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''Planet Sound'' was a British
music magazine A music magazine is a magazine dedicated to music and culture in music cognition, music culture. Such magazines typically include music news, interviews, photo shoots, essays, record reviews, concert reviews and occasionally have a covermount with ...
founded in 1997 by Teletext Ltd. It featured on that company's
teletext Teletext, or broadcast teletext, is a standard for displaying text and rudimentary graphics on suitably equipped television sets. Teletext sends data in the broadcast signal, hidden in the invisible vertical blanking interval area at the to ...
service (accessible via ITV and
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
) and official website. ''Planet Sound'' attracted a dedicated community of music fans, facilitated by its letters page, "The Void", and also received endorsements from chart musicians. The magazine was recognised by critics as an authoritative source of music journalism, and its content was reprinted by mainstream news and entertainment outlets including the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' and '' Uncut''. ''Planet Sound'' was shuttered when Teletext ceased broadcasting in December 2009. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' lamented the closure of "a true one-off... a warm haven of musical discussion and recommendation". Its longest-tenured editor, John Earls – who became synonymous with the magazine – has continued to write music criticism for a variety of publications.


History

''Planet Sound'' has been noted as the successor to ''Blue Suede Views'', a music magazine hosted by Teletext precursor
ORACLE An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...
in the 1980s and early 1990s. The teenage writings of future ''Planet Sound'' editor John Earls – including reviews of ABC and
Westworld ''Westworld'' is an American science fiction dystopia media franchise that began with the Westworld (film), 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild West, Wild-West-th ...
albums – were published by ''Blue Suede Views''. ''Planet Sound'' was named after the Pixies song, " Planet of Sound". It began in 1997 under editor Stephen Eastwood, with a companion web page also launched that year. Earls served as editor from 2001, becoming synonymous with the magazine. Colin Irwin was also a contributor. ''Planet Sound'' featured an assortment of music news, opinions, and reviews of new releases, and purported to give "sane coverage" to
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 ...
. It hosted a letters page titled "The Void"; those who wrote in were affectionately termed "Voiders". ''Planet Sound'' also offered appraisals of demo recordings sent in by budding musicians, and provided
The Twilight Sad The Twilight Sad are a Scottish post-punk revival, post-punk/indie rock band, comprising James Graham (vocals), Andy MacFarlane (guitar), Johnny Docherty (bass), Brendan Smith (keyboards) and Grant Hutchison (drums). They have released five stu ...
with their first review. Other bands to receive early media coverage from the magazine included
Maxïmo Park Maxïmo Park are an English alternative rock band formed in 2000 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The band currently consists of Paul Smith (English singer), Paul Smith (lead vocals), Duncan Lloyd (guitar, bass, keyboards, backing vocals), and Tom Engli ...
and Hope of the States. ''Planet Sound'' published news stories daily, with reviews being updated weekly. Rankings of each year's best albums and singles were published annually. ''Planet Sound'' earned a passionate fanbase over the years. Its original content was reproduced in articles by outlets such as the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'', '' Uncut'',
Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...
, and '' Drowned in Sound'', who praised the magazine. Teletext neglected to update the online component of ''Planet Sound'' after May 1998, although it reappeared in May 2007.


Closure and aftermath

It was announced in July 2009 that ''Planet Sound'' was to end in January 2010, although Teletext ultimately ceased broadcasting on 15 December 2009. Peter Ormerod of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' lamented ''Planet Sound''s impending closure, calling it "an authoritative, informed and sprightly read from its Pixies-referencing name onwards". The final edition featured musicians
Paul Heaton Paul David Heaton (born 9 May 1962) is an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer and main lyricist of the Housemartins, who had commercial success in the UK and other European countries between 1985 and 1988, releasing several singl ...
and Nicky Wire paying tribute to ''Planet Sound'' and Teletext. ''
Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...
'' journalist David Renshaw felt that ''Planet Sound''s "sense of community" stood in opposition to the "cutthroat commenting world" of the internet, asserting, "We are losing a true one-off. Future generations will surely find the very concept of Teletext baffling. Today's music news, after all, is distributed by a horde of anonymous bloggers whereas ''Planet Sound'' represented something altogether more cosy, a warm haven of musical discussion and recommendation." Earls established a
record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...
called WET Records, and has continued to write music criticism for a variety of magazines and newspapers. Dave Fawbert of ''
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'' included ''Planet Sound'' in his list of "17 brilliant things we miss about Teletext", writing, "For the avid music fan, forget ''NME'' and ''Melody Maker'', ''Planet Sound'' on Channel 4 was the most trusted source around." '' Spiked'' columnist David Bowden stated, "Anyone trawling around the often overblown and pretentious musings of music websites such as ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'' may find themselves yearning for the critical wisdom of John Earls and Colin Irwin on ''Planet Sound'', their evident knowledge and enthusiasm for the job never particularly hampered by 25-odd word limits."
The Twilight Sad The Twilight Sad are a Scottish post-punk revival, post-punk/indie rock band, comprising James Graham (vocals), Andy MacFarlane (guitar), Johnny Docherty (bass), Brendan Smith (keyboards) and Grant Hutchison (drums). They have released five stu ...
frontman James Graham said, "I used to read ''Planet Sound'' every day. A lot of people my age discovered a lot of their favourite bands on there... I really appreciate the support arlsgave us."


References


External links


''Planet Sound'' homepage


Defunct music magazines published in the United Kingdom Channel 4 Magazines established in 1997 Magazines disestablished in 2009 Teletext