Today we’d like to introduce you to Johnny Price.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was a very quiet kid growing up. I did really well and usually kept to myself. I don’t think my family knew hat to do to me because I was so different. I was very artistic and I had a vivid imagination. My world came alive in (approximately)1976 when I discovered this band that wore white makeup and outrageous costumes. KISS opened a whole new world for me as my kabuki super heroes helped me discover the world of music and suddenly I wasn’t alone anymore. I had all sorts of friends; Casey Kasem, Dick Clark, Don Cornelius, Don Kirshner and more. I had a small transistor radio that I hide underneath my pillow and listened to music at night. Music now consumned my life and it helped to bring me out of my shell. That was the beginning.
Fast forward to (approximately) 2005 and I started our with a blog on the internet about 25 years ago. I was the Co-Editor of our high school newsletter in my senior year. I had planned on going into journalism after high school but the universe had other plans for me. Many years later, I decided to try my luck with a music blog on the internet. I would go on MySpace (that’s dating myself) and reach out to artists for interviews. This got me noticed by an online music magazine that needed a writer and I jumped onboard. This led to writing and doing concert photography. I would talk to any band no matter how big or small that they were. Other members of the staff only wanted to talk to or photograph bands that they liked. I always said that every big dog in the industry was a little puppy dreaming of being one of those big dogs that they looked up to. So, we should also talk to those little puppies because you never know who just might become one of those big dogs.
After a few years, I wasn’t feeling the same passion for music from everyone else on the staff. I decided, with the support of many publicists and bands who I had worked with, to take a leap of faith and start my own magazine. On May 13, 2014, I launched I’m Music Magazine. We are an open genre magazine so that we can write about any style of music. I am the Owner/Editor plus I also do interviews, album reviews and concert photography. We have writers and photographers literally from all parts of the world. Some stay a while and move on while others have been with me almost the entire run of the magazine.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
At first, it was very rough. No matter how many emails I sent out, I never heard back from anyone who would give me a chance. That’s why I started my own music blog. When I started m own magazine, it was almost like starting over. It seemed as if every show that I requested to photograph said no. It happened over and over again; it made me want to quit. Then, the doors seem to open for me and I was photographing all types of shows. The other struggle is finding the right people who can both write and be dependable.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I wear many hats at I’m Music Magazine. I am the Owner/Editor and I set the tone and rules for how the magazine is going to run. When one of our photographers are out photographing a show, I expect them to act in a professional way or they can hit the door. If I had to pick something that I specialize in, it would have to be interviews. I try to make my interviews feel like to buddies catching up on things. Musicians hear the “question #1 blah blah, blah question #2 blah blah blah” types of interviews all the time. I try my best to make mine very personable. I get complimented on them all the time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.im-musicmagazine.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/immusicmagazine/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/immusicmagazine/
- Twitter: https://x.com/ImMusicMag
- Threads: https://www.threads.com/@immusicmagazine
