We're busy finishing issue one, but if you'd like to contribute to issue two, we invite writers and photographers from across the UK to send us your details here.

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ANNOUNCEMENT PRESS RELEASE

SHOWNOTES: A NEW MAGAZINE THAT CELEBRATES LIVE MUSIC

Drowned in Sound has joined forces with Music Venue Trust to launch a new print publication dedicated to live music.

Amid stories about music publications shuttering at a rate matched only by the closures of grassroots venues and bands cancelling tours, a new print title celebrating live music is set to launch in the UK.

50,000 copies of SHOWNOTES will be available for free at over 500 live music venues across the UK from the beginning of November. From Belfast to Bognor, Swansea to the Isle of Skye, music fans will be able to pick up 64 pages packed with gig recommendations, interviews, and essays by some of the best music journalists in the world. This was made possible by support from Music Venue Trust, the charity that aims to protect, secure and improve UK Grassroots Music Venues.

Edited by award-winning writer, author, and editor Hannah Ewens (Rolling Stone, Vice, Vogue, etc), the magazine will give a voice to fans alongside covering acts playing stadiums and arenas who support the grassroots levy, cult heroes thrilling crowds, and rising acts playing small local venues. 

Designing the magazine and joining the Drowned in Sound team as its new creative director is Raissa Pardini, the go-to poster designer for bands from Rolling Stones and Blur to Bikini Kill, whose other clients include Apple, Adobe, Kim Kardashian’s Skims, Nadia Lee Cohen, and the Lost Venues exhibition currently on display at the V&A in London.

Editor Hannah Ewens says

“Our small editorial team - which I’m really proud to say is all-female, and includes Edinburgh-based Arusa Qureshi, who specialises in hip-hop and R&B, and rock and post-punk specialist Kate Jeffrie, who runs her own print music magazine, Negativland - has done a great job of shaping the first issue in just a few weeks. Music journalism can feel static and drained of life, especially after years of rolling staff cuts and publications folding. The concept of a magazine that uses something as visceral and immediate as the live experience as the lens through which to understand and celebrate music is a perfect antidote to that. 
“I believe that the dominance of short-form video and filmed content, at the expense of quality writing and print, doesn’t serve artists or fans. Being able to sit with beautifully written, intimate profiles, esoteric long-form thinking, and curious investigations still matters. SHOWNOTES will be something fans can leave with after a gig, relive the excitement through at home, and use to start planning their next show. On a personal note, I’m obsessed with print, and being able to commission my weird ideas and some of my favourite writers and photographers is a pleasure I feel blessed to indulge in again.”

Publisher Sean Adams says

“For 26 years Drowned in Sound has shared our infectious passion for music. We’re really grateful that Music Venue Trust believes in our vision to make a magazine for fangirls who race to the barrier and (BBC Radio) 6 Music dads dancing in the back row of the Barrowlands. SHOWNOTES is a magazine for every music lover, in a time of media apocalypse, where finding trusted human voices is harder than ever. Whether you’re a trad folkster or operatic metaller or both or neither, having glimpsed the first issue and knowing the plans going forward, you will find something in the magazine to pique your curiosity. 
“My hope is that the editorial and recommendations will inspire fans to discover their local scenes and take day trips around the UK to check out genres of music outside of their algo-bubble. Our mission is to get more people to go to more gigs and, beyond just recommending shows, we have some projects up our sleeves…”

SHOWNOTES will be available from November 1st across the UK.

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ABOUT THE EDITOR

Hannah Ewens - Founding Editor

Hannah is an award-winning writer and editor covering music, culture and spirituality. A former senior journalist at Rolling Stone, VICE and The Independent, she specialises in profile interviews. She has been widely published in the Guardian, GQ, Vogue, Sunday Times, Empire, i-D, Kerrang!, Crack and more. Her critically acclaimed debut non-fiction book, Fangirls: Scenes From Modern Music Culture, was a Financial Times and Pitchfork book of the year and she also publishes the spirituality newsletter Heaven Sent. Hannah holds an MA in Journalism from City, University of London and an MFA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck. hannahrewens.com 

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

Sean Adams - Drowned in Sound / The Sounding

Back in the year 2000, Sean became one of the original music bloggers. He launched Drowned in Sound with a collective of fanzine writers and gig addicts and over the years the site grew to 3 million readers and developed one of the internet’s longest running online communities. He ran the DiS label that launched the careers of artists including Kaiser Chiefs, and led a partnership with BSKYB that launched The Quietus. As a columnist for Sunday Times Culture, he advocated for a better music industry in the face of corporate greed and tech-illogic. Alongside DiS he’s worked for the BBC and Max Richter & Yulia Mahr, as well as managed musicians including The Anchoress, Charlotte Church, Ed Harcourt, and more. The Sounding, who are publishing SHOWNOTES is a new media network and production house, developing a range of podcasts and publications for a better world. thesounding.org 

ABOUT DROWNED IN SOUND

Since its launch in the year 2000, Drowned in Sound, one of the original music blogs and online communities, has been a force in the online world. Known for championing acts it loves through its editorial, label, and promoting early shows by acts such as Bloc Party, Laura Marling, Kano, Frank Turner, and Bat for Lashes - DiS helped many independent artists reach its global audience of over 3 million music lovers. In 2024, after being on pause for a few years, the pioneering publication returned to its newsletter and podcast roots, focussing on the future of music, be that recommending artists or mapping out where the industry is headed next. drownedinsound.org 

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

Raissa Pardini - Creative Director

Raissa is a designer working across type, colour and shape, with a practice that extends into exhibitions, festivals and talks. Her client list includes Apple, Nike, MTV, Gucci, and The New York Times, alongside artists such as The Rolling Stones, Blur, Kneecap, and Måneskin. She works closely with charities such as Brian Eno's EarthPercent, Endometriosis UK and Rape Crisis, and mentors through LCC and the Working Class Creatives Database. An international speaker (TEDx, Adobe Live, UAL), Raissa’s work sits in the V&A's permanent archive, and she's been named in recent Patreon and She Said So Top 100 lists. raissapardini.com

ABOUT MUSIC VENUE TRUST

Music Venue Trust is a UK registered charity which acts to protect, secure, and improve the UK's Grassroots Music Venues.

Created in January 2014, Music Venue Trust aims to secure the long-term future of GMVs in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, whether they are iconic venues such as Hull Adelphi, Exeter Cavern, The 100 Club, Band on the Wall, King Tut’s, and Clwb Ifor Bach, or lesser-known venues that are equally important to their geographical or musical community. These venues play a crucial role in the development of British music, nurturing local talent, providing a platform for artists to build their careers and develop their music and their performance skills.

MVT works to gain recognition of the essential role these venues fulfil, not only for artist development but also for the cultural and music industries, the economy, and local communities. The geographical spread of GMVs provides access to live music, for both performers and audience members, in many locations that do not have alternative cultural venues. The charity provides advice to the government, the cultural sector, and the music industry on issues impacting GMVs and is the nominated representative that speaks on behalf of the Music Venues Alliance, an association of venues from across the UK.

Music Venue Trust is a charity registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales: Charity Number 1159846

Music Venue Trust (Scotland) is a charity registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator: Charity Number SC052001