CONTRIBUTOR GUIDELINES
RockRevolt® Magazine™ publishes a daily music/entertainment website RockRevolt®Magazine.com as well as a bi-monthly digital magazine, integrating the latest in technology. Our main focus is on MUSIC, but as our tagline reflects: “If it ROCKS…we roll with it!” So, if there are other cool things rocking in movies, TV, video games, books and other areas of culture then you’ll see it in RockRevolt®! We focus on a variety of musical genres—always striving to cover the best music in this eclectic mix, devoting space to independent musicians alongside more established artists.
With a focus on songcraft and an emphasis on good writing, RockRevolt® features a wide range of genres. The magazine also delves into other areas such as television, books, visual arts and cultural commentary. One of the best opportunities for writers is to come up with article ideas we haven’t thought of! Have a music tie-in piece to art or fashion? Know some great new ways for artists to share their music or work, make life on the road easier? You get the idea…
SOLICITATIONS & ASSIGNMENTS:
RockRevolt® Magazine welcomes unsolicited articles from anyone who believe the piece is appropriate for our readers. (Hint: The best way to figure out what is appropriate is to read the website and online magazine.)
Queries soliciting approval of an idea may be submitted. Queries should include proposed subject, length, applicability and writer samples.
Rock Revolt will assist in obtaining interviews, attending events, etc. as needed. RockRevolt® will provide digital links, press passes and tickets for assignments.
NOTE: Solicitation of record labels, promoters, artists, and publicists on behalf of RockRevolt® and all entities under RockRevolt® must be done in coordination with RockRevolt® editors. If you want to pursue a story or idea which requires the use of our name for access, it must be authorized by your assigned RockRevolt® Editor prior to contact with any source.
Submissions may be edited and may be published at any time. Writers are not compensated monetarily. You will most like have contact with artists, attend live shows, movies and be able hear/review music prior to release, etc. in exchange for your content contribution. RockRevolt® retains the right to also publish everything that appears in our magazine on the RockRevoltMagazine.com website and other sites that use our content.
ISSUES & DEADLINES:
Digital magazines are produced and published on a bi-monthly basis. Submissions for digital issues are due on the 20th of each month prior to release date. (Issue dates for 2013: January/February, March/April, May/June, July/August, October/November, December).
RockRevoltMagazine.com: Is a daily site, which operates on a continuous, rolling basis. Assignments for content to be used for site are almost always time-sensitive (live reviews, photographs, interviews) and must be turned in for editing/publishing on the website no later than 36 hours post event.
WRITING GUIDELINES:
Personal Style
Develop your voice, express your opinion, but be concrete in how you formed that opinion and distinguish the subjective from the objective. Your writing should display maturity and emphasize substance over attitude. But do personalize your writing; inject your life into your writing as appropriate. Search for a sense of place or a narrative. After all, cultural criticism is not an objective, quantifiable science.
FACT CHECKING:
Be thorough. Never do an interview without a tape recorder, and save the tapes in case there’s an alleged discrepancy. If you are unsure of any facts in the article, please call this to our attention at the beginning of the article. We can help you verify the facts or remove them from the article.
STYLE:
RockRevolt®Magazine uses the standard AP style of writing. If you are not familiar with AP, then here are the absolutes…
- Use italics for band names, titles of recordings (albums/cd’s), videos, books, films, and television programs.
- Song titles, chapters titles, and article titles should be placed in quotations; punctuation goes inside the quotation marks.
- Write out numbers nine and under and numbers that begin a sentence (if necessary); otherwise use numerals.
- Use numerals for decades, except at the beginning of a sentence. Use four digits for the first reference, with no apostrophe, and then two digits with an initial apostrophe (e.g., 1990s then ’90s).
- Write-out the complete title of a song or album on first use; it may be abbreviated subsequently. Generally, credit songwriters rather than performers (e.g., unless you’re commenting on something specific to Hendrix’ or U2’s version, it’s Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower”).
TIPS: Submissions that take the least amount of “tweaking” are the best! So, we ask that you make your articles as interactive as possible by hyperlinking keywords to appropriate sites/references. For example, if you’re writing about the new Garbage album, Not Your Kind of People, and you reference where to buy it or their tour – then you would hyperlink the relevant information. (go ahead, click on the links) It makes it much easier on our readers and especially our Editors, and happy Editors are GOOD Editors! .
What we’re looking for…
FEATURE PROFILES:
Each feature needs to involve contact with the artist (we will help set these up for you – either in person or telephone interviews). These need to be well-researched, well-written pieces from an original angle. We’ll work with you to get these just right. We’d like these to be more than just articles about artists, their careers and their label problems and hopes for a bigger audience. We want these to be explorations into the art of an individual. Incorporate song lyrics. Use narrative structures. Appeal to a variety of the reader’s senses—place them in the room with the artist. Make it relevant to the reader’s life—why should they care about this person’s art?
ESSAYS:
These can be humorous, personal, opinionated or all three.
TREND STORIES:
Topics have included rock festivals, independent films, books and music videos. Trend stories don’t necessarily have to be related to music or film, but are preferred.
MUSIC REVIEWS:
We’re a little more wide-open on reviews. We’ve got some ideas of what we want but also want you to write on the artists whose music is having an impact on you. Don’t be afraid to personalize these or come at them from a different approach. However, do NOT make it all about you, as you are ultimately there to cover the music, artists, crowd, etc.. We, nor anyone else needs or wants to know what you were wearing, drinking, what friends you ran into backstage – unless it’s Slash, then write away. Music reviews are notoriously boring to read, and while they serve a utilitarian purpose, they should also be creative. I’d rather read a well-written review of an artist I don’t know, than like than a shoddy review of a huge band.
FILM REVIEWS:
In addition to music, we cover films that dig a little deeper. These include upcoming art-house films, documentaries, foreign films and movies with a broader release. If you would like to be a film reviewer, we will arrange access to films for you to watch and share your views.
OTHER REVIEWS:
We also cover books, television shows, radio programs, music DVDs, videogames, etc. addressing the music and culture from a RockRevolt® perspective. If you have suggestions, we’d love to hear them.
HOW TO SUBMIT:
See our Contributor’s Information to see where articles should be pitched.
