''Ondarock'' is an Italian

online magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to an online only magazine was the comput ...

focused on

music journalism Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary o ...

, founded by Claudio Fabretti in February 2001. It won the 2013 Targa Mei Musicletter award for "Best Website". The magazine is regarded as one of the most authoritative music publications online and ranks among the most visited sites in its niche.

History

As early as 1999, Claudio Fabretti began experimenting with website creation using Geobuilder, developing a personal site to host his music articles written for the weekly magazine ''Avvenimenti''. In February 2001, he launched the domain ondarock.it, inspired by the new wave movement. The name aimed to evoke "the suggestion of web navigation and a distinct musical attitude". Early articles covered artists like

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

, and

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

, alongside lesser-known

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

acts. During this period, Ondarock transitioned from a personal project to a collaborative effort, with contributors like Paolo Sforza, Mauro Roma, and Marco Delsoldato joining. The site introduced new sections such as ''Rock e dintorni'' ("Rock and Beyond") and ''Angolo Dark'' ("Dark Corner"), as well as a short-lived space dedicated to female singer-songwriters. The ''Cinema'' section grew significantly, eventually spinning off into a standalone online magazine, ''Ondacinema'', in 2008 under editors Elisa Goolvart and Rocco Castagnoli. Tragically, both editors died in a car accident shortly afterward. In 2013, Ondarock received the Targa Mei Musicletter award for "Best Website", praised for its "quality content spanning

independent music Independent music (also commonly known as indie music, or simply indie) is a broad style of music characterized by creative freedoms, low-budgets, and a DIY ethic, do-it-yourself approach to music creation, which originated from the liberties aff ...

and

mainstream Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso * ...

genres, up-to-date coverage, and excellent navigability".

References

{{reflist Music review websites Music magazines Internet properties established in 2001