First identified picture of me and Wendy, in 2000; a 12 months later the primary subject of Below the Radar was launched.
25% Off the Final Nice Indie Rock Print Journal – A Household-Run Labor of Love Since 2001
Get 25% Off Subscriptions and 50% Again Points
Sep 20, 2025
Pictures by Mark and Wendy Redfern
Whereas most music magazines have both shut down or pivoted to digital-only, Below the Radar remains to be right here—nonetheless in print, nonetheless 100% unbiased, and nonetheless run by the identical husband-and-wife workforce who began all of it again in 2001.
We’re providing 25% off print subscriptions—as little as $3.75 per subject—with the code FUNDUTR25 (legitimate worldwide on each four-issue and eight-issue subscriptions).
All again points are 50% off with code UTRBACK50.
Based by music author Mark Redfern (that’s me) and photographer Wendy Lynch Redfern, Below the Radar started as a black & white zine distributed round Los Angeles. Wendy and I met and fell in love in December 2020 and a 12 months later our first subject was born. Over twenty years later, it’s nonetheless run by the identical couple—we’re now married with a daughter (Rose, at present 12), dwelling in Virginia, and nonetheless placing out print points that includes authentic images, passionate journalism, and a deep love of indie music.
We’ve weathered the collapse of Borders Books (which worn out half our distribution), the dying of conventional print promoting, and extra, however by no means overlooked what made us begin this journal: a perception within the energy of nice music and significant journalism.
We had been the primary nationwide print journal to interview Vampire Weekend and Fleet Foxes, the primary U.S. outlet to speak to Moist Leg and The Final Dinner Celebration, and early champions of now-beloved artists like Charli XCX (on our cowl in 2013, 11 years earlier than Brat). We helped outline the indie increase of the 2000s—that includes Loss of life Cab for Cutie, Brilliant Eyes, Interpol, The Nationwide, TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and plenty of extra—and have additionally interviewed older legends like Brian Wilson, Yoko Ono, Peter Gabriel, New Order, and Depeche Mode. We had been additionally the final journal to interview and {photograph} Elliott Smith earlier than his tragic dying.
And we’ve performed all of it with out company backing or billionaire traders.
We’ve outlasted most of our print-era friends not as a result of we had the deepest pockets or the largest workers, however as a result of we’ve stored it private. As a result of we care. As a result of we consider music journalism needs to be pushed by coronary heart, not algorithms.
If you need a deeper take a look at how Below the Radar survived the final 20+ years—via births, deaths, cross-country strikes, and a quickly altering media panorama—learn our behind-the-scenes secret origin story, written for our twentieth Anniversary Subject in 2021.
Every subject of Below the Radar consists of:
- 20–30 in-depth interviews Our subsequent subject—Subject 75—is a sequel to our fan-favorite ’90s Subject, that includes brand-new interviews with the artists, filmmakers, and creatives behind a few of the decade’s most iconic music, movie, and TV.
- 20–50 album evaluations
- A downloadable MP3 sampler of as much as 40 new tracks
- Authentic images—much less inventory photographs or label promos
- Unique options that always keep in print months earlier than going surfing
We’re aiming to enroll 200 new subscribers within the subsequent month. For those who worth considerate music journalism, in case you miss flipping via a fantastically designed print journal, or in case you merely wish to assist a passionate, family-run publication—that is the time to subscribe.
Print’s not lifeless. Nevertheless it does want your assist.
Assist Below the Radar—the final nice American indie rock print journal—and save 25% at present.
