''Music Industry Online'' (also called ''MIO'') is an online

music magazine A music magazine is a magazine dedicated to music and music culture. Such magazines typically include music news, interviews, photo shoots, essays, record reviews, concert reviews and occasionally have a covermount with recorded music. Notable mu ...

that has been reporting on the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n music industry since December 1999 when it was known as ''PC Music''.

History and profile

''Music Industry Online'' was founded by Josh Adler in November 1999 as ''PC Music'', with Adler himself as its

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

Initially, ''PC Music'', would send a monthly newsletter to about 50 subscribers, explaining the basics of using personal computers to make

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

. The first issue was sent out in December 1999.The headquarters is in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

. In 1998 Adler partnered with Jeff Fletcher - who had founded a discussion list for South African electronic musicians on the Hivemind Network, to create a small community of subscribers and a simple website. For a while, the ''PC Music'' newsletter would be distributed electronically each month, and then archived on the website. As the mailing list grew, Adler invited two of his

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

classmates in January 2001: Asher Lipson and Sam Hutchinson (now ''MIOs

technical director A technical director (TD) is usually a senior technical person within e.g. a software company, engineering firm, film studio, theatre company or television studio. This person usually has the highest level of skill within a specific technical f ...

) The decision set in place an entirely new phase for ''PC Music'', which then changed to ''Music Industry Online'' in 2005. This witnessed an influx of resources in the form of writers who updated the site with regular news and feature content, drawing audiences both South Africa and abroad. Forums and discussion boards were introduced and moderators elected to keep a watchful eye on the use of offensive behavior. The content also started undergoing subtle changes, from being information based purely on how to make electronic music, to incorporating other

music genres A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from ''musical form'' and musical style, although in practice these terms are some ...

and all sectors of the music industry, namely Djing, Artists, Music Business, Education, Events, Music Reviews and the Music Tech sections. It 2005 two more

journalists A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

joined ''MIO'' on a full-time basis; Taryn Lee-Bigger and Phathu Ratshilumela. Richard Rumney joined ''MIO'' as

editor in chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

in 2007. In 2007 Adler and Hutchinson decided to focus on ''MIO''’s mother company, Prefix Technologies, which they co-own and left ''MIO'' in the hands of Rumney and Ratshilumela. The same year, ''MIO'' was registered under a new umbrella term: MIO Media. Adler and Hutchinson are still active partners. From October 2008 to early 2011, ''MIO'' and the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) ran a section called SA Music Good News, which only focuses at writing about positive developments in the South African Music Industry. Rumney remained ''MIO''’s Editor in Chief until October 2009, when Ratshilumela took over. ''Music Industry Online'' is only accessible on the web and sends a regular newsletter. It is seen as one of South Africa's major online music magazines. The magazine generally strives to be a catalyst for growth in the South African music industry and this has seen a number of initiatives aimed at encouraging the South African music industry. After a period of lower growth, in October 2014, ''Music Industry Online'' relaunched under new ownership. In 2014, ''MIO'' was bought from the current owners by 882 People Media MIO About Page.
/ref> and Zethu Zulu took over as editor.

Editorship

*Josh Adler: 1999-2005 *Richard Rumney: 2007-2009 *Phash Ratshilumela: 2009- 2013 *Zethu Zulu: 2014–Present

References

External links

Official website

SA Music Good News, retrievable on the official page and on SAMRO
1999 establishments in South Africa Online music magazines South African music websites Monthly magazines published in South Africa Magazines established in 1999 Mass media in Johannesburg {{italic title