Drum: EDITOR’S THOUGHTS
combustion, of my days; the tension of the world inside of me, and the strength of my heart were enough
went or the earth would emerge as I came to the door of the morning locked against the sun.”
– Martin Carter
research to one-to-one sessions with opinion leaders and industry professionals. The
general consensus is that Drum is an ‘interesting and essential’ read. But we’re not
complacent, so if there’s something you want to see in your magazine, let us know.
Of course, there is an element of black lifestyle covered in certain mainstream titles, but
we know you want more than a feature on hip hop. You want us to take a much deeper
cultural look, and to do that all year round. We hope you’ll find that Drum is far more
satisfying than the odd piece during Black History Month or the Notting Hill carnival.
We’ve looked at our audience; your icons, your interests and activities, and we’ve
identified the issues you want us to address.
Our research shows that in the past, publications have been sought from outside the UK
in the thirst for black culture. US titles in particular have received the most attention, yet
they lack credible UK content or a truly international perspective. We want as many
people as possible to buy our magazine, so, on the newsstand we are competing with
every other title. Although we feel that our content and editorial slant makes us unique
on the British high street, we don’t expect any of this to be easy. We’re going to work hard
for your loyalty.
Big brands woke up to the ‘grey’ and the ‘pink’ pound some years ago now, but the ‘black’
pound is still overlooked. More and more brands are talking about diversity, but this is not
being applied, and bottom-line profits are losing out. The refusal of a famous liqu