2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Popular Alternative Artists 1980s – 2010s
• The Smiths • Everything Everything
• Joy Division • Azealia Banks
• Arctic Monkeys • Oasis
• Two Door Cinema Club • Dananananaykroyd
• The Strokes • Sonic Youth
• Ben Howard • Kasabian
• Florence + the Machine • Bombay Bicycle Club
• Crystal Castles • R.E.M
• The Killers • Marina & the Diamonds
• The Black Keys • Pearl Jam
• Laura Marling • Kate Nash
• Bon Iver • Muse
• The Cribs • The xx
• Arcade Fire • The Vaccines
• Nirvana
