Cyclic Defrost

An Australian magazine focusing on interesting music

Grooves Magazine goes digital-only

One of the inspirations for Cyclic Defrost being a print mag – the Canadian (oops, New Jersey-based!) Grooves Magazine – has gone digital only, completely dropping its print version.

It is with a mixture of sadness and excitement that I am announcing that after six years, Grooves will no longer be a print publication, but will become an all-digital magazine effective with our next issue. There are a number of reasons for this decision, but I have determined this is the best way for Grooves to continue forward.

I hope this is not an omen.

There was something special about print magazines – especially when they are done well, as Grooves was. The tactile nature, their portability to places where internet and computers do not (and should not go – the toilet, for example), and their permanence and resulting ‘authority’ – the inability to be revised, updated makes for a certain commitment from both reader and writer.

I know from bitter experience how hard print magazines are. We do Cyclic Defrost as a print magazine, a PDF magazine, and as a database driven website to try to meet the different preferred styles amongst our readers. Every issue Dale and I think hard about dropping the print version, but for some reason we keep coming back. If we were a pay-for magazine like Grooves things might be different.

We wish Sean the best of luck with the all-digital version of Grooves.

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  • http://groovesmag.com Sean

    Hey Sebastian and/or Dale,

    Thanks for blogging on this. The decision to move away from print was not easy, and based on a number of factors. The bottom line was that going digital was the only way we could keep Grooves going in a form I would be satisfied with.

    I’m with you that print is and has been a superior medium. That said, one of the biggest frustrations I had publishing Grooves was how difficult it was to get overseas distribution and reach English-speaking IDM/experimental electronic music fans outside North America. Even when we could, people had to wait weeks to get a new issue.

    So now anyone anywhere can get a new issue immediately. Considering an issue of The Wire can sometimes cost $8 here, $10 for four issues isn’t so bad. I hope people check out the free trial issue we’ll have available in a weeks and continue to support us.

    BTW, we’re firmly located in New Jersey, so we are not Canadian.

    Thanks, Sean
    Groovesmag.com

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Cyclic Defrost is Australia’s only specialist electronic music magazine. We cover independent electronic music, avant-rock, experimental sound art and leftfield hip hop. Read more

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