ALTERNATIVE MUSIC – GENRE RESEARCH

SUB-GENRESHISTORYARTISTSFASHIONIMAGES

Initial Ideas

• I have decided to create a magazine similar to NME. I have to chosen to follow the conventions of NME magazine because I buy the magazine regularly and I am familiar with the genre itself.

• The alternative music genre is beginning to appear more frequently in the charts and its artists are becoming more successful.

• I think it is important to keep people aware and up to date with new alternative artists to keep them in the market.

History of the Genre

• Alternative music (otherwise known as alternative rock, alt rock, or just alternative) originated in the 1980s from independent underground music. The genre developed and became popular throughout the 90s.

• It is thought that late 1970s punk music laid the foundations for alternative music. Many early alt rock artists came about in the New Wave or Post-punk genres.

• The genre is known to be extremely diverse and differs greatly in sound. Many early artists signed to independent labels and so did not get airtime on radios like mainstream pop and rock genres.

• With the breakthrough of Nirvana in the 1990s, alternative music became musically mainstream and more alternative artist became successful.

Popular Alternative Sub-Genres

• Grunge

• Indie rock

• Indie pop

• Math rock

• Noise pop

• Post-punk Revival

• Alternative Punk

These sub-genres are covered in NME magazine and they are very popular in the current alternative scene.

Popular Alternative Artists 1980s – 2010s

• The Smiths

• Joy Division

• Arctic Monkeys

• Two Door Cinema Club

• The Strokes

• Ben Howard

• Florence + the Machine

• Crystal Castles

• The Killers

• The Black Keys

• Laura Marling

• Bon Iver

• The Cribs

• Arcade Fire

• Nirvana

• Everything Everything

• Azealia Banks

• Oasis

• Dananananaykroyd

• Sonic Youth

• Kasabian

• Bombay Bicycle Club

• R.E.M

• Marina & the Diamonds

• Pearl Jam

• Kate Nash

• Muse

• The xx

• The Vaccines

Popular Alternative Artists

Alternative Fashion

Sample Fonts for my Music Magazine title