''Alternative Press'' is an American entertainment magazine primarily focused on music and culture, now based in Los Angeles, CA. It generally provides readers with band interviews, photos, and relevant news. It was founded in 1985 by Mike Shea in Cleveland, OH. The company is now looked after by MDDN.

Beginnings

The first issue of ''Alternative Press'' was distributed at concerts in Cleveland, Ohio beginning in June 1985 by ''APs founder, Mike Shea to advocate bands playing underground music. The name for the magazine, ''Alternative Press'', was not a reference to the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

genre, but referred to the fanzine being an alternative to the local press. Shea began working on his first issue in his mother's house in

Aurora, Ohio Aurora is a city in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Cleveland and Akron, Ohio, and is co-extensive with, and formed from, the former township of Aurora, which was formed from the Connecticut Western Reserve. It is part of th ...

. Shea and a friend, Jimmy Kosicki, targeted the Cleveland neighborhood of Coventry. Financial problems plagued ''AP'' in its early years and by the end of 1986, publication had ceased due to its financial problems, not resuming until the spring of 1988.

Growth in the 1990s

With the growth of alternative rock in the early 1990s, circulation began to increase. Notable ''AP''s covers included bands such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and Soundgarden. By 1994, the magazine was doing cover stories on Beastie Boys,

Henry Rollins Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Rol ...

and Love and Rockets.

2000s

By the early 2000s, after resisting attempts to reform and design the so called "fanzine" Shea and Bobby Crist breathed new life into the publication and sought new revenues for its survival. Revamping the magazine and marketing it in many venues. They shifted the focus of ''Alternative Press'' to the newer punk music associated with the

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touri ...

. At the time of its 20th anniversary in 2005, ''AP'' had grown to an average size of 112 pages per issue, later averaging between 198 and 220-plus pages a month. ''AP'' sponsored a radio show aired on XM Radio, a

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

featuring in-depth discussions on various topics with people such as

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hur ...

's Pete Wentz and Kevin Lyman, and a compilation CD. Nearing the end of the 2000s AP would venturing into hosting tours with AP Tours, documenting musicians day-by-day on the publications Youtube channel, and working with large scale music events.

2020s

In the 2020s, both digital and print content shifted toward highlighting rising artists and introducing them to ''APs audience. Cover stars include artists such as

Waterparks A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other bare ...

, Rina Sawayama, Chase Atlantic, Willow Smith and more. The editorial shift expanded their coverage to more broader avenues that touched on lifestyle, culture, and style conversations within the alternative sphere. By 2022, the brand had formed new franchises to symbolise the shift in direction, such as Gen AP, and AP&R. 2022 saw

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, '' Let Go'' (2002), is the best-selling album of the 2 ...

debut on their March Issue, other notable cover stars this year (so far) include

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992), known as Demi Lovato, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series '' Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), Lovato rose to prominence for p ...

Louis Tomlinson Louis William Tomlinson (; born Louis Troy Austin; 24 December 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. Tomlinson began his career appearing in television dramas before he auditioned ...

, Spiritbox, and Arctic Monkeys. Upon the release of their Demi Lovato cover, the print publication announced it would be moving to quarterly releases, as opposed to its monthly roll-out, and also retiring monthly subscriptions.

Staff

CEO

* Julie Anne Quay

Directors

* Sam Coare, Managing Director * Josh Madden, Creative Director

Advertising and Business Development

* Anthony Lauletta

Editorial

*Ilana Kaplan, Senior Editor * Neville Hardman, Content Editor * Yasmine Summan, Social Media Manager * Alessandro DeCaro, Artist Relations

Art/Production

* Rob Ortenzi, Lead Designer

The Alternative Press Music Awards

The Alternative Press Music Awards was an annual music awards show in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, founded by the music magazine ''Alternative Press''. The inaugural awards show in 2014 was hosted by

Mark Hoppus Mark Allan Hoppus (born March 15, 1972) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist for the rock band Blink-182, being the only constant member and the only one to appear on every album ...

, bassist and vocalist of the pop-punk band Blink-182. In 2015, the hosts were

Alex Gaskarth Alexander William Gaskarth (born 14 December 1987) is an English-born American singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary songwriter for the American rock band All Time Low since its formation in ...

and

Jack Barakat All Time Low is an American rock band from Towson, Maryland, formed in 2003. Consisting of lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Alex Gaskarth, lead guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist/backing vocalist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson, the band too ...

of All Time Low. In 2016, the show was hosted by Andy Biersack of

Black Veil Brides Black Veil Brides is an American rock band based in Hollywood, California. The group formed in 2006 in Cincinnati, Ohio and is currently composed of lead vocalist Andy Biersack, rhythm guitarist and violinist Jinxx, lead guitarist Jake Pitts, ...

. As of 2022, another event has not been announced.

References

External links

Official websiteOnline ShopInstagramTwitterFacebookTik Tok
{{Authority control 1985 establishments in Ohio Magazines established in 1985 Magazines published in Cleveland Monthly magazines published in the United States Music magazines published in the United States