The media company Zenbu Media is ceasing publication of the three remaining music magazines in its stable—Metal Edge, Metal Maniacs, and Relix—according to MetalSucks.
Once again, we present Rock-Critically Correct, a feature in which the most recent issues of Rolling Stone, Blender, Vibe, and Spin are given a once-over by a writer who’s contributed to many of those magazines, as well as a few others! In this installment, he switches things up a bit and gives the latest issue of Relix a once-over:
“The music business sucks.” Thus spake Steve Bernstein, publisher of Metal Edge and several other music rags, in a blog post for business mag Folio. “So does the magazine business.” Sucks to be you then, dude. Yes? No, despite the fact that he’s steering one sinking ship dependent on another sinking ship staying somewhat upright (or vice versa?), Rich Uncle Pennybags is remarkably upbeat about not only his financial future but the future of magazines in general. Why? Because “music is not going away and neither is the printed page” thanks to the fact that you can totally use a copy of Relix to sun your face while on vacation in a way that you can’t with an iBook.
Continuing today’s hidden theme of merchandising music until it bleeds: Relix is now offering bracelets made out of “authentically used” guitar strings, thus opening the secondary snapped-steel market to people who are willing to drop some cash in order to wear an accessory that was actually… More »
