Stereophile and related sites Sold: Layoffs have begun.

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by ServingTheMusic, Apr 7, 2018.

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  1. rpd

    rpd Senior Member

    Location:
    Nashville
    That’s what I think too...
     
    McLover likes this.
  2. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    Agreed about what you say about Shutterbug. The last honest photo magazine which was reliable and uncorruptible. They had great reviewers, and solid information. And the ads relevant and worth reading. I want that to stay the way it is.
     
    JohnO likes this.
  3. timind

    timind phorum rezident

    We know print media is gasping to stay alive. What's depressing to me about this video is these are old guys running this enterprise. Where are the young guns waiting in the wings to step in when they retire? Any business with a future has young people scrambling to take over. Is that happening here?

    I started reading Stereophile back in the late 80s when it was a journal size publication. Before the internet, they used to print 10+ pages of letters to the editor; always a fun read. No point here, just typing.
     
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  4. Roland Stone

    Roland Stone Offending Member

    I think the market's fragmenting too fast for a dedicated magazine to cover all the bases. The stereo system landscape has turned into an archipelago of islands drifting ever further apart. Vinyl, dedicated headphone systems, home cinema surround, computer literate streaming, computer illiterate single-box streaming, boring old legacy systems like mine . . . there's not a lot of interaction between these audiences.

    Now, I did get my beloved Music Hall Marimbas due to their recommendation, so it hasn't all been Rolexes and Aston-Martins.
     
    Last edited: Apr 8, 2018
  5. Kal Rubinson

    Kal Rubinson Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    It is still a little early. Announcements on the web site usually appear around the 10th-12th of the preceding month. Mailbox arrivals vary widely. I never see my print copy before the 15th.
     
  6. macster

    macster Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Diego, Ca. USA
    Thank you sir.

    M~
     
  7. brockgaw

    brockgaw Forum Resident

    These takeovers rarely are to the advantage of the end user. I agree, Jana was a breath of fresh air after the shaky-cam efforts from before. Michael's April Fools video was a nice touch. To penalize such efforts will erode the subscriber base---me included!
     
    audiolab1 likes this.
  8. Slippers-on

    Slippers-on Forum Resident

    Location:
    St.Louis Mo.
    Powerful pipe organ...and loved the harmony of that Curtis Mayfield tune. Thanks!
     
  9. Blair G.

    Blair G. Senior Member

    Location:
    Delta, BC, Canada
    How on Earth are people getting the magazine for $7 a year?
    That must be for the online mag, right?
    After 10 years of subscribing I routinely get renewal notices wanting $60+ USD for two years. I have to renew by phone to get it down to the $40 range. Maybe they like hammering us Canadians

    And what exactly does this Jana person do?
    I see her name mentioned in the mag but that's about it
     
  10. wellers73

    wellers73 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    Jana was doing some writing and reviews, but her most significant contribution was a huge upgrade in the quality of videos. She recognized the importance of having a strong social media and youtube presence (welcome to 2009, Stereophile guys!) and contributed lots of good looking and well produced videos to accompany articles on the website, as well as stand alone videos for the Stereophile youtube channel. I believe this was one of her first efforts:

     
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  11. wellers73

    wellers73 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    Kyhl, 33na3rd and Blair G. like this.
  12. Blair G.

    Blair G. Senior Member

    Location:
    Delta, BC, Canada
    Ah.....so that’s what Jana does (did).
    I don’t pay much attention to Stereophile’s video or online efforts.
    Maybe I should
     
    Morbius likes this.
  13. Blair G.

    Blair G. Senior Member

    Location:
    Delta, BC, Canada
    Thanks, had no idea all this stuff was out there
     
  14. wellers73

    wellers73 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    I was just rereading a few of the early things she wrote. I think I downplayed how good of a writer she is.
     
  15. Standingstones

    Standingstones Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Central PA
    The whole Stereophile enterprise is top heavy with aging white men. You would think that management would want to hold onto a young woman who was improving the video coverage of the magazine. Perhaps try to engage a younger audience into an interest in audio equipment. It seems not.
     
    Reamonnt, apesfan, Dan C and 17 others like this.
  16. ServingTheMusic

    ServingTheMusic Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    SoCal
    I think she was a fantastic addition...the problem is most of her videos featured "aging white men"....:rolleyes:
     
    head_unit, Dan C, brockgaw and 4 others like this.
  17. Morbius

    Morbius Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookline, MA
    Stereo Review, Hi Fidelity, Audio Magazine back when I was a kid in the 1970s featured aging white men. Remember Julian Hirsch? They still managed to get through to a younger audience at the time (me).
     
    head_unit, kronning, ls35a and 6 others like this.
  18. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    This is sad to hear. I used to be a subscriber to some of these magazines. When I was a kid I'd read every issue multiple times I was so into it. But when my system began to stabilize, and I was getting really happy with the sound, I largely lost interest in reading about equipment which I could never afford. So I let my subscription lapse. I'm betting that this is not an uncommon story.
     
    apesfan likes this.
  19. H8SLKC

    H8SLKC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    Oh I agree with frequent disagreements with Consumer Reports, but normally only in areas where I am "into" a particular hobby or very, very knowledgeable about some line of products. For example, their reviews of coffee makers are ****** to me, and in fact their last reviews completely left out the Moccamaster line of machines that are widely loved among coffee nerds.

    BUT, Consumer Reports is an honest, credible outfit that purchases every item they test and are devoted to only providing information for their subscribers. That alone is worth paying for. The fact that they don't get every nuance right about our hobby doesn't mean they aren't outstanding, in fact unique, in being trustworthy to provide overall good information on a wide range of products and services. By contrast, I find almost nothing that Fremer and his ilk say to be credible in the least.

    I crave some actual technical testing and application of non-junk science in the audio realm. The elite hobbyists probably don't want or need such testing, but the rest of us do. Things like comparos of Chi-Fi gear to boutique equipment, analysis and testing of signal quality from ranges of record players, frequency response and placement flexibility of different affordable speaker models, I would eagerly pay a publication to talk about things in the mid-fi range long before I'd ever pay to hear Fremer slobber over a turntable that costs 25K.

     
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  20. ServingTheMusic

    ServingTheMusic Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    SoCal
    I hear you. I think a big difference back then was there was far less voodoo in the hobby..no multi thousand dollar isolation devices, $20,000 interconnects,
    or $5000 record cleaning machines. It was much easier to sell the concept of better sound also because aside from FM, there was only vinyl for the masses.
     
    ls35a, apesfan, dchang81 and 3 others like this.
  21. timind

    timind phorum rezident

    Not sure how it works up north, but all I had to do was let my subscription lapse and I started getting little postcards with $7 per year subscription offers. Seems like they arrive monthly until I succumb.
     
    brockgaw likes this.
  22. Morbius

    Morbius Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookline, MA
    I hear you. Times have changed but the voodoo wouldn't be there if the market didn't support it. I think keeping an open mind is key to enjoying the hobby. I immerse myself in it and have no misgivings about any aspect of it.

    People have a hard time accepting there is an upper class that is catered to by one major segment of the audiophile market. Furthermore, its not made up of big corporations but small niche businesses made up of people like you and me with knowledge and ideas they want to exploit and maybe make a buck. I'm quite sure most of them don't get rich.

    Voodoo shmoodoo!
     
    apesfan likes this.
  23. cdash99

    cdash99 Senior Member

    Location:
    Mass
    The $7 is to show how many paid subscribers they have, so they can show advertisers how many eyeballs will see their ads. Helps to set rates, in theory.
     
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  24. ServingTheMusic

    ServingTheMusic Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    SoCal
    well...I see it differently...voodoo would not be possible unless those who position themselves as "voices of authority" legitmize it. And that is what
    people like Michael Fremer and Robert Harley have done.

    To your second point, I am all for a free market, and for suckers being parted with their money. Nothing illegal about $5000 power cords at all.
     
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  25. Morbius

    Morbius Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookline, MA
    You're right Michael Fremer is a jerk but Robert Harley helped bring us Music Matters Blue Note reissues so what if he brought us cables with dubious properties.
     
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