Decoded Magazine Marks 12 Years of Independent Electronic Music Coverageمجله Decoded Magazine دوازده ساله شد: یک دهه و اندی روزنامه‌نگاری مستقل موسیقی الکترونیک

Decoded Magazine is celebrating twelve years of independent music journalism this week—thirteen if you trace its roots back to the earlier This Is Progressive incarnation. For over a decade, the publication has dedicated itself to covering underground electronic music with care and without an agenda.

That independence is hard-won. The magazine is entirely self-funded. It does not accept payment for interviews, sell editorial coverage, or allow artists to buy their way onto its pages. “The moment you can be bought, you are not really a magazine any more, you are a billboard,” the team says. This stance has allowed Decoded to tackle difficult subjects: government overreach, nightlife strangulation, club closures, licensing decisions, and copyright debates, alongside city guides penned by local artists and in-depth features on the music’s history.

The numbers behind those twelve years are staggering: over 10,530 articles published, including 1,263 features, 4,651 news items, more than 600 interviews, close to 700 guest mixes and radio shows, and over 1,700 tracks and premieres shared via SoundCloud, which have racked up around 3.8 million plays. All of it done because the team wanted to, not because anyone told them to.

The interview archive reads like a who’s-who of electronic music: Nick Warren, The Prodigy, Dave Seaman, Hernan Cattaneo, Guy J, Henry Saiz, Carl Cox, Laurent Garnier, Nicole Moudaber, Charlotte de Witte, Enrico Sangiuliano, Umek, ANNA, Josh Wink, Timo Maas, Darren Emerson, James Zabiela, Danny Howells, Lee Burridge, Booka Shade, Ferry Corsten, Ben Böhmer, Bicep, Solomun, Dixon, Âme, Tale of Us, and many more have sat down with the magazine. The list spans house, techno, progressive, drum and bass—anything that moves the underground.

Twelve years on, Decoded Magazine remains a rare beast: a truly independent voice in a landscape where pay-for-play is increasingly common. Its anniversary is a reminder that passion, not profit, can still drive meaningful music journalism.

Source: Decoded Magazine