Illustrate Magazine, a concern of Illustrate Media, is an uprising online platform based in New York, United States, dedicated to novelty music that deserves global recognition. It introduces a wide array of musical categories showcasing artists that break boundaries every day and up-and-coming independent musicians. When it comes to music, Illustrate Magazine is the go-to source for everything from mainstream pop to underground and experimental sounds from all around the world. It is all about going beyond the common and mediocre and searching for musical innovation.
In other words, it is a multi-genre music discovery channel, entailing a digital footprint across all the major digital channels. It is praised highly for its inclusivity and diversity – particularly in alt-rock, electronic music, hip-hop, heavy metal, country, folk, new jazz, improvisational music, modern composition, traditional music, and many more are all genres that are listened to with utmost eagerness and analyzed for their immersive, radical experience.
Up until now, Illustrate Magazine has published nearly 2000 features and over 700 news pieces and 600 music reviews combining debut singles, EPs, and LPs from solo artists and bands. Among the most-covered genres across the site, readers will find metal, indie, rock, country/folk, hip-hop/rap, EDM music, and R&B/POP in that order.
Although the magazine has been launched only in 2022 and it hasn’t even been a year of it, it has reached successful global leadership and it is evident in its many platforms. It's a great place to come across debut releases (singles, Eps, and LPs) from new musicians, artists, and illustrators, as well as read reviews and gets to know more about them.
Aligning with the year of establishment, Illustrate Magazine also makes it the 22nd pick in the Top 45 music magazines and publications according to FeedSpot in this blogpost. Among the saturated market of thousands of other magazines and publications, it is an honor for Illustrate and its writers to be included as a verified platform. Picked from an analysis of metrics that showcased domain authority, unique visitor impressions, social media engagements, and freshness and quality of content.
Illustrate Magazine actively uploads around 20-25 pieces of content every day including interviews, music reviews, features, news about concerts, gigs, and band activities, and daily and weekly playlists on its own website. What sets its website apart from a lot of other music blogs and magazines that act as a platform for indie talents, is its unique arrangement with pops of important titles to catch the reader’s attention. The magazine not only provides Spotify features and handpicked imagery to promote independent original musicians and bands to a larger audience but also has records of over 300 exclusive interviews with the craftsmen behind them. Hovering on the intriguing thumbnails of each post enables the readers to become intrigued enough to pick the content of their choice.
Apart from that, the magazine also updates its content feed on several widely-used platforms such as Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. They have their own Pinterest board full of good finds and have over one thousand streamers on the well-known streaming platform SoundCloud, and YouTube and thousands under each genre of Spotify playlists.
Despite the magazine’s attempt at opening the door to underrated musicians, it never shies away from covering features and news about the big names in the music industry. In order to give the readers a glance back to what may be familiar, the site spins newsworthy content besides interviewing artists from all corners of the industry.
Some of their notable works are mentioned in the following, under every category found across the magazine’s website.
In May of 2022, the magazine published an article featuring the song “Potion” by Calvin Harris featuring Young Thug and Dua Lipa, where they delve into an update, detail, and review of the musical production. RnB musician and queer advocate Kehlani’s “Everything” and more collaborations with other mentionable artists like Justin Bieber was also covered in a newsworthy piece. Featuring the rock and pop genres together, the magazine also talked about YungBlud’s collab with Willow in “Memories” and the music video for it, and Camila Cabello’s collab with her in “Psychofreak.” Pop artist and actress Hailee Steinfield’s sampling news for “I Love You’s” by Annie Lennox from March is also a noteworthy mention as Illustrate makes an effort by going in-depth to the behind-the-scenes of this initiative. Perhaps one of the more remarkable features covered is about the star of “Euphoria,” Hunter Schafer’s debut direction of the video ‘hornylovesickness.’
The inclusivity of such diverse projects goes to show that Illustrate Magazine keeps up with globally renowned artists and labels. Posting approximately 10 contents every single day also gives the magazine its edge on reviving fresh content to stay relevant and make it to the top among other highly-recommended music publication platforms.
Illustrate Magazine has also begun a new series to feature 10 releases in one go, in an attempt to diversify and expand its horizons, giving its global readers a chance at exploring music they have never heard of but should add to their playlists. Monday Blues, Tuesday Tunes, Wednesday Grooves, Thursday Thrills & Friyay Beats, all the picks from these pieces are Editor’s Choices, so readers can expect to find some of the most carefully curated music.
It is also worth mentioning that Illustrate Magazine goes the extra mile to include intercontinental writers and collaborators. Not only is it a media outlet for talented musicians, but it also takes into account the writers who keep it versatile with their own perspectives about the tons of musical talents that come through, and make every piece count for something.
With the aim to make a mark in the music industry, the US-based magazine, Illustrate Magazine, continues to cover underrated musicians and artists from across the world in order to support their passion, music and art. The magazine has a strong sense of community and wants to bring together up-and-coming illustrators within the growing independent music scene.