Grooves Magazine goes digital-only

0

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.

Share.

About Author

Seb Chan founded Cyclic Defrost Magazine in 1998 with Dale Harrison. He handed over the reins at the end of 2010 but still contributes the occasional article and review.