Alter The Press is bringin you the latest news 24/7 so go read their stuff
Company: Alter The Press
What They Do: Bring breaking news about all aspects of the scene and all the genres associated with the scene and have sweet download compilations such as the Autumn/Winter 2009 compilation btw its FREE!
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Founder: Jon Abelson
Alter The Press in only a year is making a case to be the next top music publication on the web. They also produce great free compilations such as the Autumn/Winter 2009 so go to www.alterthepress.com and check out all the goodies!
Interview with Matt Epstein(FYS) and Jon + Sean of Alter The Press
Hey Sean and Jon how are things at Alter The Press?
Jon: Things are good. We just had our one year anniversary and had our busiest month! It’s been great.
sean: Yeah like Jon said we’ve just passed the one year mark and the past week especially has been pretty good. We’ve had a few interviews and song streams. In addition to this we’ve just passed 1,000 downloads of our 2nd free downloadable compilation (Autumn/Winter 2009).
What brought about the creation of Alter The Press? Any background story on the title?
Jon: I started the site because I was annoyed at seeing great artists come to the UK and never getting noticed due to lack of press and when there is actually something, it sounds like questions which are written straight off a press release. It’s nothing new, nothing different and I wanted to change that. The name of the site itself kind of reflects that too.
With so many music “scene” publications out there, what sets Alter The Press apart from the rest?
Jon: We post constant up-to-date news, we are not a 9-5/Mon-Fri run operation, we are always working. We thrive on being the first to post about tour dates, an upcoming release or anything related in general.
Sean: We also cover a wide variety of ‘alternative’ music genres. From bright, pop-punk band to gothic metal, we more or less do it all. In addition to this, we cover both well-known and unknown bands, as I personally, like the idea of helping the smaller bands and labels and getting their name out there. There are some brilliant bands out there, that just don’t get heard.
What does Alter The Press think about the state of the music industry today?
Jon: A lot needs to done. The big issue is that a lot of the industry is still living in the past and do not realize the potential of online publicity. It’s not 1999 where you buy a magazine and read an interview which was conducted weeks ago and find out about when your favorite band is coming to town. Now you can go online people from all around the world can find out about news in seconds and sites like AbsolutePunk.net can get the readership of a printed music magazine in a matter of hours. Jason Tate (founder of Absolute Punk) led the way for this to happen and the industry shouldn’t keep resisting that this is the way forward. The indie labels, publicists are getting the importance of online press but the majority still think being featured in a magazine will reach more people than reading about it online.
Sean: Yeah certain areas of the industry need to adjust to the way the internet works, and they need to realise its impact and its influence. Just look at the decline of magazine sales, readers now realise they can find out news and more importantly, new bands by using the internet, rather than having some band forced into your face. Overall I think we live in an ‘instant society’ or a ‘24/7 society’. People want information as soon as possible, not to wait a week and read it vaguely in some magazine.
Alter The Press has brought some big exclusives, lately rumors of a SoCo reunion. How do you go about obtaining that exclusive interview?
Jon: A lot of work and persistence. The rumor of the SoCo reunion was just a question that everyone wanted to know and we of course were going to ask! I personally cannot wait for the Dear Jack documentary.
Any big news from Alter The Press we should be on the look out for?
Jon: Nothing which we can disclose at this time but keep checking back!
Sean: We’ve had a few ideas but for the most part, we’re going to keep on doing, what we’ve been doing for over a year now.
Everybody be sure to check out Alter The Press at www.alterthepress.com
Review and Interview by Matt Epstein(www.twitter.com/EpsteinHMNY)
