EM GUIDE stats: The first year

Although EM GUIDE is not even a year old, it can be easily said it already wrapped up a busy and productive year. In this entry, we aim to summarize what the individual magazines have gained by being part of the network and what they have achieved together so far.

Since the official launch of the project in March 2024, the network has published a total of 316 articles, from which 149 are original publications (published locally at the originating magazine), and 83 are those original publications that have been shared by at least one magazine –in original language or translated into the local language of the sharing magazine. This means that more than half of the local content has reached an audience beyond its original one and that, on average, shared articles have been shared more than once (83 articles have been shared, in total, 167 times).  

Easterndaze has the most shared articles in the pool: its 20 articles have gained publicity 40 times beyond its own communication channels –also considering that some of these articles have been translated into local languages (for exmple, this one). Thanks to EM GUIDE, Easterndaze has been able to publish in-depth features and activate writers from the region to explore music, music communities, and the broader, often turbulent sociopolitical context of what it means to be a musician in Central and Eastern Europe today. Take, for example, these reports on the resistance movement in Georgia and the insights into Prague's diaspora and queer communities. 

For many magazines, EM GUIDE allows them to expand their existing repertoire, such as MMN introduced a new feature named Toolkit, an interview series focusing on artistic production, accompanied by portraits of musicians in their studios. Struma+Iodine launched the series The Final Transcript providing glimpses into the often-hidden aspects of being a cultural worker. 34.sk began to delve deeply into the music scenes of developing countries, such as the North Caucasus, Pakistan, completing in-house articles with translated ones, like this on Ghana by NOISES. Kaput met with well-known names in the music world, like Justin Strauss, No Land and Luke Stewart, and Ece Özel, as part of its New York and Istanbul city special series.

By covering new topics for their audiences, the communities surrounding these niche magazines are becoming stronger and more cohesive. Beyond supporting local scenes by providing exposure and connecting people, sharing content from one another also allows for testing new waters. Struma+Iodine have learned that their audience is highly interested in topics related to postcolonialism (for example, this article shared from NOIES reached an impressive number of readers). In response to understanding which content resonates with their local audience, NOIES is now introducing a new category in their editorial line offering comprehensive coverage of up-and-coming artists promoted by EM GUIDE members (for example, this).

On the top of being able to keep up with the pace and quality of music journalism, some members have developed their platforms to stay connected with their readers: Easterndaze and MMN significantly improved their websites, and Kaput started their own Substack channel.

In general, EM GUIDE has lived up to its original ambition to support network members, including their writers, artists, and communities they represent, in becoming stronger and more established amidst constant challenges and turbulences of a global media landscape. Alongside circulating content, the network also learns together and collaborates on new projects: it has published essay-style articles under the name EM GUIDE special on topics of shared importance, it is currently working on their maiden print magazine, and it is organizing a festival in Vienna in May, 2025.

We think that independent music journalism is an extraordinarily vulnerable field, relying on two fragile pillars: one, covering niche topics and second, operating within a broader industry where music journalism as a whole is losing relevance. Via EM GUIDE, it seems that through joint efforts, it is possible to keep the pace within an era of infinite (and lately, machine-generated content) without sacrificing quality or neglecting the mission and purpose of each magazine.