Mind the gap

So I'm going back to the Temple of Doom tomorrow. The Ministry of Sound. That's if I get past their guard dogs. A couple of years ago, Mixmag commissioned me to write about the legal wranglings between the newly M0S-owned Hed Kandi label and its creator Mark Doyle, who had set up his own, "me too" brand since leaving HK.
The story I wrote up orignially was rejected by the editor, (who obviously wanted a bit more scandal and ire) so I went away, put my most vicious tabloid head on and re-wrote it to Mixmag's specifications. Needless to say, Ministry hated it when it came out: pulled their adverts, generally stomped around for a bit about it and put me on their blacklist (no guestlists, their PR would never call me back etc etc).

Anyway, fingers crossed they've forgotten about it now, because otherwise tomorrow will be quite unpleasant. Plus, I'm still interested in what the MD said in that interview - about Mixmag - and how (now they are going all Face-like/skinny jeaned indie techno) they are missing a big trick. And that is that no one is catering for clubbers outside of London, who still love funky house, trance, electrohouse, hard house and all the other genres that just aren't cool enough for Mixmag to feature in any great detail.

Magazines are selling less, it's true - but there is a way to give people something they want, which they can't get via the internet. With DJ and Mixmag both now aiming for the same readership, and M8 looking more and more like a jumble sale each month, there's a giant gap in the market for a "not too cool but credible" dance magazine. Something that looks nice but doesn't take itself too seriously. So I've been busy this week thinking about how I can persuade someone with millions in the bank (hopefully with an interest in dance music) to invest in a new magazine. I can only think of one person and he's busy being famous. Any ideas?