OT-Music Mags

[soundtrack2life]

Did anyone notice how thin the music mags have been for a while. i.e. Mix, Electronic Musician & etc. I am wondering if it is not only the economy as much as the internet. Lets face facts as far as new product goes you can get hands on real world non biased opinions on many different forums. Not to mention search out topics and points of interest via google. Are we seeing the demise of the printed trade magazines. . . . . . I guess I will have to start bringing the laptop in the bathroom with me
Joe

[Naturally Digital]

Did anyone notice how thin the music mags have been for a while. i.e. Mix, Electronic Musician & etc. I am wondering if it is not only the economy as much as the internet. Lets face facts as far as new product goes you can get hands on real world non biased opinions on many different forums. Not to mention search out topics and points of interest via google. Are we seeing the demise of the printed trade magazines. . . . . . I guess I will have to start bringing the laptop in the bathroom with me
Joe

Hey Joe, yes, I noticed that recently myself. My suspicion is it's a bit of both (economy and internet). I now subscribe to the RSS feeds from some of these mags and feel I get all the info I need. There's no real substitute for glossy printed material but it's getting harder and harder to justify picking it up at the newsstand (for the ones that aren't sent to me gratis already). I think the entire printed media industry is going through massive change and it's taken until now to really see the results.

I tried the laptop in the can for a while and didn't like it much.

[Ian Alexander]

Hey Joe, yes, I noticed that recently myself. My suspicion is it's a bit of both (economy and internet). I now subscribe to the RSS feeds from some of these mags and feel I get all the info I need. There's no real substitute for glossy printed material but it's getting harder and harder to justify picking it up at the newsstand (for the ones that aren't sent to me gratis already). I think the entire printed media industry is going through massive change and it's taken until now to really see the results.

I tried the laptop in the can for a while and didn't like it much.

The combination of processor heat and combustible vapors (or vapours, in your case) is not advisable.

[soundtrack2life]

The combination of processor heat and combustible vapors (or vapours, in your case) is not advisable.

Maybe Apple can come up with something like the iPad. . . . . but call it the iPoop
Joe

[TotalSonic]

The one magazine that hasn't gotten any thinner at all recently is the only one really worth reading to me - which is TapeOp. To me it's focus on the people behind the glass rather than the gear is what makes it so much better - and I think the fact that it's readership has grown while the rest of the mags get smaller shows that a bunch of other folks feel the same way.

I think in the particular case of Mix magazine the commercial studio market it focuses on has indeed seen even more losses in the past years - so it getting pamphlet thin doesn't surprise me.

EQ and Electronic Musician both are generally incredibly mediocre product to me though. Honestly - I think they need a change in their editorial direction to make it more interesting - can't really remember the last article I was all that impressed with from either of these. So I'd say their quality is part of the reason for their decline as well as online competition and economic malaise.

Sound On Sound and Mojo are both still good reading to me though. I really enjoy reading about the making of "classic tracks" that these two focus on sometimes.

I'd say there's more activity on internet forums regarding audio recording than ever before, and while the brick and mortar stores like Sam Ash and Guitar Center are not having that great of years the independent gear pimps I know are actually doing well considering the general economy - so I do think the fact that there is so much available online is a big reason for magazines going down hill.

As far as "e-readers" - I recently got a Kindle 2 as a gift and got to say I've been really enjoying it and have been actually been reading more because of it.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[Naturally Digital]

The one magazine that hasn't gotten any thinner at all recently is the only one really worth reading to me - which is TapeOp.

Good point. I keep meaning to subscribe since it isn't readily available on the newsstands in my part of the world. Thanks for the reminder Steve.

[IraSeigel]

This isn't a phenomenon of just music mags. I'm sure you've noticed that lots of tech mags have gone "virtual". Even food and travel mags gave up traditional publishing and are available only online now.

One of the 2 daily newspapers in Seattle, the Post-Intelligencer, is online only, and there are many others, I'm sure.

Ira

[soundtrack2life]

I have previouslly heard good things about TapeOp I will take a serious look into it. FWIW there is one mag I do enjoy and that is "Recording". I got it as a gift and ended up subscribing to it this year on my own once it ran out. FWIW if not eBay I typically deal with gear pimps or mom & pop music stores for all my purchases. I dread the "big box" music stores. I would rather deal with people that are passionate and knowlegable about what they are selling!
Joe

[Tim Miskimon]

Did anyone notice how thin the music mags have been for a while. i.e. Mix, Electronic Musician & etc. I am wondering if it is not only the economy as much as the internet. Lets face facts as far as new product goes you can get hands on real world non biased opinions on many different forums. Not to mention search out topics and points of interest via google. Are we seeing the demise of the printed trade magazines. . . . . . I guess I will have to start bringing the laptop in the bathroom with me
Joe

Yes I've noticed & I don't think it has anything to do with the economy or the internet.
I think it's the subject matter...
I for one am not interested in how rap records are recorded or the techneques they use to get sh@tty sounds like bottomed out bass & distorted vocals.
I'm not interested in what loops or loop programs they use or what drum machine they use.
You can only do interviews and articles on the great engineers & producers for so long.
The magazines are running out of material.
Lately I've found myself skipping over a lot more of the articles because the recordings they are talking about basically suck.
Hopefully the music buying public will wake up and start demanding better music - until than the whole music industry is gonna suffer a loss of revenue.

[Bill Park]

Did anyone notice how thin the music mags have been for a while. i.e. Mix, Electronic Musician & etc. ....
Joe

There are a couple of mags that are less well known, but quite expensive, that have a more professional slant. And then there is always Sound on Sound, a British publication that is consistently excellent.

A long time ago the publishers started to dump the more expensive writing talent for younger, less experienced but cheaper writers. Naturally, the more experienced readers found less to read in such publications, so they stopped reading. And the newer readers always seem to want to read about gear, not processes or tech issues. Just tell them about the new gear, even if it isn't out yet. (Boring to write, and nothing can make you feel like a whore than shilling for manufacturers just to make a deadline, writing nice things about gear that does not yet exist.) So then the ad base changes. Then the economy tanked. Now the mags don't pay enough to take the time to type an article, let alone research and write it. I've recently twice been approached about writing for publication again, but once the contacts understood that I wouldn't work for free, the idea was dropped. Many people will write just because they enjoy doing it, and don't mind making money for someone else while they work for free or for so little as it might as well be for free. (Seriously, you could make more per hour flipping burgers.) If there is money being generated, I want my piece of it, for the work that I do.

I haven't read it in quite a while, but Keyboard used to be a better mag about recording than EQ or EM. If the same guy is behind Recording who used to run it, nice guy and I liked his approach. But that is another mag that I stopped reading a long time ago.

Bill