Gramophone sold

[visualnickmos]

Do we know how many copies?

[AmpH]

The main reason I have kept on reading Gramophone is that a copy is usually available to read in my local library. It will be interesting to see what the new owners make of it, but I would suggest that they begin with the aim of substantially improving the quality and depth of the reviews, which are surely still the bedrock of the magazine. It would also be nice to think that the Audio section ( with a new Audio Editor please ! ) would be significantly improved and uplifted - afterall music and audio do go hand in hand.

Presumably the new owners see a future in it or they would not have bought it. Perhaps a move to an online only publication ? And what about the Archive ? This should surely be a major selling point, but if my limited experience of it is anything to go by its rather clunky PC interface ( designed primarily with the iPad in mind ? ) and the search engine need to be improved.

Given that the current circulation is less than 30,000 it will be interesting to see happens.

[jayne lee wilson]

Surprised to hear that about the archive, works very well on a 6-year old Macbook, I'm always in there having fun... it probably is the best thing about G. now, but it is a very good best thing!

Totally agree with you, AmpH, about the What-HiFi influenced Audio section, and as for the editor....

[Sir Velo]

The audio editor has got previous form in these pages.

On a point of order: maybe the hosts could amalgamate this thread with the main "Gramophone" thread to which I have linked, as this is no more than the latest travail in the saga of this once great publication.

[amateur51]

Gramophone was a must-read publication for me for many years from my being a teenager with access to a good record collection in the Wrexham's public library in the 1960s. I fell out of love with it when Jolly James took over and the increasingly banal James Inverne delivered the final blow, since when I've become a subscriber to IRR.

I'll certainly keep an eye on how the new publisher develops it but I'm not holding my breath.

[Nick Armstrong]

the increasingly banal James Inverne

... whose journalistic career seems to be ... ahem... 'on hold'

http://www.inverneprice.com/artist.php?id=rendalldavid&aview=news&nid=3115

[gurnemanz]

Gramophone was a must-read publication for me for many years from my being a teenager with access to a good record collection in the Wrexham's public library in the 1960s. I fell out of love with it when Jolly James took over and the increasingly banal James Inverne delivered the final blow, since when I've become a subscriber to IRR.

I'll certainly keep an eye on how the new publisher develops it but I'm not holding my breath.

I echo all of that, except: for Wrexham read Croydon and having recently sent 30 years of beloved Gramophone mags for recycling, I have not subscribed to any magazine, getting by with internet sources. I have so many recordings, I am genuinely trying to curb my habit.

[amateur51]

... whose journalistic career seems to be ... ahem... 'on hold'

http://www.inverneprice.com/artist.p...=news&nid=3115

Praise be!

[richardfinegold]

G-Phone is very expensive on this side of the pond. When they dumbed the magazine down years ago I stopped and confided myself to Fanfare and American Record Guide. Occassionally I purchase the BBC Music mag if the CD entices me. I don't think that I will be reexploring G-Phone, since I just reupped my IRR subscription.

[MickyD]

We patiently await MickeyD's views on the subject!

Hi folks - sorry, I have been extremely busy of late and only just saw Vodkadilc's kind message. I'm not really sure quite what to think. If Gramophone really is going to undergo an enormous change, then it will certainly be worth sampling the first copy. I have to say that having got used to IRR over the last three or four years, I would need quite a bit of tempting. IRR may not have so many good reviewers, but I really do appreciate the serious, in-depth treatment they give and also the minimal absence of advertising guff. Please would someone flag up a message when the new version comes out and I will obtain a copy - and I look forward to hearing everyone's views on it.

[Parry1912]

... its roster of reviewers generally outflanks those IRR

Not sure I agree.

[Alison]

Just unwrapped the particularly thin feeling November issue.

The reviews just get shorter and more inconsequential. Try Harriet Smith on the new Beethoven disc by the Seoul Philharmonic.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

The reviews just get shorter ... Try Harriet Smith on the new Beethoven disc by the Seoul Philharmonic.

Well, she doesn't like things to be "epic".

[Alison]

Well, she doesn't like things to be "epic".

Chailly is to be preferred in the Fifth symphony as his version is more distinctive. And that's about as far as it goes.

[muzzer]

I didn't know it had been sold but had coincidentally cancelled my subs. Never heard of the buyers. Can't see how it can survive in the face of online free competition. Its real value is its review archive, tho the access to that has been poor since the site got hacked a couple years ago. Would be a great loss if that went the way of all print media. Hmm.