Happy birthday to us, happy birthday to us, happy birthday Music Republic Magazine…..happy birthday to us. Yaaaayyyy! One whole year-old today. Friday 15th December 2017.
At circa 8pm on Thursday 15th December last year, we launched our brand new digital music magazine into the big wide world. From zero to heroes overnight! The hits grew and grew and grew. Our reputation grew and grew. The access to the music stars, past and present, grew and grew.
The music industry welcomed us warmly. Our approach to cover a very, very broad church of genres; but only if the music was top end; five-star, Premier Division, was roundly applauded. Apart from Classical, “Easy Listening” and Thrash/Death Metal, not sure there’s any more styles of music we would reject.
But it is all about QUALITY not quantity. That’s a given. Our mission statement from day one and always will be.
We are of course, happy to cover the big stars of today and yesterday. But we also thrive on discovering and helping virtually unknown and struggling independent artists. If we hear raw and rare talent, someone very special, we want to tell the world about it. But big or small, famous or non-famous. The music being made must be gob-smackingly great for us to get behind it.
The Stars Come Out For Us…
In the last 12 months, we have interviewed a sparkling array of stars and rising stars. From icons such as jazz legend Sonny Rollins, blues veteran Wilko Johnson, Stax legend William Bell, nu-soul master Omar and a hilarious chat with Happy Mondays front man Shaun Ryder. UK soul man Decosta Boyce and US soul sensation Tanika Charles.
Young Manchester band Carnival Club gave us their debut EP before anyone else, and we loved it, gave it a rave review and we had a good chat with them too. Allman Brown, Izo Fitzroy, Mohawk Radio; all hot current bands and artists we spoke to. Israel’s biggest music star penned a totally exclusive piece just for us. We crossed the water to interview and review some great new Irish bands, such as Orchid Collective.
We secured the services of the UK’s # 1 authority on all things country, folk, roots and acoustic, to write an exclusive monthly column: Alan Cackett’s “Off The Record”. Watch out for a bunch of brand new columnists in 2018 joining Alan.
Our News Zone has been buzzing with lots of exclusives. Our Live Zone has covered gigs and festivals all over the UK and Ireland. We have featured such stars as Rebecca Ferguson, Sir Elton John, The Specials, Jess Glynne, Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Sum 41, Elbow, Olly Murs, Jon Bellion, Stormzy, The Maccabees, Cabbage, Tony Bennett, Robert Plant, Imelda May, Bryan Adams and many more.
Plus many rising stars, and events like the NME Awards Tour, I Love The 90s and HRH Xmas Rocka. We have been given access to some fabulous festivals where we have brought you backstage exclusives, and all the on-stage action, in words and pictures, at such events as Cornbury in The Cotswolds, Bearded Theory in Derbyshire and Hope & Glory in Liverpool.
We love different!
Our team have reviewed hundreds of CDs, DVDs and books – a mixed bag of styles and genres. Each writer awards up to five stars to each album, EP, book or DVD they review. We love different! We have premiered some cracking music videos in our Video Zone. We have had a bumper number of entries to our fab competitions to win all sorts of goodies; albums, books, DVDs, gig and festival tickets and more.
In November, we launched a brand new Comedy Zone, christened by Canadian comedy star Tom Stade with a killer interview. As we get into 2018, there are plans for major additions and improvements to the magazine, and a major social media campaign. As well as new writers, columnists and photographers joining the contributors’ team.
A huge thank you to the current writers, photographers, designers and our tech’ experts, for the hard work and skill invested in helping to create, launch and develop Music Republic Magazine in 2017.
A big thank you to all the music PRs, pluggers, publicists, marketing folk, record labels, producers, music management, artists, songwriters, promoters, venue owners, concert and festival organisers and staff…………..and the many other assorted VIPs who we have worked closely with for the last 12 months.
But most of all, a HUGE thank you to our readers. We are staggered by the massive volume of daily/weekly/monthly hits we have attracted in just a year, how often they return and how many pages you guys look at on each visit. A truly global reach. A year ago we had zero hits – and then zoom…………..
- As part of our 1st birthday celebrations, we bring you our “Best of 2017” round-up; including Top 20 Best Albums of the Year. All our contributors and myself, the editor, put our heads together to come up with a definitive final list, for the various categories. Check it out in our Features Zone.
Amazing prize for our 1st birthday competition…
That is not all…………We are thrilled to be able to offer you a big prize that “money can’t buy”, for our very special 1st birthday competition.
A once in a lifetime opportunity to win the chance to join soul legend Alexander O’Neal in the recording studio, as he works on his new album of original material.
If the winner plays piano, guitar or they sing, he or she is invited to jam with Alexander in the studio. The winner can take along a guest too, and they will also get two tickets for any date on his UK tour in April and a signed copy of Alexander’s current CD, “Hearsay 30”. A newly re-recorded and updated version of Alexander’s classic album “Hearsay”, which came out in 1987, featuring his big hits, Criticise”, and “Fake”.
Three runners-up will each win a copy of “Hearsay 30”.
This is sure to attract a huge number of entries and there can only be one winner and three runners-up. So, send us your entry fast. Go to our Competitions Zone to enter and for all the terms and conditions.
So, the birthday cake is baked. The candle is lit. The champagne is on ice. The nibbles are plated up. Let the birthday party begin………………….Let’s drink to a great first year and an even better one to come……………….
Cheers…………………
The Editor
