10.29.2007
MAKING MUSIC MAGAZINES
CLARISSA "CONCH" CONCIO AND JOEY DIZON, EDITORS-IN-CHIEF OF THE PRINT MUSIC MAGAZINES BURN AND PULP, TELL US WHAT IT TAKES TO DO THEIR JOB
If you love both words and music, as I do, then chances are you’ve got an ever-ascending stack of music magazines at home, as I do. The best music mags provide readers with in-depth information about their favorite acts, fearless reviews of the albums that are out there, amazing visuals and excellent writing, and sometimes even a sense of community. Local music fans are familiar with two publications that go far beyond the usual lyrics-and-chords offerings of your typical “songhits”-type mag: PULP magazine, famous for its twisted, imaginative photo shoots and emphasis on the harder side of rock, and BURN magazine, which encompasses a wider range of genres and brings the actual music to the fans—via a free CD with each issue at first, and now through downloadable podcasts.
PULP has been around for seven years now, which is an astonishing feat in the fickle world of magazine publishing. BURN launched in 2006, but has fast made a name for itself among music aficionados as well. Full disclosure: I used to work for PULP, and then co-founded BURN, before I became the first Editor-in-Chief of PULSE.PH. There is much I admire about both magazines, and about the two people who are running them now: Clarissa “Conch” Concio, Editor-in-Chief of BURN, and Joey Dizon, Editor-in-Chief of PULP. (All three of us used to work in the same place: the PULP/MTV Ink office in Ortigas. I have fond memories of overnight cram sessions to meet deadlines, frequent fast food deliveries, ruthless conversations about music industry people behind their backs, and flexible office hours.) Aside from being EICs, Joey and Conch also kick ass as musicians: Conch plays guitar for Analog, and Joey currently has two active bands, Intolerant and Moyg.
Printed-on-paper magazines are getting harder to sustain, and to many observers, it seems that the future of music magazines is online, with sites like PULSE.PH (ahem). Still, I have to admit that there’s nothing like the feel of holding a well-made magazine in your hands, flipping through it, admiring the pictures and layouts, and being able to read it basically anywhere. (Those stacks of magazines in my room are only going to get taller as the years go by.) The process of putting such a magazine together has its own unique frustrations and rewards, its own pitfalls and advantages. I talked with Conch and Joey about their EIC experiences.
PULSE.PH: As Editor-in-Chief of a print music magazine, what are your basic duties?
CONCH: The most important duty I personally think I have as an EIC is to be sure that my team and I put out a good magazine, on time. And there are a lot of underlying responsibilities and duties under that, like making sure we meet our deadlines, coming up with interesting ideas for features and shoots, deciding which bands and artists to feature, coordinating with the magazine's sales team, making sure expenses are kept well within the editorial budget...oh, and editing of course.
JOEY: Simplified, to be on top of things… see that the articles are written, the pictures taken and to make sure that pre-prod for the next issue is ready to roll. Being Editor-in-Chief for PULP is a little different compared to other magazines, I guess. I hardly meddle with the business aspect of things, I don’t really like going to meetings and long lunches with advertisers and stuff like that… it’s just not my thing and I’m glad PULP somehow allows me to be this type of editor. Mainly, I’m the type of guy who still wants to go out and watch bands and artists, occasionally get hammered, and I still want to do a lot of writing. So it can get kind of hectic because I have to find time around tasks like making the pagination—which always somehow gets fucked—making sure everybody in the office has something to do, and thinking up new ideas how to make the mag more interesting. So I usually write my articles late at night until the wee hours of the morning because the phone calls and other necessary bullshit that comes with being Editor-in-Chief can’t bother me then.
Could you describe the tone/ flavor/ attitude/ scope of your magazine?
JOEY: Well, PULP started out as a music magazine seven years ago. Our publisher, Vernon Go, always had the dream of coming up with a publication that was both informative and looked great. PULP has always been known as a magazine that caters to a lot of genres, but because of its events like the Summer Slam and because of the fact that we’ve never been afraid to feature underground/independent artists and a lot of members of our staff are themselves in bands, we’ve become known more as a rock magazine. But we’re always trying to widen the scope… be it hip-hop, pop and even jazz, on occasion. Honestly though, there are so many rock bands out there that we never seem to run out of groups like them to feature.
We’re pretty liberal with what we say, obviously. It’s sort of an environment where you’re allowed to go crazy every now and then, because we can get pretty passionate about music. And our readers are just like us—more than a few screws loose, they know how to party, they’re passionate about music enough to run to the center of the mosh pit, and they know what they like. It’s sounds a bit corny, but I learn a little something from most of our readers whenever I run into them at gigs, or events and stuff… they seem to know what they’re talking about, but at the same time, a lot of ‘em have crazy outfits.
CONCH: We aim to be unbiased toward any particular genre and feature not only music, but the lifestyle that goes with it as well. We're working on tweaking the way features are presented in the magazine so that there are a lot of interesting things in each layout—a lot of sidebars, funny quotes from the artists themselves, timelines, et cetera, and try to veer from straight-up full-page features. We want BURN to be fun, interesting, entertaining and informative.
How do you choose which bands, events, and albums to feature?
JOEY: For bands, I guess personally, I’m a little biased towards independent artists/bands, no matter what type of music they play. I consider it a success for us whenever we put an independent artist/band on the cover, the type of artist any other mainstream publication, broadsheet or media would never dream of featuring in a million years. I’m proud of the fact that we were the first mag to put Urbandub on the cover, during a time when nobody knew who the fuck they were. I’m happy that I’ve been able to do full-length stories on bands like Sin and Badburn, and I’ve gotten to interview and write about a lot of my personal music heroes like members of Madball, Snapcase, Earth Crisis and Death Angel. For events and albums, anything and everything dude… be it bad or good, we’ll write about it.
CONCH: We decide on an editorial calendar at the start of each year, where we work on a particular theme each issue—like the Best of the Year issue, the Green/Environmental issue, the Summer Issue—and we work around that for our lifestyle features. We also try to find out which artists are coming out with new albums, so priority goes to them. We don't want to play favorites with any band or genre so we try to be as diverse as possible. Our old tagline used to be "BURN: the music magazine for everyone," and that's what we still aim to be.
How did you get started in magazines? And why music magazines in particular?
JOEY: I always liked writing, ever since I was a kid. But not formal writing or anything, I’d just write what I thought about certain things. It was my escape, living on base in Okinawa, Japan. As opposed to other writers who love reading books, novels, comic books and all that stuff, I liked magazines a lot more.
CONCH: I got into the publishing industry by accident, really. I've always loved to write ever since I was a kid but thought, throughout college, that I'd end up writing copy in an advertising agency. I've also always loved music and have been playing guitar since I was 14. A friend of mine asked me to write a piece on The Dawn for PULP magazine back in 2000, I think, and I was asked by Vernon Go if I was interested in being managing editor for MTV INK. And now I'm EIC of BURN magazine! Tee-hee. I guess it was just a matter of time before I married my love for writing with my love for music.
How does being an EIC compare to your previous positions in publications (Managing Editor, Staff Writer, etc.)?
CONCH: When I was managing editor, I knew I could always fall back on my EIC. When I didn't know how to handle certain problems before, I'd turn to my EIC for help. It's different now, of course. I do ask the opinions of my staff but I have the final say and that can be scary sometimes, especially with big, important decisions. And, as EIC, the buck stops with me. It's a huge, huge responsibility—something I didn't really feel as much as managing editor before. It's like being all grown up all of a sudden.
JOEY: It’s crazy, and it takes a lot of getting used to… there are even days when I sort of forget that I’m EIC, and when something comes up, I stop myself just in the nick of time from saying “It ain’t MY problem!” Because when you’re EIC, EVERYTHING is your problem. Everything sort of concerns you, what you do and what you don’t do. It has a lot of perks though, and I love it—so don’t get me wrong. I guess it’s just mainly about keeping focused and calm when everything’s going crazy and everyone’s waiting for you to decide what to do.
What are the advantages and disadvantages to being in a band AND also editing a music magazine?
CONCH: Playing for a band lets me experience the local scene firsthand. I go to gigs, get to watch other bands, get to discover new music. I'm immersed in the scene the magazine's about and that does make working—writing, deciding what bands to feature, deciding on other interesting stuff to put in the magazine—easier. Disadvantages? Hmm. I am friends with other artists and musicians, and I have to double-check myself sometimes about being objective [when it comes to deciding] which bands to feature, how the treatment of the features should be, and reviewing gigs and albums.
JOEY: Generally, the advantage of being in a band and at the same time editing a music magazine, is that you’re familiar with the territory and have some sort of in-depth knowledge about music and artists that’ll undoubtedly save your ass in one way or another. To me, audiences tend to respect editors/writers who actually know first-hand about the shit they’re writing about… I mean, I absolutely hate it when I read articles or music reviews from writers who don’t even know the difference between a riff and a lick. I hate it when editors don’t even know the difference between heavy metal and hard rock, the difference between punk and hardcore, the difference between what’s good pop and what’s just plain useless.
As for disadvantages, I guess being an editor/writer who’s also a musician means that you’re subject to being passionate about a certain type of music or band to a fault; you tend to forget about the other aspects of the magazine, like how putting a certain band on the cover can turn out to be pretty bad for sales or for advertising. I mean, I won’t lie—advertising pays for the bills, it keeps us in business and takes care of all the crazy concepts and shows we all love.
I also think being a musician/editor/writer has its disadvantages if your band sucks… I mean, even though you can try to write as unmercifully and as honestly as you can, if you’re in a band that plays really crappy music, then chances are people will use it against you. I mean, how the fuck can you trash an album from Linkin Park or The Calling when your band is nothing but some John Mayer, Incubus-type of cover outfit? How can you judge which bands deserve to be featured when you’re in a band that plays total crap?
What are the best things about your job? What's the single high point of your EIC job so far?
CONCH: Interviewing foreign bands and artists? Check. Getting invited to cool events? Check. Discovering new music? Check. Free CDs? Check. I only came on board BURN October last year, and you don't really get a lot of high points in a span of eight months, since my definition of a "high point" is getting to interview a foreign band/artist I idolize. One high point for me, though is when [the most recent] issue of BURN hit the stands and most everyone who's seen that issue were raving about the covers and the content.
JOEY: Even though I’m an editor now, I’m still a music fan, so the best things for me are still the little perks I get—free CDs, free tickets to really great concerts and shows and being able to talk to people I really admire. Single high point as EIC? Having dinner with Death Angel. They’re definitely in my list of top five thrash metal heroes. So that was definitely a trip… then when I found out they were fans of my band and the guitar player Ted even had a copy of our second album, I went totally bonkers and almost shit my pants.
What are the worst things about your job? What is the most frustrating/horrible thing to happen on your EIC job so far?
JOEY: Honestly? The fact that whatever the fuck happens, it’s my fault… really. But I do understand the responsibility and the importance of the role, and I guess the old axiom “no pain, no gain,” best describes what being an editor is all about. I mean, you can stay up so many sleepless nights, you can put your social life on hold and you can make so many enemies, and at the end of the day, something’ll still go wrong. But that’s the case in being the go-to guy in any form of work I guess. I mean, I love sleep deprivation, it’s a sick habit of mine… so it’s definitely not anything that petty which gets to me.
I guess what’s mainly frustrating for me is two things: advertisers, and people who have no sense of humor and take things way too personally. I mean, first of all, I don’t hate advertisers, and I even acknowledge and appreciate ‘em… but sometimes, they tend to meddle with concepts and can come up with pretty lame, hard-sell type of ideas that sometimes aren’t in the best interests of the magazine’s integrity. We always are in some sort of fix with our advertisers, not because we want to be in a fix, but because we feel pretty strong about preserving our credibility and will always keep trying to stick to what we’re about. We don’t always win, but at least we fought, right?
And with people who take things way too personally, I guess it comes with Philippine culture… be it musicians, clients, co-workers, whatever. I mean, I can say the most retarded and fucked-up shit today about a band or whoever, and that’d just be my opinion. The next day you got twenty people who want to shoot you, then the next day, a hundred people who are obsessed with the fact you’re an asshole even if they know nothing about you… all because you had to do your job making sure they did theirs, or all because you didn’t like the new band and gave its album a bad review, or because you thought that this band was far more deserving than the other to be put on the cover. I mean, dude… on certain days, it can make a grown man cry.
For the record, I wasn’t editor yet, but my single, worst moment in PULP was interviewing Eric Draiman of this band called Disturbed. That band’s music totally sucks rotten eggs, and the guy’s some stupid fuck who wants to be known as an intellectual rock star. I mean, how is that possible? He doesn’t even know what good heavy music sounds like, much less how it’s made.
CONCH: It's sometimes difficult to find a middle ground between what advertisers want and what we—the editorial team—want for BURN. But it is, I have to admit, a challenge and it's good to know that there are some advertisers who are quite open minded. The most frustrating thing that's happened so far is when we had to cut down pages since BURN wasn't hitting the quota in terms of sales (ad count). It's been picking up, though.
What are you proudest of, when it comes to your magazine?
CONCH: Each issue just keeps getting better and better! Every time we put an issue to rest and make deadlines without sacrificing quality, it's something to be proud of.
JOEY: Hmmm, in no particular order, I’m proud of the fact that we’re still around and doing relevant stuff—seven years is no joke. Again, I’m proud that we put Urbandub on the cover, I’m proud that we are also behind the biggest events in the country like Summer Slam, I’m proud that we brought over some pretty damn good musicians like Death Angel, I’m proud of the fact that we let our writers AND our readers say what they feel, I’m proud of the fact that bands and musicians are now understanding the magazine a little better… I’m proud of a lot of things, just as I still see a lot of areas that can be improved. There's still a long way to go, but occasionally I like it that I can have a nice, cold beer and a smoke at the end of each day knowing we did our best and not feel guilty about ripping people off.
What do you know now about the publishing industry and being an EIC that you never would have suspected before your career in magazines?
CONCH: That being an EIC isn't a glamorous job at all. People usually think that EICs just go to all these events, sit in this huge chair that screams "I am the boss" and bark orders at people. It's a lot of hard work—you get your fingers dirty, you're the one with your ass on the line if something goes wrong. It's pretty tough work.
JOEY: Hmmm, let’s see… here’s stuff inside AND outside the publishing industry that I learned. I now know:
1. That being an EIC won’t necessarily make you rich. Celebrity columnists and socialite writers, despite the fact that they write about the most retarded nonsense, will always make more than you do.
2. That even if you do work for a music magazine, it does take a great amount of responsibility and commitment.
3. That people still actually read… I thought everybody was busy with their iPods and cellphones and fucking online games.
4. That record companies aren’t evil… there are just a lot of bands who sign contracts without understanding what’s going on.
5. That a lot of bands and musicians don’t have enough balls to stand by what they say, that they’ll accuse you of “putting words in their mouths” or “twisting the facts” even though you’ve got their voices on tape, should they ever get in trouble.
6. That in the Philippines, if you do a good job at being 100% unmerciful and truthful in the publishing industry, instead of being rewarded, you’ll either get killed or be labeled as “evil.”
7. That there’s no such thing as an unbiased review or article. Only balls (or the absence of ‘em) to back up what you say or write.
8. That ads are important.
9. That parents would really prefer that their sons/daughters grow up to be doctors or lawyers. It’s pretty hard explaining to their friends that their son/daughter is an editor for a music magazine, since the only music their friends know is the music they hear on TV… Erik Santos, Sarah Geronimo, Cueshe… I mean, taking nothing away from those artists, but c’mon.
10. That meeting deadlines will always be a notch more important than writing a killer article.
What more do you want to achieve, in terms of the magazine?
JOEY: A lot more… Sure we’ve done some pretty far-out stuff like I mentioned above, but honestly, there’s always a way to make something better. Ideally, I’d like to see PULP everywhere, not just in leading newsstands and magazine shops… I’d like to see the mag available not just in “music” places and shit like that, but it’d be cool if you could go to the barber shop in some place outside the metro, and pick up a copy and read it while you’re getting a haircut. It may sound wild, but I’d also like for PULP to be distributed outside the country, so those foreigners can see that local talent can kick their asses anytime, any day.
Other than that, it’s generally that continuous one-up of everything we do: a wider scope of the music we feature, better foreign acts to bring in every year for the Summer Slam, and for PULP to have a bigger impact and connection with music fans everywhere, without having to compromise what we stand for. I mean, it’s no deep mission and vision thing for me—I honestly just want to keep the mag evolving into a magazine that is relevant and that actually contributes to the growth of the local music industry. We’ve proven that we’re not bullshitting anyone and that we’re pretty honest, but I also don’t want the mag to be all about bashing and trashing musicians and artists for the sheer hell of it to exorcise personal issues and frustrations, you know what I mean?
CONCH: I want the magazine to garner enough ads to be able to bring back the BURN CD and to be able to add more editorial pages. I want "BURN" to be synonymous with "cool."
Photograph of Conch by Web Designer + Rock Photographer Mari Arquiza. Check out more of her stuff here! Photograph of Joey provided by Joey Dizon. Visit PULP magazine online here, and BURN magazine here.
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