Penton Business Media Bankrupt - Mix and EM

[TapeOpLarry]

Penton Business Media, the parent company that owns and controls Mix Magazine and Electronic Musician, has filed for bankruptcy. What does this mean to Tape Op? For one, if these two venerable magazines disappear that will mean substantially less clout for the rest of the surviving magazines that cover the audio recording field. If there are less magazines in this field then companies will earmark less money for advertising, with the possibility that with no competition for these ad dollars that eventually no one will put money towards print advertising. Tape Op is paid for by advertising dollars - that's why most subscriptions are free. John Baccigaluppi and I, who own 100% of Tape Op don't want to be the only magazine left standing. Having different voices out there covering music recording is a good thing. At this point in time it appears our magazine has the largest circulation/subscription in the world for a mag of this type in this field. We never thought we'd end up in this position, and please don't let us be the last magazine out there.

I'm raising a glass to all my friends and colleagues who've contributed to Mix Magazine and Electronic Musician over the years. Let's hope it wasn't all in vain due to the financial jugglings of a large corporation that probably has no idea what they actually own.

[Nick Sevilla]

Well, that is unfortunate.

I did not re-subscribe to those two magazines, as they had, IMO turned into product catalogs with little to no interesting information on mixing, or equalization (Mix, EQ magazines being their titles).

I did however renew my subscription to your magazine, and am on the TapeOp forum daily.

It is an inspiring fun place to be, and a fun magazine to read. Your interviews are always interesting.

Cheers,

Nicholas Sevilla
www.nicksevilla.com/Index.html

[TapeOpLarry]

We always hope Tape Op is interesting! I can understand how people may get more of what they want out of our mag, but even though what those other magazines lacked was what inspired me to create Tape Op, I still feel it's a better world with them around. All the things we won't run that they do, like product announcements, stuff on audio schools, people transferring jobs, mixing for film, post and many other things - having another outlet for those keeps them out of my hair! Tape Op can't be everything to everyone.

I'd love to see magazines devoted to gear reviews, post production, film scoring, sound and mixing, and done in thoughtful, meaningful ways. Can be done...

[Artifex]

I agree wholeheartedly with all of the above, but I will add: if I had to, I would not mind paying to subscribe to this magazine if it ever comes to that.

[Jay Reynolds]

I did not re-subscribe to those two magazines, as they had, IMO turned into product catalogs with little to no interesting information on mixing, or equalization (Mix, EQ magazines being their titles).

I mean this with the utmost respect, but I had always assumed that someone with your career arc/credits was their target market. If you didn't re-up, who did?

[Nick Sevilla]

I did not re-subscribe to those two magazines, as they had, IMO turned into product catalogs with little to no interesting information on mixing, or equalization (Mix, EQ magazines being their titles).

I mean this with the utmost respect, but I had always assumed that someone with your career arc/credits was their target market. If you didn't re-up, who did?

Well... I might be a little unconventional then... may not fit into their "demographic" neatly.

I know a lot of studios who would get the magazines for free, as long as they were a studio business... they've closed, at least 60% of them, and the others??? Probably a mix of Label engineers (a rarity nowadays) and independents wanting to be up on the latest gadgets.

For me, I learned from my superiors / mentors that it is a lot more about the people than the gear behind a record, so when those magazines became more about the gear, they lost my interest. I use to enjoy their very good interviews, which slowly became shorter and shorter, and the questions more dull, like "what plug in did you use to achieve that effect" rather than "what did you feel the first time you heard the lyrics to this or that classic song, and how did that affect how you approached the mixing?"

I know I probably have worked with a lot more "commercial" or "popular' artists than most people here on TapeOp, but it is just the way it turned out. I decided long ago to work with the best talent I could find around me, and I got lucky by living in Santa Barbara, which is, or used to be, full of a lot of talented musicians.

I also decided to only work on albums worth making, and not turn into an engineer that has to do whatever comes in the door to pay the bills. I have been blessed with a great supportive family who understand that and have been there for me when there were dry spells. My resume is small, but every album I have worked on I believe in it 100%, and worked on it at 100% capacity every time. No matter if it was making tea, all the way to making the master tapes.

Cheers

[Jarvis]

I am not a pro. i've thought about cancelling my sub to EM many times but the cost is chump change and I always learn something from every issue.

[percussion boy]

This seems reminiscent of the restaurant scene here in SF. The well-loved places are hanging on, but the so-so or badly managed places are going belly-up.

I will miss EM -- it was an important voice years ago, when musicians wwere all learning MIDI and synthesis for the first time. However, COMPUTER MUSIC identified where the electronic music market was going, what the younger consumers wanted, and EM didn't. Likewise TAPE OP (or even SOUND ON SOUND), vs. MIX.

Betcha KEYBOARD is next. That mag has gotten very scrawny. Too bad.

[Jay Reynolds]

I decided long ago to work with the best talent I could find around me, and I got lucky by living in Santa Barbara, which is, or used to be, full of a lot of talented musicians.

A sound decision, IMHO. If you fail, or if you succeed, they can't take away your dignity.



Seriously, I really like your posts. I've been a "fan" since the Logic Pro forum.

[Nick Sevilla]

I decided long ago to work with the best talent I could find around me, and I got lucky by living in Santa Barbara, which is, or used to be, full of a lot of talented musicians.

A sound decision, IMHO. If you fail, or if you succeed, they can't take away your dignity.



Seriously, I really like your posts. I've been a "fan" since the Logic Pro forum.

Thanks... I have been off the Logic post more and more. Sometimes I go there to solve hardware issues, but their tone has been getting more and more like teenagers watching a tire fire...

I'm still here though... and over at the PSW forum, discussing mostly microphone things.

Cheers