Dear Readers,

ACCESS to the MUSIC ZONE has had some major milestones in the past twelve months, but this is one is by far the most monumental - our FIRST ANNIVERSARY ISSUE!! As I look back to when I first started this E-zine (when a lot of people didn't even know what an E-zine was or wanted no part in dealing with one), I'm amazed at how far we've come in just one year. From a one and a half person operation in the first five issues, to eight staff writers scattered all over the country, and two Associate Editors to help keep things rolling, we've gone from just a few articles and working with one record label and one P.R. Firm, to what you see today.

No longer an extension of a Home Page on my personal Internet Server, we now have our own full-fledged Web Site. Instead of one or two concerts and a couple new releases (usually of the metal and hardcore variety), we now cover just about every major tour and bring you live photos from those concerts. We now cover every type of music except Classical, and I think that's where I'll draw the line. Our list of record labels, both Majors and Indies has grown to an astonishing number. We work with dozens of P.R. Firms all over the country as well, in order to bring you coverage of all that's going on in the music world as soon as we can get our hands on it.

The big bang that ushered in the first issue of this zine was "Ozz Fest '96" - the only major concert coverage we had. This summer we did "Ozz Fest '97" - along with "Lollapalooza," "Jamizon," several major Blues Fests, Debut Bands, Reunited Bands, and just about everything that was going on as far as tours. We average anywhere from twenty to thirty new releases each month now. We interview established bands, as well as the up and coming, and let you know how they do things, what they think, what they like - and try to do it in a fashion that gives you interesting information while maintaining the integrity of the artists.

When this magazine first went up on the Internet, we had maybe 100 visitors in a month. Now we have an average of 100 visitors in a day. We get letters from around the world asking us about different bands, recommending we check out other ones, asking us to help them put together Fan Pages for various artists. Since we started registration for our CD Giveaways, we've discovered that at least half of our readers are from countries other than the United States. We've presented exclusives on bands that nobody ever heard of and now some of them are major names on the music scene. We bring as large a variety as possible of the music that's out there, and give you an honest, straightforward and clearly written opinion of it so that when you go out and buy a new disc, you know what you're spending your money on.

Getting caught up in the day to day operations of AMZ, I failed to realize just how far this magazine has come in such a short amount of time until I started looking back at the early issues. I forgot the struggle to get music and concerts to report on. Nowadays my phone rings off the hook from Labels and P.R. Firms wanting us to review their bands or cover their concerts or interview their artists. We're not looking for them anymore, they're looking for US! We've gained a solid reputation in the music industry - a close knit bunch despite the number of companies out there.

So, to all of you, a hearty thank-you for your support over the past year. You've helped us grow to be the magazine we are today, and we have no intention of slacking off now. We still pursue new and diverse contacts and always keep a sharp eye out for top notch writers for our staff. Most of all, we maintain the high quality that we've come to be known for.

And the next year looks even brighter than the last! Now that we have established ourselves in our own home on the Web, our plan is to get out the hammers and build ourselves some extensions. Streaming Audio clips, a searchable database of all the bands covered in our back issues, free e-mail subscription services and new and better navigation of our site are just a few of the enhancements we have in store for you in the coming months. Future issues will be even bigger and more jam-packed than ever before, so you sure don't want to miss a single beat as we rise and conquer -- proving once and for all that we ARE the PREMIERE MUSIC E-ZINE on the WEB!

Please send your comments, questions, or anything else you can think of to ACCESS to the MUSIC ZONE at marellg@music-reviewer.com

See You In Cyber Space!
Mary Ellen Gustafson, Editor