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Feedback/Ideas for New Magazine?

Hi Guys,

In perusing the forums here at A-gon it is very apparent to me that many of you do not trust commercial magazines and reviewers. Obviously, with any magazine the derives its income mainly from commercial advertising, questions always arise regarding reviewer bias and the mag's political slant. I constantly see the question, "Why are there no negative reviews?"

Having been a reviewer for 4 magazines, I know the insider's perspective of why there are very few negative reviews published. In life, it is true that you get what you pay for, and since many of the e-zines are free and the print mags are very inexpensive because they pack in lots of advertising dollars to cover their costs, this maxim holds true.

More and more lately, I've been leaning toward starting my own audio magazine, which would allow me the freedom to be unusually candid and truthful about the topics and review gear the magazine covers.

My question, is: "Would you be willing support a magazine that is mainly funded by subscriptions if you had to pay a minimal yearly fee for it?" Please be honest, because as much as I'd love to start a venture like this, there's no point in doing it if there won't be a market for it. I'm speaking of an online publication to begin with; print would come much later, if at all.

Let me know what you think, and feel free to e-mail me privately if you prefer.

Thank You!
plato
slappy
903 posts
 
Marco you rock!

BigKids, there is an idea right there.

Plato, why not have a part of the magazine dedicated to small mom-&-Pops audio companys? the ones who cannot afford advertising?

As marco said, getting gear sent to you for review from the known high-end companys requires connections.

Why not contact the mom & pops audio companys and ask for a demo of thier gear? you could set a section of the magazine aside for that purpose, and im sure that some of these people trying to get what could be very excellent products into the market would jump at the opportunity to have thier gear reviewed for all to see.

seek and find out the hidden gems?
sean
6,231 posts
 
Plato: I have no problem paying for something that i enjoy and feel to be a reliable source of info. I have stated publicly on AA and on this forum that i wouldn't mind paying as much as $10 an issue ( subscription price ) for a really good mag that did not have advertising in it. After all, it is easy to piss that much money away on a magazine or two that lack integrity and / or consistency. As such, i'd rather pay more for one and at least have something that offered usable content.

Other than that, you don't have any affiliation with Attainable Audio, do you ??? : ) Sean
>
plato OP
1,543 posts
 
Hi Sean,

I appreciate your comments and encouragement. In my opinion, you are one of the most well-liked, respected, and valuable contributors to this forum, and it would be an honor to have you as one of my subscribers. And no, I have no afiliation with Attainable Audio.

Slappy, it's possible that the mag could devote space to small operations that have promising, and possibly cutting-edge products to offer -- but there would be no favoritism involved, i.e., their products would be held to the same standards and scrutiny as all the other products we review. But, if they think they have something special and want to submit it for review, I'd certainly be open to covering it.

Frank :)
barrelchief
294 posts
 
Review equip from ALL price ranges.

Review accessories such as speaker switch controlers, so if someone really needs to utilize this type of equipment, they are armed with some opinion to hopefully chose the best performer for the dollar.

The one thing that I would like to see most is a review of factory upgrades. Many manufacturers offer equiment upgrades "MK II." On a regular basis, I would like to see an a/b comparrison of the original version to that which was upgraded...is the upgrade a good value or is it time to consider a new component overall??? At one point within the past year, my front end, pre amp and power amp all were capable of a manufacturer's upgrade to the newest version. If I had $1000 to spend on an upgrade and this was the average price for each of the individual upgrades, how would I know which one of these upgrades would give the largest return on my upgrade investment?

Just my thoughts.
clueless
763 posts
 
Hi Plato:

Are you considering the classic hardcopy magazine or an online magazine?

There are staggering costs associated with hardcopy and it makes going w/o advertising very difficult. A number of small specialty mags have bit the dust and those left standing have moved on to video and HT. IMHO, there are powerful $$$ reasons for this.

I suggest (if you have not already) you talk to an editor like Ed Dell of AudioXpress (I remember a lead editorial about a year ago bemoaning the lack of advertising and the implications for his mag) or Dave Robinson/Dave Clark of Positive Feedback (now online) about it.

Cheers and Good Luck
I remain,
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