Modern strides in technology have not only altered the way that we purchase goods, book travel and monitor the news, but they have also changed the way that we listen to and criticize music. Now more than ever, people are turning to the Net to provide sage musical guidance. A pioneer in the transition of music to the online frontier is the evolution of Internet music magazines, which present electronic havens for dedicated music geeks and pretentious hipsters alike. These magazines range in subject, yet tend to harness indie-driven standpoints and often serve as compasses for readers to utilize when embarking upon quests for new music.
Certain Internet publications such as Pitchfork and Stylus have garnered elite reputations as online music authorities, especially the former. Pitchfork is notorious for being the most ostentatious yet thorough of its contemporaries. Of all the Internet magazines, Pitchfork's music blog is undoubtedly the most impressive and cohesive with roughly five or so music-related stories posted on the Web site's main page every hour with artsy photographs to accompany each. The site is broken down into five components: reviews, news, features, "forkcast" and best new music. All of these facets are fairly self explanatory, aside from the "forkcast" section, which essentially functions as a sanctuary for obscure music videos and newly released MP3s that could transform even the most inept of novices into savvy music snobs.
The Web's other premier Internet magazine is Stylus, a publication that reviews both film and music, yet seems to have a far better knack for the latter. Stylus is certainly among one of the easier sites to manage as it only contains reviews, features and staff blogs that interweave news with opinion. If searching for music news, look elsewhere, but if one is in dire need of truly thought-provoking musical analysis, Stylus is the best bet. Furthermore, towards the end of each year, Stylus staff members combine each of their individual "end of the year top 10 favorite albums and tracks" shortlists into epic "Top 50" lists, offering a truly comprehensive critical consensus of the year in music.
Indeed, there are countless other independent music publications circulating around the Web apart from the aforementioned magazines, and some of them have not relished in the limelight as much as they deserve. One of the most aesthetically pleasing musical niches on the Web is CokeMachineGlow.com, a site that matches its splendid layout with smart, wholesome content ranging from sharp album and concert reviews to "Scenecast" features on different urban music scenes throughout the United States. News is not necessarily a prerogative at Coke Machine Glow, yet writers are consistently casting the spotlight on rising musical artists and keeping readers in the know.
This is not to suggest that print music publications such as Rolling Stone, Spin, Paste and Blender are falling by the wayside. Although readership may be declining considering the free access to printed magazine content online, these magazines each have blogs and forums on their Web sites. The capacity to blog bestows upon a publication the ability to keep pace with music's constant progression. By providing readers with access to music videos, prerelease MP3s and the like, Internet music magazines are quickly becoming a dominant force in the field of journalism, fusing different artistic mediums into one free, easily accessible forum. More and more each day, it is becoming abundantly clear that the future of music truly will be found on the Web, and the vast successes of these Internet music magazines so far serve as testament.
