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View Full Version : Who's next and what does this mean for print-based audiophile mags?



Neil McCauley
12-02-2016, 17:13
"The Independent and Independent on Sunday newspapers are to cease print editions in March, leaving only an online-edition, the owner has said"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35561145

The logic of their decision seems, albeit from a distance, sound. Putting emotion (nostalgia and so on) to one side, the cold, hard economic reality of the print business must surely – sooner or later – have an impact on one or more of the UK's remaining audio magazines; one of which if reports are to believed enjoy <8k paid-for buyers per month.

I think it's inevitable that this time next year we will have one less audiophile print publication. One or more might migrate to digital only.

What's not clear currently, given the increase in ad-blocker software tools and the the increasing use of these tools by digital readers, what an economically viable business model might look like. After all, some of the print-based writers are highly competent, engaging and informative. But they aren't gamblers. So if migrating to digital, where the public demand information for free and advertisers are both scarce and sceptical – how will the writers be paid?

Neil McCauley
12-02-2016, 18:05
Lebedev attempted to position the closure of the 30-year old Independent as a bold transition to a digital-only future.

“The newspaper industry is changing, and that change is being driven by readers,” said Lebedev. “They’re showing us that the future is digital.