MUSIC NEWS: RWD Magazine's Hattie Collins talks about the importance of MUSIC

London Art Scene from The Art Stop

It doesn't matter if you're a huge music fan or someone who likes to dip in and out of a good album - it's simply fair to say that music will have touched each and every one of us during our lives. Most of us would have grown up with a favourite band or listening to a certain genre on nights out, while others would have been influenced by family members and friends' tastes.

Last week, we celebrated Music is GREAT Week - a time when we were encouraged over the social networks (especially Twitter) to discuss our favourite live music shows, our first album or even our most memorable music experience. And as a result people celebrated everyone from The Stones to Michael Jackson to Steps - showing no matter what our personal opinion, there is always music out there to make everyone happy.

This week, one of the UK's greatest music magazines, RWD, is celebrating the release of their complilation album. A well-loved urban title, the magazine can claim a big part in the making of award-winning acts such as Tinie Tempah, N-Dubz and Ed Sheeran. To celebrate All in London spoke to RWD's Editor Hattie Collins to get her thoughts on the current music scene and why we should all be celebrating music.

Hi Hattie. Firstly, tell us about RWD's compilation, The Legacy...
Well we celebrated the tenth anniversary of RWD last year and soon after that, Sony got in touch with the idea of doing a compilation. I thought it'd be brilliant but I wanted it to not only represent the magazine but the music scene as a whole. There's dubstep, UK garage, grime, UK pop and so much more to include - and we wanted to do something that represented how we've seen it all grow over the years... from the underground music to the pop success of Tinie Tempah. We also want to show people who we all should be watching out... they're on disc three!

You must have interviewed some amazing acts before they broke into the mainstream, who have been your big success stories?
We spoke to Lady Gaga years ago, long before she became huge and even Tinie Tempah, we had him on the cover back in 2007. N-Dubz were talking to us in 2006. Ed Sheeran - we first met him three years ago, when things weren't going so well for him. But now he's the most popular ginge' around. I'd say Lady Gaga was probably the biggest act we believed in and supported before she became huge.

That must feel quite special, being such a big part in the making of someone so talented...
It's great that people can come to us in those early stages. And to play a reasonable part in their incredible journeys are great. Then when things change for them, we maintain that relationship and they come back and do gigs especially for us. Tinie did one for us last year.

Last week was Music Is GREAT Week in the UK and the campaign brought to light just how much our nation values its music. Why is it important that we continue to raise awareness and celebrate this?
Music plays such a vital role socially in all of our lives. It's hard times right now and whether we're going out with friends to see a gig, or coming home and stick on a CD to cheer yourself up - it is important that while things are crazy and unpredictable, that we all have that solace and escape.
We've had huge arguments over the years at RWD, on who should be in the magazine and who shouldn't and it's because we're all so passionate about music. It means a lot to us.

What other RWD ventures do you have in the pipeline?
We have some exciting things coming up around The Olympics to celebrate music with sport but I can't say a lot yet. A little special something - it will be based in London but we're hopefully also doing a tour based around the album in the next few months.

RWD seems like a very special and passionate place to work - tell us more about it...
Well, we're based in Shoreditch and have a 13-strong team here. In fact, that's big for us - we used to be about seven for ages. We do it all ourselves; editorial, sales and online included. Most of us have been in the company for at least six or seven years and I'm so proud to be a part of this team through such an incredible ride. We're really tight and we're really lucky because we go into work and we get to listen to music, go to premieres, play video games - we've done pretty well.

RWD: The Legacy is out now and features both mainstream and underground acts from over the last decade. It's available to buy now on Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/RWD-The-Legacy-Various/dp/B0077428S4

Posted Date
May 25, 2012 in London Art Scene from The Art Stop by The Art Stop