I promised a more personal look at deadline. Here are some photos. The first is an over-the-shoulder view of Daniel (our new intern). Right now he’s doing all the work on the new issue. All I’m doing is answering questions from people that email or call and (trying to) selling ads. Here he is reading a book he’s reviewing. Note the clipboard at right. That’s where we chart our progress for this detailed project called a new issue of HM Magazine.
As you can see by this close-up of my clipboard, there’s little boxes that get checked off when various stages are met (like assigning an album review to a writer). When we send the email asking about the assignment this box gets an “e” for email in it. When he or she accepts that assignment, the “e” becomes a check mark. Then there’s the “contact publicist,” who happens to be the next person we turn to after the freelance writer accepts the assignment. This person is working for the band or record label and they’ll get the writer some music and sometimes lyrics and “bio” information. Note the large plastic cup on the table. It’s got a special concoction in it – a smoothie with frozen bananas, blueberries and a 16 oz Monster Lo-Carb energy drink. Nothing but the best (and stimulating) here at the HM offices. Notice the cool Windows & Crossbones logo on his notebook. I think that’s cool. You’ll see that Daniel is obeying the strict dress code at HM. The rule is: “If you’re not relaxed, you’re uptight and if you’re uptight, you’re right out!” Okay, I admit that’s a new rule I just made up, but I like it.
What I don’t see in this photo is the stack of 19 CDs that he recently listened to and previewed. We get on average about one-to-two discs per day here to listen to. For any given issue we might listen to as many as 100 unsigned bands in a search for the “Pick of the Litter.” Each of us on the editorial team listens, evaluates and then puts our number vote and minor notes on a little post-it note somewhere on the CD packaging.
Note: If you’re in a band and wondering if you should send a link or electronic files or a physical CD… The answer for HM Magazine is “PHYSICAL CD!” We can do so much more and listen in a car, etc with a CD than digital files. We’re old school in that regard, but listening to one song on a computer often involves having to click something (and stop what you were doing to do so) with your mouse to hear the next song, etc. On paper it sounds like it’d be more convenient to peruse music on a computer. In my experience, it’s not.
Let’s look here at one of the CD’s he rated: Writ On Water: “A Wingless King.” He gave it a 3.5 out of 5. He scribbled down: “Very ambient and chilled. Don’t like the vocal, though.” This was one of the higher/standout acts he previewed this afternoon. At least that’s what he told me. What’s cool about these rating systems for unsigned bands is each of us has a “Veto Vote,” which means we have the ability to decide without the other team member’s opinion on the music. Because it is such a defining effect, these votes are to be used wisely and only with confident purpose. If he had given this album a “5” (out of 5), then I would not have a say and it would automatically be a “Pick of the Litter” in the next issue. Conversely, a 1 vote is an automatic and final rejection of an artist for this feature.
Back to Writ On Water: Corey Erb, who interned here last summer, gave it a 3.5 as well. He jotted down a couple lines, too: “Atmospheric/trippy. Reminiscent of The Appleseed Cast, but weirder. Inaccessible.” This band could possibly get a Pick of the Litter placement. But the odds are not in its favor. Besides the Veto/Automatic 5 ratings, the 4’s and higher 3’s are usually who make the cut. Yeah, we allow decimal points. You could give something a 4.99, for example, if you loved something but had a hair of a doubt about its status.
Here’s some random (and, mercifully, anonymous) notes on other CDs:
“Very daring and out there. It leaves me not sure if I like it or hate it.” (3)
“Good sound. Sounds like Fall Out Boy.” (4)
“Pretty heavy and raw. I like!” (4.5)
“Nothing special, but doesn’t suck.” (3.5)
“Boring rock.” (3)
“It’s like eating meat with no seasoning. It needs flavor.” (2.5)
“It has its moment, annoying vocals at times.” (3)
“Not my taste but good at what they do. Rock/pop.” (2.5)
“I like it alot. Relaxing and calming.” (4)
(This last one is another Writ on Water CD -“Ancestral Echo/Wunderzeit!”)
On Friday Daniel gave a good half-dozen or more (maybe about 10) albums a 1 veto vote. Go Daniel!
Some things stack up and don’t get done as fast around deadline time, like filing subscriptions. We keep track of each subscription, because we have a “Periodicals” mailing permit, which goes right behind First Class in the mail. We had to apply for this permit. It had, like, a $250 non-refundable application fee. That’s kind of a stiff application if you fail that one! With this permit, we have to keep our magazine at least 50% or more editorial (vs. advertising). If it had more than 50% of ads in it, it would be classified as a “catalog” and have to be mailed the “Standard” (used to be called “Third Class”) rate, which is slower and costs more (I think). Anyway, if we get audited, we have to prove that more than half of the subscriptions are paid for. They would pick 10 or 100 names from our list and we’d have to provide the subscription card or order, along with a bank deposit slip that shows we deposited the funds. This requires us to keep all subscription cards around here for 3-5 years in case of an audit.
This is my “Inbox,” which usually serves as a “take this home at the end of the day” storage facility. On top is a subscription change that I’ll take home and hand off to Charlotta, who manages our mailing list. Notice there’s a mailing label in there. I’ll ship a magazine to this person when I get home, where the meter machine is.
Here is a close-up of my clipboard. It’s turned to the second of four pages — the Album Reviews page. Here’s where I’ll keep track of the assignment process, as well as noting when it’s received and filed. I’ll track our need of an album cover image for the magazine layout and also the rating system we have for signed bands. In addition to the writer’s opinion, the reader gets a numerical rating (a slightly different 1-5 rating system) from the writer, which might clarify or fine tune the writer’s opinion. Then the Editor (that’s me) will rate each album. A 1 is a sorry piece of crap only a mother could love… or (more tactfully) an album that is “amiss.” A 5 rating is supposed to be rare and used when it’s called for. It’s hard to be accurate about this one, because how can you tell from an early listen that something is going to be a classic? I mean, there are sometimes where an album instantly hits you over the head and you know you’ll be listening to this album for the rest of your life (or at least five years down the road). These are rare. I’ve only rated a few albums this high. I think the last one I gave a 5 to was actually a live DVD. It was the MUTEMATH live DVD, which captured their amazing show that they’ve been putting on for the past 5 years or so. The name of the artist and the label and the writer are tracked here, which we will need to know in the early process, when we’re requesting music to get in the hands of the writers. Organizing all this and managing it is not too terribly overwhelming, but it requires that you stay on top of it. And the initial setup and deciding who we’re going to review sometimes takes a full day or two. You might see a couple of titles scratched off. This is because we found out later that the albums won’t be ready in time for this issue. That happens sometimes.
The entire magazine is penciled out on a page of thumbnails for each page. Our magazine is normally 64 pages these days. The thick frames on certain pages signify color pages, while the thinner frames are black & white. Our magazine is evenly split between black & white and color. We started out in black & white and added color as we could afford to. To go from b&w to color costs about $1,200 to $1,600 more. Our magazine is printed on giant sheets of paper that are about 40″ wide by 24″ tall. They’re called “forms” or “signatures” and they fold up to the size of the finished magazine when they’re finished printing and the ink has dried. The signatures we normally use are 16-page signatures, with 8 pages on one side and 8 on another. Our magazine is “saddle stitched,” which basically means it’s stapled together. The kind that looks like a small book is called “perfect binding.” The signature folds around the center, so that 8 of the pages are in the front half of the magazine and 8 are in the back half. If we sold enough ads to increase our page count, for example, we would expand by 8 pages at a time, as opposed to a single page. If we did this we’d add one 8-page signature, not a 16. I’m getting detailed and losing you. I can tell. You’ve got that glazed look in your eye.
Here is my desk. I’m using my notebook this week and last, because our internet connection is totally and completely bad. I went to a two moniter system about a year ago. I like it when I’m designing and laying out stuff in our layout program. We use Adobe’s “Creative Suite” program, which includes the layout program – InDesign – as well as the image-editing program you’ve heard of – PhotoShop. You’ll see some random stuff on my desk, like mail that’s arrived, a book we might review, a notepad to write stuff down on, a dictionary, pens, paperweights, a paper stand or two (one of which is holding this issue’s thumbnail layout page. There’s the old gray digital phone system, which doesn’t call out here, but it does have an intercom system that we use. The shelf on the left holds some CDs and DVDs that we’re reviewing or referencing for this issue. There’s a remote control or two for the tv and dvd player up on the wall. Wow! I’ve even got a spare bottle of Crest mouthwash for my bad breath! You might be able to see a couple micro cassettes by the monitor, too. These are what we usually record our telephone interviews on.
Speaking of interviews, I have two scheduled for tomorrow with the band Flatfoot 56. Did I mention that we have an Owl City poster in this next issue? It’s a cool shot, too. Oh, one last completely random thing! I received the most cool packaged CD in the mail today. It’s a band called Judgement Day and it’s packaged like a children’s first reader book. You know what I’m talking about – thick, cardboard-like pages with a sturdy coating on each side. The inside rear cover has a little rubber nipple thing that holds the CD disc. The album’s called “Peacoks/Pink Monsters” and the 22-page book weighs in at over 5/8’s of an inch thick. The bio says that brothers Anton (violin) and Lewis Patzner (cello) “quickly became an experimental powerhouse with the addition of hard-hitting drummer Jon Bush. They named themselves Judgement Day, styled with a medieval spelling to reflect the dark, epic nature of their ‘string metal’ sound, which might best be described as ‘sci-fi soundtrack meets metal-mania.”
Wow…makes ya wanna hear it, doesn’t it?
Talk to ya later. Let me know if there’s other details about deadline you want to see and/or hear about.
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