Review of Mixmag magazine

The magazine is laid out in a way in which the reader can pick it up, and read a small feature quickly, and can devote more time later to the in depth features. It’s a colourful magazine and is image heavy which reflects on the clothes featured in the magazine and the sense of style the reader has. 

Mixmag is mainly aimed at guys, the median age being 24, it is for the type of guy who works hard in the week and lets loose at the weekend, spending his pay cheque on night outs, clothes, songs and the latest technology. Mixmag say that 80% of their readers don’t read any other magazines which makes the £4.20 price tag not seem so steep if it’s the only magazine they buy a month. 


Mixmag gives away free downloads and CD’s, it features up and coming artists and has reviews and features. The magazine has adverts for dance festivals, holidays and DJ equipment, and given the price range, it isn’t for rookies.

It's the best selling dance magazine in the world and if you like that scene, it's the ideal magazine for you.

Are blackness and whiteness useful concepts in the study of popular music?

David Hatch says the ‘pop music has always depended on interactions towards white and black traditions’. It is hard to say what black and white music is, as there will always be a mix of traditions. An example being rap music, it may be predominantly black, but there are and will always be white artists who are successful in that genre such as Eminem, Asher Roth and the Beastie Boys. Longhurst says that ‘rap creates a form of interracial dialogue’ it’s about the love of the music not the colour of your skin, therefore blackness and whiteness isn’t necessarily a valid concept when looking at music, compared to the upbringing or general lifestyle of an artist, which doesn’t always come down to race. When defining music solely by whiteness and blackness, this excludes a number of other races and cultures, who aren’t black and white. If we categorise music that simply, where does Asian, Latin or Bhangra fit in?

Does the emergence of the digital download signal the end for the music industry?

Lessig suggests that file sharing can be broken down into a ‘substitute for buying the actual content’, ‘access to music that is no longer available’, ‘access to non copyrighted music’ and ‘to sample music before buying it’. There is more to downloading music to just stealing. I don’t think it is damaging the music industry if people are downloading a couple of songs off an album to ‘sample’ before purchasing the album.  

Kid A by Radiohead was leaked online months before the album’s release and was subsequently downloaded by millions of people, but the album still managed to get to number one in America. In 2007 when Radiohead released In Rainbows, they let their fans decided how much they want to pay for it, most paid £5. This shows that even if something is available for free, if fans support the artist, they will most likely spend money on them.

Can popular music achieve genuine political change?

John Street says that ‘music has a symbolic force and has the power to create visions, articulate ideas and form bonds.’ I very much agree with this statement as musicians have the ability to articulate messages and beliefs onto a large number of people, which is a very powerful thing. Shuker describes ‘conscious rock’ which raises awareness of issues, such as Band Aid which raised £8 million and enlightened people of issues, such as poverty which they may not have been as knowledgeable in beforehand. If that then inspires someone to go out and make a change, the music is responsible for that.

Overall, whilst I don’t think popular music can necessarily achieve genuine political change on its own, the music and lyrics can spread awareness, change people’s mindsets and maybe make people believe that they themselves can change things, which is a step in the right direction towards political change.