The Big Takeover is a bi-annual music mag published in New York City since 1980 by critic Jack Rabid. Jack Rabid and Dave Stein began publishing the Big Takeover as a fanzine dedicated to New York punk band The Stimulators. The title of the fanzine was borrowed from Bad Brains. The very first issue was just one A4 page, front and back, printed from copy machines and given out for free at local punk gigs. Stein left the fanzine to Rabid after one issue and Rabid has remained the dominant creative force behind the magazine since. The Big Takeover moved from one page to a few pages & then to a slightly less primitive fanzine style to the black-and-white, stapled magazine style around issue 26 in 1989. During this period, Rabid worked during the day and was still doing most of the writing, all the layout and advertising sales. Other notable contributors to the magazine in the early days included former MTV personality Tim Sommer. During the first half of the 1990s, The Big Takeover began using professional layout design and by the end of the decade had become a semi-glossy, color magazine. Circulation is currently around 15,000. Prices are negotiable for multiple purchases.