How to Make a Music Fanzine

I edited my own fanzine, Load of Noise, for nearly four years. It covered the particular music I was involved with at the time, which was largely underground heavy metal. This guide, however, can be applied to a fanzine covering any genre of music, but bear in mind most music fanzines tend to focus on the more niche genres, as they aren't usually covered by the mainstream press.

Creating your own fanzine can take a lot of time and effort, but I assure you it's well worth it. You will not only become a better and more experienced writer, gaining skills in the editorial, interviewing and reviewing fields, you'll also become much more knowledgeable about the music you're covering. If that wasn't enough, you'll be sent promotional copies of albums and singles before they're officially released, gain guestlist entry into gigs and get to meet and interview your favourite bands, too!

Webzine or Fanzine?

Although there are thousands of webzines on the internet, there is nothing like a good print fanzine. Fanzines go back decades meaning there's a real history to consider with print fanzines that just doesn't exist with webzines, given the internet's relatively young age. You can't sell a webzine in a record shop or at gigs, you can't send it across the globe to somewhere you've never even heard of and most of all, you can't hold it in your hands in admiration and read it (you could try to do this with a webzine, but you'd have to be able to break the laws of perceived reality - or print it off, which is equally absurd).

What you will need:

• An unyielding love of music
• Plenty of free time (be warned: this can take over your life!)
• A computer with word processing capabilities and internet access
• A mailing address
• Money for printing costs
• Patience

Naming the Tome

Once you've decided what music your fanzine will cover, you need to decide on a name for it. This should preferably be short, memorable and catchy. If possible, try to relate the name to the music somehow, for instance, Load of Noise refers to how people who are unable to hear specific instruments in detail will just dismiss heavy metal as a racket.

Research and Content

The second thing on your agenda should be to do some extra research on your chosen genre. Find out who the main record labels are, who the main PR agencies are and everything you can about your local music scene.

Set up a new email account and an online profile for your fanzine. This is a good platform from which to base your operations and acquire contacts and information. Send out emails to every relevant band and label you can get the addresses of. Inform them of what you're planning on doing and ask if they will send out review copies of their new release or if they want to be interviewed for your first issue. Most personnel on the underground should be more than happy to gain more exposure for their band or label. This is also a good time to ask labels if they wish to advertise in your fanzine, charging a small amount for advertising space to begin with; the money raised can then be put towards your printing costs. Some contacts may ask for your print run (how many copies you plan on printing) or some other details, so be prepared and word your emails professionally and with consideration.

To start with, I emailed about 20 labels worldwide and ended up with a total of three foreign labels actually sending me something. Luckily it was some really great stuff!

If you don't have any success contacting the label or band directly, another method is to request who deals with their PR, then contact the PR agent directly (bigger labels and bands tend to leave all their promotion to PR companies).

Many Hands make Light Work

Doing all the work and writing yourself can be overwhelming, so you could ask some of your friends if they would be up for contributing to the fanzine. If none of your friends are interested (how dare they?), post up requests for help in online music forums and in record shops.

Writer's Block?

Plan out roughly how long you want the fanzine to be and also what size you will make it (A5 is common). Have a target amount of interviews and reviews so you have a goal to work towards.

If you have trouble writing reviews, it often helps to read what other people have written in music magazines or on the internet to gain insight and inspiration. Your style and ability will develop over time so just keep practicing. As for interview questions, think about what you would personally like to read about and what you think other people would find interesting. Ask about the band's history, current status and future goals. As well as reviews and interviews it's also an idea to add in extras such as articles, rants, artwork or even a comic strip to give the fanzine its own personality.

Almost There!

Once you've completed your target amount of content, it's time to start putting the fanzine together*. A good place to start this phase with is the cover: you could ask any of your friends with artistic talent if they want to create a cover, do it yourself or simply use a striking photo. Something that stands out is essential if you want people to notice your fanzine at gigs or when it's alongside others on a shop's shelf.

Once the cover is ready, you need to get the content organised. To start with, I used Microsoft Word and Publisher to get the main body of the fanzine together. I typed everything up on Word and then arranged it in Publisher, which is very user friendly. Experiment with layouts, font sizes and page orders etc until you're happy with what you're looking at. Around about this time you'll probably be thinking you're the greatest editor since sliced bread - you certainly could be, especially if you cover yourself in marmite.

*Before you do this you may want to have a final proof read for any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors

Printing

Once you've completed the fanzine, you can either save it in Publisher or convert it to a PDF, then take it to a print shop where they will print it from the file (this results in the best quality). Alternatively, you can print a copy off at home, and then use a photocopier to create as many fanzines as you can afford (if you have access to a 'free' photocopier you can save yourself a load of cash!).

For an initial print run, depending on prices, go for anything between 50 and 100, or even more if you're ambitious. However, bear in mind you'll probably have to send a few copies out for free to the labels and PR agencies you've been in contact with.

Distribution

Once the fanzine is a physical entity, you need to distribute it:

• Contact independent record shops and ask if they will stock the fanzine. They will usually take a small cut (around 20%) of sales; this is standard practice but it's worth it to get your fanzine well circulated. Also do this for small record labels and distributors.

• Ask local promoters if you can sell the fanzine at their gigs. You can offer to give them free advertising space in future issues.

• Mail copies off to the labels/PR companies you initially contacted to show them what you've accomplished.

• Send it to other fanzines and magazines to get reviews and help give the fanzine's name exposure.

• Put the fanzine on eBay and use bands you've interviewed/covered to help with search results (this method really took me by surprise as I sold about 20 copies of one issue this way!)

Completion!

That's it! If you complete even one issue you deserve a pat on the back and a jar of marmite. Hopefully all your hard work will pay off and you will be happy with your fanzine. The best piece of advice I can give is to try and make the kind of fanzine that you would want to read yourself. Load of Noise was simply the fanzine that I wanted to see on the shelves.

Please let me know if you have any feedback or questions. I'm always happy to give any advice I can on any aspects of fanzine creation. Good luck!