So long Bass Player magazine

Just got this email…

We are writing to let you know that with deep regret, the October 2022 issue of Bass Player will be the last one printed. This was not an easy decision for us to make. Bass Player’s content has never been better, sales and subscription numbers are healthy, so the problem is not that people don’t want to read BP. It’s the cost of publishing a physical magazine in an impossibly difficult market that has caused the end of the best bass magazine ever.

A bummer, were some good articles in there and I liked having an actual mag show up every month.

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Like everything else it’s going online

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Yep. And it will do extremely well online.

My wife was a journalist who specialized as a magazine feature writer. The vast majority of those gigs have dried up.

She got her second masters degree and teaches writing at a university now. So it goes.

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With so many magazines going the electronic route, it’s no surprise. We’ll get to the point where no magazine will be printed. Part of it is the cost of printing, but a big portion is mailing it out. Prices to mail periodicals will keep rising, sometimes once a year, sometimes twice, depending on the Postal Regulatory Commission’s recommendations. Bulk mail prices for periodicals are much lower than first class rates, but they’re still going up too, along with the first class.

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Oh man! I just bought a copy of this for the first time for some leisure reading on a camping trip. Cliff Burton was on the cover and I was very surprised how much good content was packed into it – not just adds like some guitar mags I remember. There is something peaceful about reading things in print.

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The thing is, you can take a magazine anywhere but you can’t take a computer (unless it’s a laptop or a tablet of course, and they’re not as portable as a physical magazine). Taking a laptop into the bathroom isn’t really an option :smiley:

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I don’t like reading magazines online. Barely like reading books electronically.

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I have a Kindle and love reading books on it because it’s so portable but it’s different with a magazine thanks to pictures. It’s just not the same.

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The times they are a’changin’.

Everyone “Googles” info about stuff they care about. When they do, they’re given a slew of website options where they can visit to find the content they’re looking for. Been that way since there’ve been reliable search engines.

Long-format stuff, e.g., magazine articles, were born in print mags. But they can, and do, operate just as easily online. My Acoustic Player Magazine was one of the first online magazines back at the turn of this century. The biggest stumbling block for subscribers back then was slow Internet connection speeds. That obstacle is a thing of the past now.

Online mags can deliver all the print content of conventional magazines, plus expanded graphics capabilities AND videos.

While the days of curling up with a print mag are all but over, the content will still be available on phones, tablets and laptops for devotees to access. Even desktops, if sitting in a comfy office chair is more your bag.

Onward, to the future.

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I have not looked at a print book or magazine in years. Honestly, I’ve been hitting their website and didn’t even know they still printed it. shrug

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Ironically, my magazine publishing career ended in 2004 for the very same reason. I’m surprised there are ANY magazines left anymore.

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i have this argument all the time with my dad. he hates the whole idea of reading books online. i read easily 50x more books then i used to, now that i do it on my kindle (literally, i read really fast and download almost a book a day on it). it’s far more convenient and i’m to the point that i find it physically uncomfortable reading a regular print book. i’m sorry, tradition is fine and i’m hardly a save the earth hippy guy, but i don’t see the point of killing a zillion trees to make a bunch of books and newspapers.

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I replaced physical books with a Kindle years ago. Much easier

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Ditto

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Maybe I need to try a kindle. I use my iPad and hate it so keep buying regular books.

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+1 for the kindle. You can adjust the brightness (so outside in bright light you can still read it and dim it for nighttime) and after years of reading with one. I don’t miss paper books.
It’s nothing as tiring as reading on an IPad

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Actually the dark mode on low contrast is doable. I have read a few books without getting eye fatigue, but I mainly use Kindle for reading comics. I got over 1000 comics :sweat_smile:

I might still get a Kindle device just because of the weight and the ink screen.

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I’ll put it on my list for Santa.
I am saddened about what to do with all these books once I’m finished with them.

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This is why I chose the kindle. Camping trips, river trips. It’s small, lightweight, long battery life and peanuts compared to buying an IPad.

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I try and give mine away to friends whom I think might enjoy them.

Or you could relive Fahrenheit 451 and burn them all?

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