Exclusive! MixMag Review

If dance music and club culture is your scene, then MixMag is probably what you’re already reading! It’s aimed mostly at the young and cool bloke, but looking at the prices of the tech and gadgets advertised and featured, definitely not the broke. Even though MixMag has tiny print, the large pictures of raves, artists, parties, and fashion make it pretty clear that reading articles isn’t the main focus here. Besides, the language is generally casual and even when it does include slang**, shies away from cursing. One of MixMag’s biggest draws would certainly be its review section – its pretty huge. They review all sorts of clubbing music and mixes, clubs and festivals, gadgetry, and even fashion. The articles aren’t hard-hitting journalism, that’s for sure, and they do include those fluffy articles that ask artists their favourite kind of ice cream, yes, but MixMag is no gossip rag with a page three girl.

Catch Me If You Can

When it comes to downloading, the industry wants us to think that it is killing music; it is not yet evident that these are lost sales across the board. Look at Radiohead. Their whole album, Kid A, was downloaded by millions months before it came out, yet it still reached number one within its first week. And they later released an album online – pay as you see fit – and people did. As Lawrence Lessig argues, out of his four kinds of file sharing, the only one that is truly harmful to the industry is when it is used as a substitute for an actual purchase, but that does not mean a displaced purchase, as a sale may not have happened in the first place. This kind of downloading along with downloading as a sample before purchasing and accessing otherwise inaccessible copyrighted material may be technically illegal; however, they may be beneficial to artists later on as their newfound fans purchase concert tickets or other merchandise. So while downloading is not exactly legal or profitable for the industry, it isn’t necessarily the end of the world either.

Rock the Vote

Although music itself does not directly change anything, it does act as an impetus for political change as a rallying call, anthem, instigator, reminder towards action. It would be rather difficult to quantify the effect music has on politics. There is no real way to determine if this song changed pushed these people to act, but that does not mean that music isn’t effective either. Events such as Band-Aid and Comic Relief can measure in a way as people phone in their monetary support, which is quantified.

As Street points out, music by its very nature is politically charged as it has the power to create visions, articulate ideas and create bonds. So whether it’s a Live Aid concert to raise awareness, a song used by a candidate, a protest song, or charity concert, it is possible for music to rise above the shortcomings of the music industry as a tool for change.