeous island he'd just visited, which was totally not what he'd expected. we also still receive regular emails from visitors to the site who complain as to why ibiza still has such a 'dodgy' image in the minds of most british tourists, when it is actually so nice!

i hope this puts into perspective why the article was written.

anyway, very discussion-provoking post - nice one! :)
 
Thanks James - I was amazed at how much discussion this raised!

I think your point about the impact on tourism is valid. My mum is tourist guide over here and also has suffered some very poor seasons due to daft Americans believing their own appalling media and thinking that they are going to get blown up if they come to Europe and not booking holidays.

I still think that this particular articles impact is over accentuated as we have discussed that alot of MM readers are possibly either too young to book thier own holiday to Ibiza or would go regardless of what was written. I just dont think that anyone takes what they say that seriously.

It is saddening to see a magazine (which I did buy at one time) turn into such terrible tripe but I guess its all in the natural order of things and does serve a purpose, however distasteful.

Anyway, I have managed to convince my folks that its a nice enough place to go and have used this site to book their first holiday to the white isle .......I just hope my dad remembers to leave his guns at home......
 
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