RTP-area local music and culture

[grady <grady AT ibiblio.org>]

Hmm, and yet, from all obvious indicators, small music websites (such 
as, say, Pitchfork) seem to be thriving. Perhaps it is simply the 
grinding up of trees & applying words to them, and then mailing the 
resulting product individually to people that is becoming obsolete?

I have to say, I was kind of surprised that No Depression decided to 
simply pack it in entirely, rather than going web-only. Sure, a few 
years ago "going web-only" was essentially the same as packing it in, 
but I would argue that in 2008, going web-only is the only logical move 
for small-circulation niche magazines.

Sure, I still subscribe to a half-dozen magazines, but I think this year 
is the year that a lot of those are going to lapse without renewals. 
Everybody except for the New Yorker, in fact. I get tired of not reading 
them & then having to recycle them. So much easier to not-read online 
magazines, and you don't have to lug anything out to the curb when 
you're done.

Speaking as one of the earliest contributors to No Depression, I have 
nothing but respect & admiration for Peter Blackstock (and not just 
because of his seemingly bottomless collection of "Wichita Lineman" 
covers). I'm sorry to see them backed into this corner, and I certainly 
have a fair amount of nostalgia for the days when a lovingly-assembled 
bimonthly magazine could be a magical gateway into a whole universe of 
undiscovered music.

But those days were obsoleted by Teh Internets long before ND announced 
it was ceasing publication. I will say that there's a certain amount of 
fascination in watching one obsolete distribution medium dragged down by 
its over-reliance on income from another obsolete distribution medium.

Ross

DJ Golf wrote:
> No Depression will stop publishing this summer, acc. to this story.
> Small music mag publishers cite decreased advertising buys from record
> labels as the main cause of their struggles...
>
> http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19357366