Goodbye Saxophone Journal
- Thread starter Gandalfe
- Start date
Interesting, but not surprising. The only thing that's surprising is that they managed to hold out as long as they have.
I would have continued supporting them, but after nearly 10 years of buying the journal, the format hardly seemed to change, and I usually never found more than a few of the articles per issue interesting. It simply wasn't enough to justify the hefty price. I finally stopped buying it 9 years ago.
Like all print media, electronic media probably severely hurt them. Evolve or die. Massive newspaper empires are crumbling all around us, so it shouldn't be a surprise that a little publication like the Saxophone Journal is folding.
I would have continued supporting them, but after nearly 10 years of buying the journal, the format hardly seemed to change, and I usually never found more than a few of the articles per issue interesting. It simply wasn't enough to justify the hefty price. I finally stopped buying it 9 years ago.
Like all print media, electronic media probably severely hurt them. Evolve or die. Massive newspaper empires are crumbling all around us, so it shouldn't be a surprise that a little publication like the Saxophone Journal is folding.
I stopped buying it longer ago than even that. Essentially the same reason as Helen: not enough content I was interested in to justify the price. I bet those CD/DVD inserts cost quite a bit, too.
(FWIW, it does say on the Dorn Publications website that this is the final issue.)
(FWIW, it does say on the Dorn Publications website that this is the final issue.)
I feel much the same way. One thing that they persisted in is what I've always called the "Expert Celebrity Interview". In different magazines, the "expert" always has a different 'talent' (racing driver, fashion model, musician), and the 'talent' doesn't really fit well with a written interview (i.e., you can't really relate how to drive in a race, or how to walk and pose like a model). So, in the end the iinterview just drifts around as the duo seek out something that can be talked about.
The jazz musician interviews in the Saxophone Journal were typical of these. The specialist interviews (where someone actually explained issues that were capable of explanation) were okay, but were usually poorly written. The best stuff in the magazine was the historic articles put together by my separated at birth twin Dr. Cohen, but they were few and far between.
I haven't bought an issue in years, even when I could find it. I gave up on subscribing even further back, as they never delivered on their promises to send me all of the issue due.
The jazz musician interviews in the Saxophone Journal were typical of these. The specialist interviews (where someone actually explained issues that were capable of explanation) were okay, but were usually poorly written. The best stuff in the magazine was the historic articles put together by my separated at birth twin Dr. Cohen, but they were few and far between.
I haven't bought an issue in years, even when I could find it. I gave up on subscribing even further back, as they never delivered on their promises to send me all of the issue due.
I have every issue, but recently the valuable information contained in each issue has decreased, while the publication has tended to become a shill for Steve Goodson. Good-bye.
The few times someone mentioned that there is something interesting in this magazine, it was a little annoying that it was only available in a physical copy. You can even get a lot of books online now. If they change to a PDF version I might consider it. Otherwise I see no reason for something like this now...
Mind you, I've only leafed through the Saxophone Journal in the past few years, but I do remember seeing a lot of articles from folks that advertised in the magazine. From a completely practical standpoint, I can understand sax businesses advertising in a sax magazine, especially if it's one of the very few out there. From a journalistic integrity standpoint, that's a bit questionable. Understandable, but questionable.
I've also mentioned that the Saxophone Journal had some editing problems. I cite just about every article about King instruments where "HN White" morphed into "NH White."
RE: clarnibass' point about online availability, however it's kinda like saying, "Do you think your online magazine can compete with the free stuff on many musicians' blogs, not to mention SOTW and other web forums?"
I think some of the problems with electronic media have been that there's no editor and you've got no real idea who's posting -- like, what his credentials are, etc. However, on a forum-style website -- like this one -- if you have a large enough and active enough staff, they can serve as very effective editors. In other words, if someone's posting BS, someone will call him out on it
.
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As a side question, which I may split into another thread, what would YOU like to see in an online sax magazine?
I've also mentioned that the Saxophone Journal had some editing problems. I cite just about every article about King instruments where "HN White" morphed into "NH White."
RE: clarnibass' point about online availability, however it's kinda like saying, "Do you think your online magazine can compete with the free stuff on many musicians' blogs, not to mention SOTW and other web forums?"
I think some of the problems with electronic media have been that there's no editor and you've got no real idea who's posting -- like, what his credentials are, etc. However, on a forum-style website -- like this one -- if you have a large enough and active enough staff, they can serve as very effective editors. In other words, if someone's posting BS, someone will call him out on it
.===================
As a side question, which I may split into another thread, what would YOU like to see in an online sax magazine?
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They make those for male dogs who have been neutered too. They're called "neuticles". How long have you had yours?
From Wikipedia:
There was a rather amusing episode of Penn & Teller's "BS" Showtime show (not safe for work -- NSFW -- language) that was on this topic. That's US tax dollars at work for ya. Anyhow, there is a website and videos of the procedure. This week, my 10-year-old wants to be a vet. I should have her watch said procedure.
Oh. I almost forgot. www.neuticles.com also has a "merchandise mart." They have just the thing for the ladies: Neuticles earrings.
Reply re: Would You Like to See an Online Saxophone Magazine?
Can I second that question? I have just taken over as Editor of Flute Focus online magazine - www.flutefocus.com - and we would really like to fairly quickly add a sister site for saxophone players/enthusiasts, perhaps also a Clarinet Focus site. We have the resources to make all of these sites really high quality. But I would like to hear from folks about what they would like to see in such publications which we would suppliment with printed and/or .pdf editions, video courses on subscription course sites, music publishing and much more.
I would love to hear from you, either here or at peter@flutefocus.com (after March 25th -- before that at fluteinjazz@gmail.com.
Peter Westbrook
Mind you, I've only leafed through the Saxophone Journal in the past few years, but I do remember seeing a lot of articles from folks that advertised in the magazine. From a completely practical standpoint, I can understand sax businesses advertising in a sax magazine, especially if it's one of the very few out there. From a journalistic integrity standpoint, that's a bit questionable. Understandable, but questionable.
I've also mentioned that the Saxophone Journal had some editing problems. I cite just about every article about King instruments where "HN White" morphed into "NH White."
RE: clarnibass' point about online availability, however it's kinda like saying, "Do you think your online magazine can compete with the free stuff on many musicians' blogs, not to mention SOTW and other web forums?"
I think some of the problems with electronic media have been that there's no editor and you've got no real idea who's posting -- like, what his credentials are, etc. However, on a forum-style website -- like this one -- if you have a large enough and active enough staff, they can serve as very effective editors. In other words, if someone's posting BS, someone will call him out on it
===================
As a side question, which I may split into another thread, what would YOU like to see in an online sax magazine?
Can I second that question? I have just taken over as Editor of Flute Focus online magazine - www.flutefocus.com - and we would really like to fairly quickly add a sister site for saxophone players/enthusiasts, perhaps also a Clarinet Focus site. We have the resources to make all of these sites really high quality. But I would like to hear from folks about what they would like to see in such publications which we would suppliment with printed and/or .pdf editions, video courses on subscription course sites, music publishing and much more.
I would love to hear from you, either here or at peter@flutefocus.com (after March 25th -- before that at fluteinjazz@gmail.com.
Peter Westbrook
Hey, it's another Peter. Sorry for your post's delay. We've got an anti-spam feature that tends not to like newbies posting links in their first post. I'm generally good at looking at the message queue, but I just missed your post.
I'm probably one of the worst folks in the world to talk to about a saxophone magazine, because I've got an extremely narrow focus on saxophones: pretty pictures, manufacturing, historical info. I can branch out more on clarinet, because I can get into more of the music side. I have an interesting relationship with flute, because one of the most popular features I did on my saxophone blog was about Claude Laurent's flutes. (This is probably why I like stuff like "Cat Blues" from the Cowboy Bebop OST -- bass clarinet and flute.)
Anyhow, I think the big thing is to determine what you can offer that's better than what you can get on someone's blog or on a forum. Well, aside from better editing, that is.
I'm probably one of the worst folks in the world to talk to about a saxophone magazine, because I've got an extremely narrow focus on saxophones: pretty pictures, manufacturing, historical info. I can branch out more on clarinet, because I can get into more of the music side. I have an interesting relationship with flute, because one of the most popular features I did on my saxophone blog was about Claude Laurent's flutes. (This is probably why I like stuff like "Cat Blues" from the Cowboy Bebop OST -- bass clarinet and flute.)
Anyhow, I think the big thing is to determine what you can offer that's better than what you can get on someone's blog or on a forum. Well, aside from better editing, that is
.
I assume you are aware when The Saxophone Journal sank like the Titantic, an e-zine called Saxophone Today appeared.
Anyhow, I think the big thing is to determine what you can offer that's better than what you can get on someone's blog or on a forum. Well, aside from better editing, that is
+1
So how would what you're proposing be different from the e-zine I mentioned?
Magazines got their name from the traditional meaning of magazine, which was a storehouse of specialized items, in the case of warships a room below decks for the storage of ammunition, or in the case of a shorebound military a storehouse of specialized military equipment. Over time, the term morphed many ways - there is a department store in Copenhagen called Magazin Du Nord, and in Russia, a magazin is a department store.
The unfortunate thing about magazine publishing is that it almost exactly mirrors blogging. After all, hat is this site if not a collection of specialist musings about a given topic? Where one of the great advantages of printed magazines was once the ability to reproduce photographs and drawings, the expansion of the World Wide Web into our current playground quickly allowed easy reproduced documents and photographs to be "hosted" as part of the on-line equivalent.
But, wait - there's more. With a magazine, if you want to include sound, you have to reproduce it in disk form and suffer the added mailing penalty. With the web, attaching sound files (or videos) is about as complicated as adding a photo to a website.
Add to this the fact that any bonehead with half a brain and a computer can create a halfway decent website, and you have conquered the last hurdle that used to make a magazine a hard to create object. No more printing, no more mailing, no more subscription listing (and, most important, no more need for money to cover all of these items).
With all of these advantages, it's no wonder that specialist publications like The Saxophone Journal are falling by the wayside.
Having said that, I'm not going to be attending any wake. I found The Saxophone Journal to be way too jazz-centric, with typical unfocused artist interviews so typical of music publications. I've even given up on the International Clarinet Society (after a thirty year run, with two published submissions), largely for the same reasons.
The unfortunate thing about magazine publishing is that it almost exactly mirrors blogging. After all, hat is this site if not a collection of specialist musings about a given topic? Where one of the great advantages of printed magazines was once the ability to reproduce photographs and drawings, the expansion of the World Wide Web into our current playground quickly allowed easy reproduced documents and photographs to be "hosted" as part of the on-line equivalent.
But, wait - there's more. With a magazine, if you want to include sound, you have to reproduce it in disk form and suffer the added mailing penalty. With the web, attaching sound files (or videos) is about as complicated as adding a photo to a website.
Add to this the fact that any bonehead with half a brain and a computer can create a halfway decent website, and you have conquered the last hurdle that used to make a magazine a hard to create object. No more printing, no more mailing, no more subscription listing (and, most important, no more need for money to cover all of these items).
With all of these advantages, it's no wonder that specialist publications like The Saxophone Journal are falling by the wayside.
Having said that, I'm not going to be attending any wake. I found The Saxophone Journal to be way too jazz-centric, with typical unfocused artist interviews so typical of music publications. I've even given up on the International Clarinet Society (after a thirty year run, with two published submissions), largely for the same reasons.
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I wasn't aware of that. However, I also wasn't looking. So, I checked it out. Ewww ... PDF. However, that means I bet each issue will be someplace on the web for free ....
All this looks like is a PDF version of the print magazine. While virtually eliminating the cost of publishing a print version, it really doesn't address the content issues we've mentioned.
Back in the days when you needed to be able to use HTML to create webpages, that might have been true. Now thanks to CMS like WordPress, even a chimp can have a blog, or even a website.
As a matter of fact, I'm sure somewhere in the world, at some zoo, some chimp does.