Mandolin Magazine Ceases Publication

[NewsFetcher]

The Mandolin Cafe has posted the following news release:
Mandolin Magazine Ceases Publication

Mandolin Magazine has announced they have ceased publication effective immediately. Please review the news release which contains their letter explaining instructions to subscribers.



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NOTE: You may use your board membership to comment on news articles published by the Mandolin Cafe. Your comments will appear here and also will be appended to the end of the news article for public viewing. Standard board membership posting guidelines apply.

[AlanN]

This, although not surprising, is sad.

[mandomedic]

Sorry to see it end. Ginny worked very hard on this publication from the very beginning. I was glad to be a small part of it in the beginning. The best to you Ginny.

[mandolinfox]

I feel like I lost a good friend.

[mandroid]

Oh well At least I know I Didn't Miss an Issue * now its a complete set.. hope she sends a check for the additional numbers
that were to be delivered, of a 2 year pre paid deal, but now will Not.

* In spite of My not being able to work so well from Notation ( I do better By ear )..

[mcgroup53]

As one of her original writers, I deeply appreciate the hard work and passion Ginny put into this publication. The back issues will remain a valuable resource to mandolin players for years to come.

David McCarty

[Nick Royal]

I really enjoyed Mandolin Magazine a lot, and over the years have gotten to know many of the great players featured in various issues. I loved the variety of mando styles covered in each issue.

[Dale Ludewig]

A wonderful publication and a class act from the beginning. Ginny worked hard on this for the entire time. Kudos to her and all the writers.

[Jim Garber]

Sad... I always look fwd to the new issues. Best to Ginny and I certainly understand the appreciate the amount of work that went into producing that magazine.

[CWRoyds]

Sad as it is, we should get used to the disappearance of traditional print media.
Magazines and Newspapers are going the way of the Dodo.
It is just the way it is.

[dulcillini]

So sorry to hear this. I really looked forward to this publication every quarter. I will definitely order back issues, if available.

[Upnorth]

Sad as it is, we should get used to the disappearance of traditional print media.
Magazines and Newspapers are going the way of the Dodo.
It is just the way it is.

It is not just traditional print that is vulnerable. Websites are too. I have in the past followed websites which were eventually taken down or cocooned.

Websites are less expensive and less time-consuming than printed magazines, but they do not run themselves. They need to be funded and edited by people who give up their time and money. Sometimes the site can be funded from advertising, and this site does carry ads for luthiers. However very few sites can hope to attract enough advertising revenue as to be able to afford to pay a salary to its editors.

In case I forget to say this ever again, thank you to the people who run this website.

[CWRoyds]

UpNorth,

You are absolutely correct.
In fact most of the web Forums we enjoy are run by dedicated individuals who struggle to keep things running.
I am a long time member of an Indian Sitar forum, which is the premier (and best of very few) Sitar Forum on the web.
It is run by one guy in Texas, who works really hard to keep it going.
These things take a ton of time and money.

BUT this is the way of the world.
Media changes and not all ventures are successful or have longevity.
You just have to support the things you love and help them succeed.
I try to donate a few bucks to the Sitar forum a couple of times a year.
Without that extra cash from members it would disappear quickly.

[Dale Pauline]

This is sad news. Although I had a tough time getting my issues in a timely manner I enjoyed them when they got here.

Will anyone.....please...take over this venture!

[Nick Royal]

I want to add another comment re: the ending of Mandolin Magazine. I liked various of the columns a lot! I wonder if there is a way they could continue...in some format?

[almeriastrings]

One of the things that is killing print is postage charges. Quite simply, they are now outrageously costly, especially for international subscribers. Outside of mandolins, I edit and publish a scientific/technical journal, and each edition costs over $4,700 just to mail. That has increased by more than 3X since 10 years ago, and it is at the point where if you pass the entire cost on to subscribers, you lose them, because individually, the cost is prohibitive. I would have liked to receive Mandolin Magazine, but when I checked it out, the cost for overseas subscribers was ridiculous. This was not their fault... it is just how things are now. Postal costs have gone up beyond recognition. Print costs and bulk shipping from the printers to the point of addressing/mailing has increased drastically, too. The end result, though, was that I never did subscribe. The only viable option these days is to offer some form of digital subscription model. For the publisher, it is more profitable, and for the subscriber, not only much, much cheaper but gives instant access - no more 'lost in the mail', either, which has also gotten much worse over the years. Yes, there is a risk of piracy, but that has existed ever since photocopiers... and there are delivery systems that make it harder. It is just another thing you have to get used to and accept will happen to some degree. It is a real shame to see so many small, independent, quality magazines and journals going the way of the Dodo, but if you have good content, then there is always someone who will want to access it - it is just the delivery systems that are evolving. You have to stay a bit ahead of the curve, in that regard, otherwise, you can, and will, get left behind.

[Al Bergstein]

I certainly hope that the columnists that contributed their incredible work to M.M. will be hired by Mandolin Cafe to do the same, at a subscription cost as an added product of the Cafe. Being able to download a PDF of the articles would be something I'd be glad to subscribe to.

I have really enjoyed Mandolin Magazine and hope to that this is not the end, but the ability for someone to find a way forward that is economically viable.

All the best to everyone who made it what it was.

[Ryk Loske]

I certainly hope that the columnists that contributed their incredible work to M.M. will be hired by Mandolin Cafe to do the same, at a subscription cost as an added product of the Cafe. Being able to download a PDF of the articles would be something I'd be glad to subscribe to.

I have really enjoyed Mandolin Magazine and hope to that this is not the end, but the ability for someone to find a way forward that is economically viable.

All the best to everyone who made it what it was.

Great idea Al. Sign me up!

Ryk

[DSDarr]

PDFs and audio files! Something I always thought was missing..

Great idea Al!

-David

[Mandolin Cafe]

Bringing this past announcement and its discussion to the top because with the publishing of the contents of back issues I know there are going to be the inevitable questions so answering them in advance.

Call this an FAQ, Frequently Asked Questions if you will.

1) Where can I get back copies of the magazine?

You'll need to buy them used, sometimes available on our Classifieds. We do not have copies of back issues and are unable to get in contact with the publisher, which is pretty much everyone's experience. We don't even know if they're still available.

2) Will you be publishing articles, PDFs, lessons, etc., etc. from the magazine?

No. Although with the closing of the site and expiration of the domain name we still have possession of a limited number of articles and lessons, this is not content we have own and there isn't enough of it to be of much value. We are only providing a list of the past contents because we did control that information and it could be made readily available for those interested.

That's about it. Simply making this information available so that it can be accessed if need be.

[JFDilmando]

Search works beautifully. Thanks for getting this up and running