Tom Breihan
Historical Chart Analysis Specialist
Tom Breihan distinguishes himself through his decade-long project examining every song that reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, published as "The Number Ones" column at Stereogum. Rather than treating chart success as merely commercial, he contextualizes each song within broader cultural moments, industry shifts, and artistic lineages. His analysis extends beyond surface-level criticism to explore how chart-topping songs reflect and shape American society across different eras.Systematic Music Historian
Breihan approaches pop music history with methodical rigor, having reviewed hundreds of #1 hits in chronological order since 2013. His writing reveals patterns across decades, connecting seemingly disparate artists through production techniques, marketing strategies, and cultural reception. This longitudinal perspective allows him to identify how technological changes - from vinyl to streaming - have transformed both music creation and consumption. His work demonstrates how chart success often signals larger industry transformations rather than merely reflecting public taste.Book-Length Expansion of Core Work
Building on his column, Breihan published "The Number Ones," a book distilling insights from his extensive analysis into focused examinations of 20 particularly influential chart-toppers. The book expands his digital column into deeper cultural investigations, maintaining his signature approach of treating commercial success as a lens for understanding broader societal shifts. This project represents a rare case of a digital-native music journalist successfully translating ongoing web content into substantive book form while preserving the distinctive voice that built his audience.Alternative Music Contextualizer
Beyond mainstream pop analysis, Breihan covers alternative and indie music scenes with similar historical awareness. His writing on emerging artists often references their place within longer musical traditions rather than treating them as isolated phenomena. When reviewing new releases or industry developments, he consistently connects contemporary moments to historical precedents, providing publicists with the context they need to position artists within meaningful narratives.4 more music journalists.
Abigail Kellett
Abigail Kellett is a news reporter at the Halifax Courier who stands out for visually led coverage that shows how culture, nightlife and local life play out on the ground. She documents gigs, festivals and major live shows at venues such as The Piece Hall through curated photo sets that capture atmosphere, crowd and setting as much as performers, and she uses extensive image galleries to tap reader nostalgia for nights out in Halifax town centre. Her beat spans arts, entertainment, going out, heritage, books and literary events, along with community life, people stories, local challenges, milestones, transport, regeneration, lifestyle and food. She reports through photographs, checklist-style features, reader-driven lists and roundups of most-read stories, turning announcements, programmes, author events, festivals, shop lists and everyday characters into stories about place, shared memory and how people spend their time.
Adam Lyon
Adam Lyon is a digital audience and content editor whose news beat sits at the intersection of Ayrshire’s cultural life, business environment and public affairs. He works for the Ayr Advertiser and as Digital Audience & Content Editor for Newsquest in the west of Scotland across multiple weekly titles. He covers Ayrshire news with a strong thread of music and local culture alongside business, courts and public affairs. He reports on music when it has a clear community or national hook, treating songs as news events rather than reviews. His business work explains how local firms and retail policy shape town centres. His court coverage uses round-ups of sheriff court cases to show patterns and outcomes. He also fronts video previews and is active in a football supporters trust community.
Adam Maidment
Adam Maidment is a senior What’s On and LGBTQ+ reporter whose work links big-name gigs, new venues and cultural flashpoints to everyday fan culture and inclusion. He covers music, nightlife and the wider cultural scene for the Manchester Evening News, focusing on how concerts, openings and immersive events land with real people and communities. His beat spans live music, arenas and stadiums, new restaurant and bar openings, food reviews, exhibitions, street art and nightlife infrastructure, with a particular focus on LGBTQ+ audiences and neighbourhoods. He reports on venue ambitions and problems, cultural institutions and equality issues, and franchise-led experiences, using straightforward, on-the-ground reporting and clear description. Drawing on a background in community reporting, he looks for underrepresented perspectives and uses social media, analytics and local sourcing to find stories where culture, identity and place meet.
Alex Rigotti
Alex Rigotti is a freelance music and culture editor and journalist who joins fast-turnaround music news with detailed reporting on artists, fandom and politics. They report breaking stories and live music updates for NME and Paste Magazine, covering pop, rock, club music, underground scenes and cultural debates around art and identity. Their live-music beat includes setlists, tours, festival appearances, cancellations, ticketing, venues and onstage collaborations. They previously served as a contributing editor for NME’s Radar section, supporting coverage of emerging artists and new scenes. Rigotti also writes features on rap lyrics and criminalisation, Eurovision and politics, queer feminist bodybuilding, astrotherapy and contemporary art. Their reporting is direct and specific, using clear quotes, concrete details and artists’ own words to explain what happened and how music fits into wider cultural and industry trends.