25 Years Of Music
Check out news and highlights from 1979-2003
[requires Adobe Acrobat Reader]
2003 Wrap-Up
CMJ MILESTONES
1978: Bobby Haber informs his
parents that he’s decided not to go to
law school. Oh yeah, and he’ll be needing
to make use of their basement to
crank out this crazy idea he has for a
magazine. In November, he staples 32
pages together to create the very first
issue of College Media Journal. OK, so
The Who has the No. 1 album, but
soon, the playlists get hipper.
1979: A sneering Elvis Costello is
the first to grace the cover of a
revamped magazine. The Clash makes
noise on the charts, as well.
Something’s happening here.
1981: A magazine is nice, but
wouldn’t it be great to meet face-toface?
CMJ sows the seeds for the CMJ
Music Marathon by hosting the very first
College Radio Brainstorm.
1982: Now we’re talking new
music! R.E.M. debuts on the CMJ chart.
1985: Will this be on the test?
The CMJ Music Marathon adds “College
Day” into the mix, in order to focus on
issues related specifically to college and
non-commercial stations. The CMJ New
Music Awards are broadcast on the
USA Network. R.E.M., Red Hot Chili
Peppers and others are on hand.
1987: CMJ introduces the
Certain Damage sampler CD, which it
distributes to subscribers.
1988: We smelled it early —
Nirvana’s “Love Buzz” single is
reviewed.
1990: We should do this more
often: CMJ New Music Report goes
from bi-weekly to weekly. Elated CMJ
staffers find that taking reports via
phone is now double the fun!
1993: Hey, you got your CD in
my magazine! CMJ combines a magazine
with a CD and launches its
consumer publication, CMJ New
Music Monthly — the first music
magazine on the newsstand to
feature a free sampler CD.
1994: Action! CMJ FilmFest
debuts to highlight the union of music
and film. The Fest premieres a little
film called Pulp Fiction.
1996:In your face, Chinese
Medical Journal! CMJ launches
www.cmj.com. The New Music Report
archive of reviews, charts and more
heads online.
1999: Dot-calm before the
storm: CMJ merges with the Internetfocused
Rare Medium Group. The
gang leaves Great Neck, Long Island
behind for bustling Manhattan. The
newly branded company (Change
Music Network) buys shiny computers,
hires some new folks and has lots
of meetings where people use words
like “synergy” and “portal.”
2001: You sold high, right?
The Internet bubble bursts, and a
merger is undone. Reports of CMJ’s
death are greatly exaggerated. Bobby
Haber and Music Marathon founder
and CMJ co-owner Joanne Abbot
Green buy the company back — documents
are signed and we get to keep
the Herman Miller chairs. All pales in
comparison to the devastating events
of 9/11. CMJ postpones its annual
Music Marathon in the wake of the
tragedy. The Strokes are a cover story
several months before being signed
and releasing their debut.
2002: Big ideas: CMJ Retail
hits its stride, giving independent
Retail a voice in much the same way
the NMR did for College Radio years
earlier. Somewhere in cyberspace,
CMJ’s RAM application starts listening.
2003: Live and interstellar:
CMJ partners for the “Advance
Warning Tour,” featuring the Mooney
Suzuki, the Raveonettes and more;
CMJ also launches its own monthly
concert series in New York. The “CMJ
New Music Report” radio show debuts
on the Sirius Satellite Network. CMJ
turns 25, and can now rent a car in
New York without penalty.
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Big Changes -- there have been many in the 25
years since a former music director from
Brandeis University’s WBRS in Waltham,
Massachusetts named Bobby Haber started CMJ by
publishing the very first charts based on College Radio
airplay. Since then, the music industry has undergone
several demolitions and reconstructions… wait, that’s
actually proof that some things never change. Well, the
way we listen to music has definitely changed over
time — from turntables in the bedroom to iPods on
the L train… although, the turntable still fuels some of
the most innovative live and recorded music today.
OK, so forget all that “big changes” stuff, then. We
were really just looking for a flashy lead for the Silver
Anniversary issue. Despite the CMJ staff evolving from
just one ambitious employee to nearly 100 at the turn
of the millennium, and then back to its present 25 or
so, and despite all the other chaos in the industry, and
the fact that you can now fit every album that came
out in 1978 in your back pocket, some things really
haven’t changed in those 25 years.
What is unchanged at CMJ is the pure and
simple thrill of listening to music and wanting to
tell the world about it. Boil down everything we do
here — two magazines, a convention, a music festival,
a Web site, interactive marketing, live events, a
syndicated radio show, unsigned band competitions,
CD samplers and more — and it all comes
down to the fact that the people who work here live
and breathe for the opportunity to say, “You need to
hear this!” Yes, it’s become terribly cliché to hear
magazines say, “It’s about the music, man!” But
that’s undeniably the case here. Who would want to
work for (or work with) a music company that
thinks any other way? The thrill of new music
comes in many ways at CMJ. Packages are opened
and CDs are dropped into players and we listen.
There’s a lot of bad music out there, but there’s
always something great; something new; something
we never expected. And suddenly, heads pop up in
the cubicles to say, “Dude, what are you listening
to?” But our music discovery isn’t just limited to
our time in the office — it happens at night, as well.
There’s always that band that plays before the headliner
that you went to the club to see. Again, sometimes
those opening bands suck more than you
could ever imagine, but then you’ll see a band like
Stellastarr* open for Joe Strummer and you’re
instantly reminded why you don’t mind standing in
a cramped club for four hours.
That wide-eyed kid who started CMJ 25 years
ago might look a bit different today (three daughters
and 22 Music Marathons will do that to a guy),
and the letterhead may now read “CMJ Network,
Inc.,” but don’t let the grown-up and incorporated
thing trick you into thinking CMJ has somehow
become “The Man,” or that it’s lost the ability to
know what’s happening — or, more importantly,
what’s going to happen. Look through the pages of
this special issue and notice how things have
changed over the last 25 years. We’ve covered pretty
much everything that mattered. Whether in an
album review, cover story or an appearance at our
annual event, we were on it, and many times, we
were on it first.
It will continue to be the goal of these pages to
anticipate change and make adjustments based on the
music and the business. That’s why, this fall, we
rethought the way we do our CD samplers (Certain
Damage reborn as On Air) to get personal feedback
on the music. That’s why we’re always tweaking the
book, adding new sections and new charts. That’s why
we’re looking into better ways to track what’s really
being played on the radio and on the Web. In 2004,
we encourage you to reach out to tell us about something
we haven’t heard before — whether it’s a new
band, a new breed of music, or a new idea for the
magazine. We want the same things you want: good
music, the occasional thrill, and change for better.
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