Editorial: Free, Ain’t (RIP Paste Magazine)

DeadJournalist.com

I don’t know what DeadJournalist.com is. But I know what it isn’t. And what it isn’t, is quickly going the way of the Edsel.

DeadJournalist.com isn’t a print publication.

With the news of Paste Magazine’s end of print publication being confirmed today, another notable publication is ceasing production.

It’s an impossible time to be a journalist. It’s an impossible time to be in the music industry. Add those two together and I’m not sure if you could get a more challenging combination this side of 0-down, 0% mortgages.

Whether you loved Paste Magazine, loathed it or fell somewhere in between, you have to admit that the days of being a writer for a rock mag is a dead aspiration. That’s the price of free.

I, myself, was a both a magazine writer and a freelance writer. I’ll admit, for a magazine writer, there is no bigger high than seeing “by Your Name” printed under a headline. But after a while, that high wanes. And if you start out writing for free – as many music freelance writers do – you eventually want to get paid for your efforts (or talent, for those with a gift far superior to mine).

When this happened to me, I decided, rather than continue to not get paid for my time and effort, I’d write for myself. So I did. A year later, I started this site, because I could do it for free (well, I actually lose money with overhead costs, making it less than free).

While the migration of freelancers to personal Web sites/blogs was happing, the parallel front of music-share, peer-to-peer, mp3 blogs, etc., was eroding the financial base for the music industry. As revenues from music sells began to slip, budget cuts began. That meant less money for things like advertising.

Magazine advertising, in particular.

That’s why I still buy my music. I buy music because that puts money back in the industry. If there was no money to be made, there would be no music. (I buy music for another reason, too. I still by physical media because, ironically, I don’t trust technology.)

Don’t be fooled, the only people who say that music could survive without the industry are either trust-fund babies, naive from lack of life experience or just, plain stupid. Artists, promoters, club owners, record stores, labels and media all have to bring in more money than they spend or they go out of business.

When I was a teenager, I wanted to write for Spin or Rolling Stone. But I also wanted to make a living, so I majored in engineering. But I still chased that magazine writing dream. My first job out of college was as a magazine writer. I didn’t stick because the money didn’t work for me. Being in the magazine industry wasn’t personally viable.

So here we are, on September 1, 2010, mourning the loss of Paste Magazine. Another example of the cost of doing business exceeding revenue. Another example of the down-steam effect the degradation of the revenue base of the music industry.

That’s the ultimate cost of free.