Symbal magazine will celebrate both established and up-and-coming indie rock artists from around the world. It will focus on the entire genre of indie rock, past and present, through features like interviews, reviews of albums, singles and live shows. The magazine will also promote new and struggling artists through a program that pairs them with more well-known bands, giving both exposure. Symbal aims to not only promote the music but also build a sense of community among readers and artists.

1. Mission statement
Symbal is the fresh and unique new magazine that is designed to celebrate artists of the indie
rock genre, both old and new, in a way that has never been done before. Essentially, what
separates Symbal from other standard indie rock magazines – NME, Q, Mojo – is that it
focuses not only on one particular aspect of the genre, but of the entire genre in all its
differing forms. One is able to discern that magazines tend to generally focus on one specific
feature, or aspect, of the genre, as can be seen in the idolisation of British post-millenium
indie rock in NME magazine or the more 70s rock based approach of Mojo, and this is where
Symbal diverges significantly. Symbal will focus on the entire world of indie rock music, both
past, present, and future, while providing a label for all promising new bands of the genre all
across the developing world and consequently acts as a celebration of the entire genre itself.
Despite the evolution of pop and hip hop throughout the course of the last decade, it’s evident
that indie rock still remains one of the most prominent and popular genres of music in the
modern world. Furthermore, it’s been that way since the late 60s/early 70s, where the
emergence of numerous genre-defining bands such as the Velvet Underground helped
substantiate indie rock as one of the most important and commercially beneficial styles of
music to ever grace the industry. And what’s astonishing is that it’s held that reputation even
as numerous other genres have emerged over the years – and Symbal’s primary aim is to
ensure that it maintains its level of significance in the changing world, by promoting exciting
new bands and embellishing the bands that helped shape the music world. This explains the
reasoning behind the name, as it acts as a symbol of all forms of indie rock music of the past,
present, and future.
Symbal will be distributed monthly at the extremely reasonable starting cost of £3, so those
who subscribe early will be able to keep this price fixed even as the magazine becomes more
established and, therefore, slightly more expensive. Initially, it will be available in most local
newsagents, but as it becomes more popular, expect expansion to large supermarkets and
major retailers such as WHSmith. As previously mentioned, subscriptions will be available
from the very first issue, with a fixed discounted price rate for all first time subscribers, and
this readership will also be able to access further content from the magazine via the
magazine’s website, www.symbal.co.uk.
In terms of the content of the magazine itself, there are many features within the 75 pages of
this magazine, some of which will be familiar and some of which will stand out as innovative
new ideas. The cover story can usually be found within the first 15 pages of the magazine and
tends to be an article spanning a maximum of 7 pages depending on the nature of the content
itself. Throughout the first half of the magazine, Symbal will focus primarily on tour dates of
prominent bands for the next two months ahead, with reviews of these bands previous live
shows and comments from fans about their live performance in general. Small, usually
unnoticed venues will be reviewed, with a recommendation of what live acts to discover there
and a comparison to other artists (‘If you like The Killers, you’ll love these guys..’).
Evidently, there will be exclusive interviews and fun facts about bands that all fans will be
familiar with, and profiles on each band member and their interests and hobbies in order to
ensure that the readers can relate to them on a personal level. However, a unique feature of
Symbal is the APILAW (All’s Pairs in Love and War) scheme, where a randomly selected
unknown band/artist will be paired with one of their idol bands for two weeks, under the

2. management of the magazine company itself. These two bands are able to do live shows
together, do interviews together, and generally, this will provide an opportunity for all
struggling new artists across the world as well as a form of education and entertainment for
the reader – as they are able to recognise the new talent as well as being entertained by the
familiarity of the established artist/band they are paired with.
In the latter part of the magazine, one can find further interviews and articles on special
events across the world – for example, the arrival of the latest Reading and Leeds festival and
a reflection on the highlights of the previous years festival – and a miscellaneous section
where a differently themed article is present every month. Reviews of both popular and
underground alternative rock/indie rock albums and singles will be featured near the back of
the magazine, alongside general news on what is occurring in the music industry. There will
be a small fashion section where one artist/band talks and recommends particular brands or
styles of clothing, and there will also be a section where the reader is able to place an
advertisement for a local band they’re in/they know of in order to gain some publicity for
their venues and style. Furthermore, there will be a ‘playlist’ section on the back page, where
one of the contributors to the magazine create a monthly playlist to fit a particular mood or
seasonal event using a combination of known and unknown artists, and artists themselves
may feature in guest appearances of their own and share their favourite playlist with the
readership. Concerning interactivity, readers are encouraged to submit their opinions on any
potential improvements that could be made to the magazine, and are able to enter various
competitions and submit their own playlists to the playlist section at the back. It is necessary
to note that advertising will only take up 15% of the magazine upon initial release – it’s all
about the music.
In addition to celebrating and promoting the genre of indie rock music, the magazine will
ensure that the reader is inducted into the Symbal ‘family’, as it were; whether they are a first
time reader or a long time subscriber is irrelevant. It will forge a form of companionship
within the reader through its specified, casual mode of address, and consistent reference to
subjects that the reader is genuinely interested in, thus ensuring that a relationship is built
between the reader and the magazine. Moreover, as can be seen from aforementioned points,
Symbal is also directed largely to those who are in bands themselves and are struggling to
find commercial success, as one of the main policies of the magazine is to celebrate all bands
of the genre that bear a unique sound and have a potential to rise to fame. Symbal will attempt
to provide these particular readers with opportunities to get noticed via their own
advertisements or the APILAW scheme, thus enhancing this idea of a readership ‘family’ and
giving hope to all those that are struggling in the music industry through the prompting of
their creativity and individuality. Indeed, the success of these previously unknown bands
appearing in the magazine alongside major artists/bands such as David Bowie or Jack White
will inspire musicians everywhere into working at their greatest potential.
Ultimately, it can clearly be stated that Symbal is a one of a kind music magazine. Despite
this emphasis on inspiring those in bands themselves, the main fact remains: this is a music
magazine primarily aimed for all fans of the indie rock genre, and all that it entails. Readers
will find it edgy, bold, brash and stylish in its address, with an inviting nature and a great
tendency to relate to the readers themselves.