Bearded (magazine)

Infobox Magazine
title = Bearded

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image_size = 240px
publisher = Fleeing from Pigeons
circulation = 10,000
language = English
category = Music magazine
frequency = Bi-Monthly
editor = Gareth Main
firstdate = 20 August 2007
country = flag|United Kingdom
website = [http://www.beardedmagazine.co.uk www.beardedmagazine.co.uk]

"Bearded" is a bi-monthly music magazine formed in the Moseley suburb of Birmingham [ [http://www.projectxpresents.com/node/115 Bearded Magazine | Project X Presents ] ] but now based in London, England that distributes nationwide through a distribution network of independent record shops [ [http://www.phonicarecords.co.uk/detail.aspx?ID=25157 Phonica - Detail ] ] , alternative music venues and other hubs of alternative culture. The magazine covers the independent music industry and only reviews artists who are either unsigned or signed to independent record labels.

Bearded is renowned for its high quality print which uses 100% recycled paper stock and its very high standard art direction - commissioning illustrations from renowned artists such as David Shrigley and Paul Davis

History

The idea behind Bearded came when Gareth Main was working as editor of golf trade publication Golf Course News International. With a nonchalant attitude to golf and a love for independent music, Main realised that there was a gulf in the music magazine for artistic magazines aimed at music and that there was a significant niche in providing coverage nationwide to independent artists. [ [http://www.mediacourses.com/news.asp?newsID=149 MediaCourses.com: The Department of Media and Communication, Birmingham City University | Degrees in Media, Web Design, Photography, PR, Music Industries, Radio, TV & Journalism; MAs in Broadcast Journalism, Television and Interactive Content, Event & Exhibition Management, Creative Enterprise; research degrees in media ] ] .

BeardAID

On 14 July 2008, Bearded announced the launch of [http://www.beardaid.co.uk Beardaid] , a charitable side to the magazine that aimed to further help people working in the independent music industry by offering exclusive records, magazines, gigs and merchandise to supporters who donated £2 a month to the scheme. Beardaid would then offer independent labels subsidised advertisements in Bearded to help them reach a wider audience previously unreachable due to cost. [ [http://beardedmagazine.co.uk/wp/?p=275 » Beardaid launches Bearded Magazine: The home of independent music ] ]

Gareth Main stated at the launch: "Bearded launched... with the express aim of generating national coverage for the independent music sector. Since then, over 100,000 people have picked up a copy or been through our website and we want to utilise that popularity in a way that will not only help Bearded survive into the future, but also help independent labels get more coverage than they could have dreamt imaginable."

Notable Music Artists featured

Amongst others, Bearded has featured Matt Berry,Polyphonic Spree, Fiery Furnaces, Future of the Left, Misty's Big Adventure, Robert Wyatt, Stanley Brinks, David Shrigley, British Sea Power, Jeffrey Lewis and
Adele.

Bearded has also run features on a number of record labels, including Trunk Records and Stiff Records.

Artists

Art direction on Bearded is led by award-winning design agency This is Make Believe [http://www.thisismakebelieve.co.uk/projects/bearded-ffp-a/] .

Artists and illustrators who have contributed to Bearded include

Craig Atkinson [ [http://www.craigatkinson.co.uk/blog/2007/10/06/somethings/ Somethings by www.craigatkinson.co.uk ] ] [ [http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=186405392&albumID=750326&imageID=7257402 MySpace ] ] , Mr Bingo [ [http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=186405392&albumID=750326&imageID=7257412 MySpace ] ] , David Callow [ [http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=186405392&albumID=750326&imageID=7257405 MySpace ] ] , [ [http://www.behindmydoor.com/Baerded.html Untitled Document ] ] ,
Zeroten [http://zeroten.net/pub-beard.html] [ [http://zeroten.net/news.html ZEROTEN - News ] ] [ [http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=186405392&albumID=76667&imageID=8569258 MySpace ] ]

Critical Reaction

After the magazine's launch on 20 August 2007, it gained a positive response from the online community. Influential Online Journalism blogger Paul Bradshaw heralded the magazine's "web-savvy business model" [ [http://onlinejournalismblog.wordpress.com/2007/08/20/independent-music-magazine-shows-a-web-savvy-business-model/ Independent music magazine shows a web-savvy business model « Online Journalism Blog ] ] whilst Created in Birmingham's Pete Ashton commented on Bearded's "very impressive start." [ [http://www.createdinbirmingham.com/?p=567 Created in Birmingham » Bearded Launched ] ]

Cover star and star of Channel 4's The IT Crowd Matt Berry said of the lead feature on him, "I love it, love the article and love you." [ [http://www.beardedmagazine.co.uk/viewarticle.php?id=54 Bearded Magazine :: When the country is in the brown, independent music gets BEARDED ] ]

Content

The flow of Bearded is unique in that it follows a chronological timeline. The magazine starts with reviews of live events (the past), continues with news and features (the present) and ends with listings and reviews of future releases (the future). The break to this line comes in the feature "From the Euphotic Depths" on the second to last page where one of the contributors talks about their love for a band long forgotten.

Another regular feature is the "Bearded Sluice Box", where a handful of emerging artists are highlighted for readers to go and investigate further.

References

External links

* [http://www.beardedmagazine.co.uk/ Bearded website; includes forum, exclusive downloads from featured artists and a platform for viewing the latest issue.]