Below is the press release that I just sent out to the drumming and trade magazines and to the major internet drum sites and forums. I thought I should mention here at this particular forum, since so many of you are subscribers of Not So Modern Drummer magazine, that this new distribution strategy is absolutely necessary for the survival of the magazine. I realize that there will be some who live close enough to a drum shop and will want to pick the magazine up for free rather than pay for a subscription, but in talking to many subscribers in the last week, the great majority prefer to have the home delivery service of a paid subscription. If any of you subscribers have a problem or an issue with this new development please contact me personally to discuss it. thanks, George Lawrence, [email]george@georgesdrumshop.com[/email], 330 940 3786
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Press release:
Not So Modern Drummer Magazine now free at music stores and online
Not So Modern Drummer Magazine, the world’s first vintage and custom drum magazine since 1988, will be given away for free at drum shops, music stores and drum shows across America and Canada, starting with issue 16.3 in August. The magazine is also free to view online at the NotSoModernDrummer.com website. There will still be a paid subscription for home delivery and a $5.95 cover price in regular bookstores and news stands. Publisher/editor George Lawrence, reported, “This will increase the print circulation of the quarterly publication to 20,000 per issue. Taking it to this circulation number will not only increase the distributor base and readership, but also cut our printing cost per issue by 75% or more. We have not raised advertising rates and have actually cut rates for small business ads, making us the most affordable in drum magazine ads. Of course, the advertisers like this and the targeted higher eyeball count. The response from the retailers has been 100% so far. Who can turn down a free magazine? Our goal is to be the only drum magazine that is in EVERY drum shop and department in the country.”
Lawrence bought the magazine from Bill Ludwig III in 2008 with the intent of growing it into a household name among drummers. He knew that the print industry was changing drastically, so he searched for a new business model. Lawrence says, “Drumming and music content is already free on the internet, so people expect free content now. That and the recession are why drummers are buying fewer and fewer drum magazines in the stores. Many drum shops and music stores don’t even sell drum magazines at all anymore”. He found a music and drum magazine in Canada that has been successful with this free-in-store distribution system and decided to follow suit.
About limiting the revenue source to advertising only, Lawrence says, “My small staff is efficient and our overhead is low so we can afford to keep things simple and low cost for the advertisers. We don’t nickel and dime our advertisers for the different types of media. If you buy an NSMD ad, it’s published in everything; the print magazine, in our free online magazine with a clickable URL, and in a rotating banner ad that is on every page of our website including our very active forum. I also understand the advertisers’ need for very targeted advertising because I own a drum shop and a small drum manufacturing business as well. Our magazine distribution will now be given directly to drummers walking into the music stores with money in their pockets. You can’t get much more targeted than that.
Lawrence also boasted of the magazine’s improved content, “We have not only increased our vintage and custom content, but have added relevant modern content as well. The next issue features Keith Carlock, one of the highest profile drummers, and an interview with Steve Gadd is in the works. We have added very high quality photography and graphics. We have also added print & video reviews of modern products, and we publish new product press releases. The vintage drum community is no longer just a bunch of old geezers talking about extinct brands like Rogers and Leedy. The new generation of “not so modern drummers” is interested in vintage DW and Pearl as well. Ebay increased the whole vintage drums demographic to millions, so we are presenting content and ads that appeal to this new demographic.”
For information about becoming a retail dealer at no cost or becoming an advertiser, please contact George at 330 940 3786 / [email]George@NotSoModernDrummer.com[/email] or see info at WWW.NotSoModernDrummer.com
