“Arthur” Magazine May Or May Not Be On The Rocks

A strange back-and-forth is going on regarding the future of Arthur, the fringe-rock publication aimed at people who feel that Devendra Banhart needs to show off his freak side some more. Over the weekend, editor Jay Babcock announced that the magazine was closing shop after more than four years–a claim disputed by publisher Laris Kreslins, who says Arthur is merely on “indefinite hiatus.”

According to the LA Times, a rift between Babcock and Kreslins regarding financing led to the shutdown, and yesterday, Kreslins published an open letter on the magazine’s website explaining that the magazine wasn’t dead:

Dear Arthur Friends,

As of Friday, Feb. 23rd, Arthur Magazine is on indefinite hiatus. We at Lime Publishing, the current publisher, had been working toward transitioning operations to a new publisher since the start of the year. A breakdown in negotiations this past week pertaining to Lime’s 50% share in the magazine led to an unfortunate and perplexing announcement that “Arthur is Dead.”

This poorly-timed message was sent out, against explicit wishes of Lime Publishing, to the public before the staff, advertisers or contributors were notified. It was disheartening to receive distressed phone calls from dedicated people in the Arthur community, who devoted their time and creative energy on the magazine.

The flood of calls and emails we’ve been receiving from friends and readers is heartwarming and reassuring, especially after what has been a difficult time. The support we’ve seen is tantamount to the strength of the Arthur community. Thank you to staff, contributors, distributors, readers and advertisers for all your dedication. We will post Thank You’s on the Arthur site to demonstrate just how many people have contributed in so many ways to Arthur and made it the celebrated paper it is.

The current hiatus may still lead to future opportunities for Arthur, but for the time being we are paring down operations. The website will be kept up as an online store for back issues and other merchandise. An archive of all our Arthur issues as PDFs will also be available for people to access.

Shortly we will be sending notifications to subscribers for options on cancelled subscriptions.

It doesn’t sound too promising for the print version of the magazine–once you start canceling subscriptions, there’s usually no turning back. But maybe Kreslins is hoping to keep the Arthur brand name alive: After all, the magazine was responsible for the well-received Golden Apples Of The Sun compilation, and put on several tours and festivals. Then again, perhaps the publishers just want to have some sort of editorial venture prepared for when the next Godsmack album is released.

Future of Arthur Magazine looks bleak [LATimes.com] Dear Arthur Friends [Arthurmag.com]