Plan B
A music magazine that extends its remit to champion the counter-culture in literature, film, comics, video games and the visual arts, Plan B can be relied on to cover the best new bands you already know and uncover a bunch of others you haven’t heard yet. Or as they put it, “Confrontational without being cliquey, Plan B is part of a cultural underground that looks outwards.”
The Stack interview
Name
Frances Morgan
Job title
Publisher
What is Plan B?
Plan B is an independent monthly music and culture magazine.
What makes it different to the rest?
Plan B is a truly eclectic publication. We cover the music we love, regardless of genre and chronology, profiling new indie sensations, obscure noise artists, grime and dubstep producers, legendary countercultural figures, R&B stars and whoever else excites us. Plan B started life with a strong DIY, zine-inspired ethos, but has channelled this into a high-quality, visually stunning and sharply edited publication, with original illustration and photography in every issue. Plan B’s writers are drawn from a pool of mavericks, experts and original thinkers of all ages and backgrounds, ranging from teenagers to music journalism veterans – the only criterion being passion. Plan B offers a real alternative to mainstream music criticism.
Who makes Plan B?
Plan B is put together by a team led by Frances Morgan and Louis Pattison, and designed by Andrew Clare. We have numerous contributing writers, photographers and illustrators, without whom Plan B would not be possible.
Who reads it?
According to our latest survey, the average Plan B reader is around 26-35, buys loads of records and CDs, and probably plays in a band or two – but perhaps you could work that out just from reading the magazine. Plan B readers tend to be well-informed, some would say geeky or even obsessive, when it comes to music, and seem to have a healthy appreciation of different genres, indicative of a pretty modern approach to music – they’re less likely to be tribal and loyal to one type of music, and will explore hip-hop, metal, minimal techno and folk, if they so desire. They spend a lot of time online and at gigs. I would say they’re voracious, but friendly.
Why did Plan B start?
Plan B was founded by Everett True and Chris Houghton in 2004 as an alternative to the mainstream music press, and a successor to his Careless Talk Costs Lives publication which ran from 2001 to 2003. Plan B has always aimed to show that this alternative can be provided – that there is another way to cover music away from the mainstream hype and the fusty elitism of the specialist press. Plan B also has – from the start – intended to give a voice to those often overlooked in the music press, and deals head on with issues of representation wherever possible.
Why do you work in magazines?
Personally – from a youthful desire to (I quote me at 18) “set up a music magazine for women” and training in print journalism, I decided the media wasn’t for me, and worked in arts publishing, academic publishing, freelance writing and as a musician, until Careless Talk galvanised me to get involved and use my subbing/editorial skills for a good cause. This got me on board for the beginning of Plan B, and I became editor on the second issue. In April 2007, Everett True sadly left the day-to-day running of the publication in order to start a new life in Australia, so I took over as publisher. I work in magazines because I like them – I feel they’re a good way to get information to people, simple as that. I’ve always liked them. Since running one, I have generally liked them less, but I continue to be inspired by Arthur, Frieze, The Wire, Bust, The Left-Hand Path, Decibel and many, many fanzines and webzines. I still feel – old-school as it is – that the zine is where my heart’s really at.
Aside from the print magazine, what else are you involved in?
Plan B has acted as a media sponsor for festivals and gigs, working with Sonar, Supersonic, Le Weekend, Benicassim and Lounge On The Farm, and also puts on live events at The Macbeth in London as well as other venues. We’ve promoted gigs by Eugene McGuinness, Infinite Livez, The Spolkestra, Let’s Wrestle, The Rebel, Das Wanderlust and Ufomammut, and in Jan/Feb 09 will be presenting rising stars Micachu and Marnie Stern, as well as programming some bands at the Great Escape festival and hopefully curating some events at London’s historical Bishopsgate Institute.
What would you change about Plan B if you could?
I’d increase our distribution and circulation, and go up a few page sizes so that we could include everything we wanted in there! That’s the honest answer, but economy at the moment doesn’t quite permit that. I’d also get us a bigger, warmer and better-equipped office, and make it so everyone sticks to the style sheet all of the time (once a sub-editor, always a sub-editor…). As for the magazine itself, nothing – except that I would hope for it never to stagnate and to keep on changing, so perhaps the answer should be: everything!
Can you pick a favourite issue of Plan B?
No! It’s really hard to do that. There are issues I like less, but I could never pick a favourite. Generally the ones I like most are the ones that reflect what a wide range of music we cover, and the ones in which a lot of different voices can be heard. Which is a lot of them!
Where do you see Plan B in five years?
I’d like us still to be here, but with some of the pressure currently being felt by everyone in the music industry slightly eased. Right now it’s hard to find a way forward when all around seems to be PANIC and DOOM. I’m hoping we can stay true to ourselves and go with the changes ahead.
