Wednesday, May 26, 2010

What Happened to Folk Mags?


Folk mags, like all print periodicals, are suffering these days. Advertising is down, expenses are going up, and fewer people are spending money subscribing and buying hard copy issues when they can get much of their music news online. First was No Depression (still alive and well in the blogosphere, as you can see here), then industry stalwart Performing Songwriter closed up shop and now Dirty Linen could be next. As you can read in this blog posting "What Happened to Dirty Linen?" the founding editors Paul & Sue Hartman have left the helm. Although I'm not sure if the Dirty Linen radio show will remain on XM/Sirius, Paul will continue to host his show on WTMD in Towson, MD.

Although the quarterly mag Sing Out! missed its winter issue, it seems to still be holding on, and they just released a beautiful 60th anniversary issue. If you are a fan of the old-school magazine that is high on content and true to its folk roots, I recommend buying a copy and keeping such publications alive.

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