List of UK Electronic Music Blogs
List of UK Electronic Music Blogs
Here's our list of the best electronic music blogs in the UK covering all aspects of the electronic music industry. This is a super useful list for DJs and producers, helping you keep your finger on the pulse of the UK electronic music scene. Which ones do you read regularly?
These blogs cover a range of subjects but in particular they are good for anyone interested in DJing, music production, clubbing, artists, nightlife and the electronic music business.
Some of these blogs are established business entities and are heavily invested in pushing their advertisers agendas. When reading any news article or blog you'll need to try and distinguish between honest content and those articles written purely to satisfy a commercial interest.
1. LSA
LSA is the UK's most established DJ academy offering one-to-one DJ and music production tuition. Their popular blog isn't monetised and provides ad-free content for upcoming DJs and producers. This is an excellent blog for impartial advice from the experts training the next generation of the UK's electronic music stars. You'll find a range of bookmark-worthy articles to help with your DJ and music production career. The articles are educational and easy to follow, there is also an accessible audio button for those who would rather listen than read.
2. Resident Advisor
RA has branched out from just a ticketing platform to one of the most widely read electronic music blogs. Some of the content is really detailed and creative but critics have said that some of their content on the history of the scene veers toward revisionist and could be skewed through the lens of their commercial enterprise. One has to wonder if RA now has too much power in the electronic music scene. It's never a good thing when so much power is held by so few. On a positive note, they do score very high on representing a balance of genders in their content. They will also write about underground scenes when the kudos of the coverage suits them!
3. Mixmag
Mixmag is one of the big two DJ magazines and has moved from print to digital successfully over the years. They are one of the biggest media outlets in the UK electronic dance music scene reporting on industry news stories. You'll also find many interviews of upcoming artists. It's also monetised so expect to see adverts.
4. DJ Magazine
As with Mixmag, DJ Magazine is a commercially geared advertising-based electronic music publication. It's the most blatantly commercial of the blogs and their annual top 100 DJ chart has become a running joke in the music industry. DJ magazine allows anyone with money to buy coverage, simply advertise with them and you'll get some kind of coverage. Big platforms like these generally give much more coverage to business partners and many articles will be geared toward their money-making partnerships.
They will of course run some articles which are earnest and you'll have to sift through the content to find the hidden gems. They are often shunned to the back of the print magazine. DJ Magazine also has a reputation for being a bit of a boys club with limited content about female pioneers, artists or female-led electronic music scene businesses. They have slowly been improving on this factor but there is still work to be done.
5. Crack Magazine
Crack Magazine is one of the UK's most popular electronic music publications. While being a commercial entity, they do strike a good balance between authentic content and content designed to keep them afloat as a business. Crack content often covers underground artists and scenes in detail and they represent a spectrum of artists, male, female, non-binary and all different ethnicities and cultures. Their interviews are informative and entertaining. You can often find the print version of their paper in many music establishments and it's well worth reading a copy or reading their online blog. We also really like the artistry of the photography within their articles.
6. Noctis Magazine
Noctis Magazine a print magazine and blog supporting upcoming artists from a spectrum of creative industries. They are often are the absolute forefront of new trends in music and well worth following. If you want to be on the cusp of the zeitgeist this is the publication for you. It's easy to notice that artists who are covered in this magazine start to crop up in other magazines afterward.
7. Notion
Notion is another big player in the UK music scene. They report on a large array of creatives from music to film and everything between. Their music interviews are often see as the go-to articles for spotting the next big artists to emerge from the various UK scenes. It's not dedicated to electronic music but I would highly recommend following Notion.
8. Fact Magazine
Fact is another wide-ranging publication reporting on the creative industries in the UK including electronic music. They are half way up the run when it comes to the staging of different magazines. This means they are often a few steps behind publications like Noctis or Notion, who are more deeply embedded in the culture. They are still ahead of the Mixmag and DJ Mag curve however! It's another media company worth adding to your reading list.
9. XLR8R
XLR8R is a subscription based publication, so their content is locked behind a paywall. If you've got some spare income you might consider signing up for a month to see if it suits you well. Their coverage represents an auteurist view point and is carefully considered and generally very unbiased. It's a real grown up choice!
10. DJ Gym
We also host our own blog with un-monetised free content for new DJs and producers who are interested in electronic music. It's especially useful for DJ tips, production resources and DJ news. Check out our blog if you're a new DJ or producer and want to find honest content that remains untouched by the big media companies!
We hope you found this list of UK-based electronic music blogs useful for your DJ and music production career! Please share this list with your friends and contact us if you are interested in pursuing a career in electronic music.