Play Guitar Magazine

That is a bit sad. I have quit taking the mags because usually there is so much that is just worthless, IMHO. But I really likeds Play Guitar. It had very useful information and atleast ONE very brilliant writer. hint hint.

Jim

But I really likes Play Guitar. It had very useful information and at least ONE very brilliant writer. hint hint.

Jim
I counted 2 GNers that fit that category.
One of whom has an article about maintaining your guitar in the current Acoustic Guitar issue.

I liked it, guess it didn't really catch on. For a quarterly mag they could have made it bigger (or cheaper) and it might have survived. OTOH, I re subscribed to AG after letting my subscription run out a few months ago, only thing I don't like about it is that they've never reviewed a guitar that they didn't like.

only thing I don't like about it is that they've never reviewed a guitar that they didn't like.

Has any magazine ever run a negative review about any product?

yeah, guitarplayer does.

What a pity. I bought it here, in a local store. It was a very good magazine for the beginner and also everybody. I have three or four issues. I didn't find the two last issues, they are in the webpage but they didn't send them. Acoustic Magazine is also good but it only covers the gear and techniques related to acoustic guitars.

Perphaps David or Noteboat have more info. They publish some articles in those magazines.

As far as I know, they're going to continue to publish... but only as an online magazine. The parent company, String Letter Publishing, also "repositioned" another magazine to web-only at the same time - Guitar Teacher magazine.

At least some of the departments and columns that had been in Play Guitar magazine are being moved to Acoustic Guitar.

That's about all I know - David may have more details.

I too was disappointed. I never was a subscriber, but I found the onlinne articles quite good. Actially, I tried to get the free issue-subscription feature on the website and became dismayed when I clicked on it ans was nre-directed to the Acoustic Guitar website. I still signed up for the free issue; we'll see how it is. I subscribed to both Guitar Player and Guitar World, each for about a year, and found most of the contents to be of no use to me. I don't buy a lot of gear, so all of th reviews don't interest me, and I don't even understand what a lot of gear does.

Play Guitar did seem it would be more geared to mu experience level - that is advanced beginner to intermediate. I'm glad to hear that at least the mag will continue online.

I subscribed to it also! Loved it.... The lessons were simplified. I don't know about Acoustic Guitar - not as good in my opinion. You should have gotten the notice that you can suscribe to "Acoustic Guitar" for 1 year for $12. So, why not?

Bob Jessie

a note explaining that they were ceasing publication of Play Guitar and Guitar Teacher magazines (and converting existing subscriptions to Acoustic Guitar).

Huh? Is that a common practice? If I buy a car and they stop making it, can they just take my money and give me a random other car?

Yes, it's a common practice. Unlike cars, when you buy a magazine you're buying future goods, and if they become unavailable, what are the options?

A better analogy would be ordering a custom sports car from a manufacturer and paying for it up front... and then the car maker going bankrupt. Would you rather have a car they've got on hand, even if it's not what you ordered, or nothing at all?

I've had both experiences with magazines. Maybe 15 years ago I subscribed to one that immediately went bust - the issue I'd bought at a newstand ended up being the only one I ever saw. The company didn't publish anything else, so all I ended up with was my cancelled check for $12 or so.

But if a publishing company does print other magazines, they'll usually 'convert' the remaining subscriptions to a similar title.... or at least, a similar title in their opinion. I subscribed to a quarterly classical piano magazine that included several pieces of music in each issue, interviews with classical pianists and composers, etc. When it went bust, the company converted subscriptions to another magazine they published that was entirely devoted to reviews of electronic keyboards - absolutely useless to me.

Not much you can do about it. At least the dollar amounts involved are generally small.

Thats just... bizarre. If I buy a custom sports car and they can't deliver I want my money back. I know companies can go bankrupt and all but that's just crazy. You don't go suddenly bankrupt in one month, you can see that coming. So if you still allow people to subscribe, while knowing you won't make the end of the month, that's just plain theft. Ofcourse it isnt about too much money but my head would explode if it would happen to me!

Ofcourse it isnt about too much money but my head would explode if it would happen to me!

We are glad that it didn't happen to you. :shock:

So if you still allow people to subscribe, while knowing you won't make the end of the month, that's just plain theft.

No, it's business.

Think of it this way: you need to sell two more subscriptions to stay in business. An order comes in....

Do you say: "we appreciate the order, and we'll probably be around to deliver..."

If you do that, you can guarantee word will spread, you won't get the last order you need, and you'll be unable to ship. So you say nothing, and take the order.

If you get the last order you need, everything is fine. If you don't, you can't ship. That's the way it works.

The people who end up having to close their magazines aren't thieves - you can pretty much guarantee they lost a lot more than any subsciber could have.