Is there something going on w Modern Drummer? Subscription Issues

Hm
Ianbr said:
Good evening Ian,

According to the deadline, the first issue corresponding to subscription # ******* should be the December 2021 issue which is in the printing process and will be sent as soon as we can. I apologize for the situation but I need to let you know that the whole world is having a lack of paper production, the one that we use to print our magazine, for that reason, we are behind in our printing publications almost 4 months. We are working on it to solve this situation as soon as possible.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you for being part of the Modern Drummer family.

Sincerely,

Lady Aranzazu
Customer Support Agent
That's the reply I recently received. 120 bucks for digital is alot of money I figure
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Hmmmm. That glass half empty person in me see's...
We could source alternative paper but that would greatly cost us more money to do. Rather than looking after our paying customers and taking a hit to our bottom line; were nominating to screw over our customer base to keep our regular income.

I'm likely very wrong, but this BS is BS.
 
I-P said:
Hm

Hmmmm. That glass half empty person in me see's...
We could source alternative paper but that would greatly cost us more money to do. Rather than looking after our paying customers and taking a hit to our bottom line; were nominating to screw over our customer base to keep our regular income.

I'm likely very wrong, but this BS is
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What bugs me is that the can't keep their story straight. To some they've claimed the paper shortage nonsense, to others its they've gone digital and and there are no more print copies available to North American subscribers. Regardless, they've taken our money without even a second look!
 
The paper shortage thing is real, unfortunately. I subscribe to another magazine (QST, for ham radio operators) and they have been having tough times meeting deadlines. The last issue was printed on this thick, quasi newsprint style paper (with apologies from the publisher). All along they have been keeping the subscribers updated as to what's going on - unlike MD, which pretty much ghosted their subscribers (and I'm still PO'd at them).

BTW, I took what would typically be my Modern Drummer subscription fee and donated it to this forum to help with expenses. I'm also hopeful that someone, somewhere might launch a new drum magazine at the upcoming NAMM show? Well, one can dream, right?
 
Does anyone actually subscribe to MD digital? The price is pretty steep, but I miss having curated articles delivered to me. I don't even know how much I got ripped off by MD, if at all, since I have no paper copies left to look at the label (to see how many issues remained, or get the number to check online). Nobody at MD will respond to emails. Maybe my subscription ran out and they just never sent a reminder, unlike most mags that try to get you to resubscribe 6 months ahead of time.
 
i would like to hear from the "md pro panel/advisory board members" as to what they think about how subscribers are being treated!!!
 
I dunno about the paper shortage. I was at Barnes and Noble this weekend and saw a host of the latest print editions in various other instrument magazines. Bunch of guitar mags and even the latest edition of Ukulele!! The Ukulele subscriber base is strong enough that they can source paper, but MD's base isn't? I must've picked up the wrong instrument to land the ladies!
 
incrementalg said:
I dunno about the paper shortage. I was at Barnes and Noble this weekend and saw a host of the latest print editions in various other instrument magazines. Bunch of guitar mags and even the latest edition of Ukulele!! The Ukulele subscriber base is strong enough that they can source paper, but MD's base isn't? I must've picked up the wrong instrument to land the ladies!
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Uke's are still the thing right now :rolleyes: - maybe the guitar equivalent to a cajon?
 
The good news is that the magazine has been pretty terrible for the last 5-10 years anyway, mostly putting YouTube drummers on the cover and what not. It had an amazing run throughout the 80s-90s, and I'll always cherish that material.
 
I was a teenager in the 80's. I remember looking forward to each new issue of MD. The articles, the ads for the equipment, the reviews. I liked Rick Van Horn's articles, Roy Burns, and so on. And the interviews...all of it. I'd hoard my MDs in boxes, and read old ones. And somewhere along the line the authors I liked had passed away or were gone, and things just changed, and I stopped subscribing and buying them. It just didn't hold my interest any longer. Especially when people like Rick Van Horn were not there anymore.
 
djc tn said:
has anyone had any thoughts about a class action lawsuit against modern drummer magazine or it's ceo?!!!

Ianbr said:
It's actually crossed my mind
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Me, too! Dunno if it'd be worth the hassle. You know, if they had just said..."We can't print our magazine anymore - here is a one year online subscription" at least they would have tried something rather than their strategy of ignoring emails, phone calls, and facebook posts.
Admittedly, I'm still pretty pissed off about this and just need to let it go. 🧘‍♂️🙏
 
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Has anyone received the double issues? According to the update (linked below), they are supposed to combine two issues into one binding until they are caught up. Have they sent those out yet? I haven’t received any print issues since last year.

Link to update
www.moderndrummer.com

Print Magazine Update | Modern Drummer Magazine |

An open letter to Modern Drummer readers and subscribers, regarding print magazines: Modern Drummer continues to offer our monthly magazine in both print and digital formats. The Digital version of MD is released the first day of every month, it is available on the MD website and is formatted...
www.moderndrummer.com www.moderndrummer.com
 
jeffwj said:
Has anyone received the double issues? According to the update (linked below), they are supposed to combine two issues into one binding until they are caught up. Have they sent those out yet? I haven’t received any print issues since last year.

Link to update
www.moderndrummer.com

Print Magazine Update | Modern Drummer Magazine |

An open letter to Modern Drummer readers and subscribers, regarding print magazines: Modern Drummer continues to offer our monthly magazine in both print and digital formats. The Digital version of MD is released the first day of every month, it is available on the MD website and is formatted...
www.moderndrummer.com www.moderndrummer.com
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Thank you for sharing that, Jeff! I emailed that address and asked for 6 months free electronic subscription to make up for the issues I never received in 2021. And they did it! So, kudo points for MD. I hope this paper shortage and industry production problem clears up. I really like my reading material on paper and will probably re-subscribe to the paper edition of MD at some point.
 
I buckled and paid for the paper/electronic option. Hopefully I won't be sorry. I have received no paper copies yet, but can read the recent issue electronically. Reading online is really not the same thing at all since they do two page layouts and stuff. I think if they are trying so hard to push people to digital, they might modify the way they lay out the stories.

And I'm skeptical of this paper shortage thing. None of my other magazines have been interrupted, including Tape Op, which is a relative obscure thing and funded fully by ads.
 
Mastiff said:
I buckled and paid for the paper/electronic option. Hopefully I won't be sorry. I have received no paper copies yet, but can read the recent issue electronically. Reading online is really not the same thing at all since they do two page layouts and stuff. I think if they are trying so hard to push people to digital, they might modify the way they lay out the stories.

And I'm skeptical of this paper shortage thing. None of my other magazines have been interrupted, including Tape Op, which is a relative obscure thing and funded fully by ads.
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Love Tape Op mag. And, all of those catalogs keep coming to the house seemingly unaffected by the paper shortage. :unsure:
 
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