The Music Venue Trust has teamed up with Drowned In Sound to launch a brand new print music publication titled Shownotes celebrating the live scene in the U.K.
Beginning in November, 50,000 copies of Shownotes will be available at over 500 live music venues across the U.K. The launch will be nationwide and stocked in a number of grassroots and independent venues.
The launch is made possible via a grant from the MVT, which champions the U.K.’s grassroots music scene. The MVT is one of the beneficiaries of the LIVE Trust, which distributes funds raised from ticket donations to a number of key initiatives across the live sector.
The title will be edited by writer and author Hannah Ewens, who has previously held positions at Rolling Stone U.K., Vice and more. Raissa Pardini, a designer who has worked with The Rolling Stones, Blur and Bikini Kill on poster designs, and with companies like Apple and Adobe, will lead the title’s visual look and feel. They’ll be joined by an all-female editorial team including Edinburgh-based Arusa Qureshi, and Negativland founder Kate Jeffrie.
Speaking on the news, Ewens said, “Music journalism can feel static and drained of life, especially after years of rolling staff cuts and publications folding. The concept of a magazine that uses something as visceral and immediate as the live experience as the lens through which to understand and celebrate music is a perfect antidote to that.”
She added, “I believe that the dominance of short-form video and filmed content, at the expense of quality writing and print, doesn’t serve artists or fans. Being able to sit with beautifully written, intimate profiles, esoteric long-form thinking, and curious investigations still matters. Shownotes will be something fans can leave with after a gig, relive the excitement through at home, and use to start planning their next show. On a personal note, I’m obsessed with print, and being able to commission my weird ideas and some of my favorite writers and photographers is a pleasure I feel blessed to indulge in again.”
Drowned in Sound publisher Sean Adams added, “My hope is that the editorial and recommendations will inspire fans to discover their local scenes and take day trips around the UK to check out genres of music outside of their algo-bubble. Our mission is to get more people to go to more gigs and, beyond just recommending shows, we have some projects beyond the magazine up our sleeves…”
