Is there something going on w Modern Drummer? Subscription Issues

Welp, yesterday I randomly received the September 2023 MD issue in the mail. It’s been over a year since I’ve even thought about MD and I don’t even remember the last time I got an issue. I think this is maybe the third random issue I’ve received since re-subscribing during the pandemic.
 
incrementalg said:
Welp, yesterday I randomly received the September 2023 MD issue in the mail. It’s been over a year since I’ve even thought about MD and I don’t even remember the last time I got an issue. I think this is maybe the third random issue I’ve received since re-subscribing during the pandemic.
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Me, trying to figure out Modern Drummer...
Steve Brule GIF by MOODMAN

Curious... was it one of their double issues?
 
incrementalg said:
I flipped it over and see the October 2023 cover, so I guess it is a double issue. Does this count as two months of my subscription??
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I see in my Car and Driver subscription -the physical magazine sometimes the cover has two month like Sept/Oct

must be something common in magazine business
somehow all works out
must be something common
 
I gave up on MD years ago. I gave up on all print drum magazines years ago.
 
I can't find it at the bookstores anymore. I tried the online subscription service a few years ago and I found it difficult to log in and subscribe. I threw in the towel and gave up.
 
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After 30+ years as a regular subscriber, I gave up on MD around the time of the pandemic. I had become increasingly dissatisfied with its content well before then, but kept my subscription going in hopes that they would somehow turn things around. The finals straw was when months went by without receiving an issue, and then getting an issue once every few months without an explanation, apology, or refund. I can't believe it still exists in print format.
 
charliedrummer said:
After 30+ years as a regular subscriber, I gave up on MD around the time of the pandemic. I had become increasingly dissatisfied with its content well before then, but kept my subscription going in hopes that they would somehow turn things around. The finals straw was when months went by without receiving an issue, and then getting an issue once every few months without an explanation, apology, or refund. I can't believe it still exists in print format.
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I might have hung in there with them if they bothered to post anything on their social media about the problems or sent a generic email outreach to paid subscribers, but nothing. MD was all over social media acting like nothing was happening. (this was because they were in the process of selling the biz and I think they were duping subscribers and possibly the buyer(s). The responses to my emails about my subscription were ridiculous...they made no sense and weren't even remotely consistent. Basically a lot of us long term subscribers, re-upped, paid and never got what we paid for and never received any kind of acknowledgment either.
 
I subscribed for 20+ years. Subscription prices kept increasing while content quality declined so I finally called it quits around 2010. I still have many of them, just can't bring myself to toss them.
 
As far as I'm concerned Modern Drummer pretty much died with Ron Spagnardi. It was his baby, his brainchild, his vision. Things started going downhill after he passed, and just got worse. The guy who bought it doesn't seem to know what to do with it.
 
incrementalg said:
I might have hung in there with them if they bothered to post anything on their social media about the problems or sent a generic email outreach to paid subscribers, but nothing. MD was all over social media acting like nothing was happening. (this was because they were in the process of selling the biz and I think they were duping subscribers and possibly the buyer(s). The responses to my emails about my subscription were ridiculous...they made no sense and weren't even remotely consistent. Basically a lot of us long term subscribers, re-upped, paid and never got what we paid for and never received any kind of acknowledgment either.
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100% !!! We were ghosted, plain and simple. I have a friend who runs a small music gear company and goes to the NAMM shows every year. I keep asking him to check if anyone has launched a new drum magazine. Nothing yet... but there's always hope for January '24....
 
Everything I hear about MD is consistent with a company going out of business. Based on the feedback here, I don't see why anyone would want to subscribe to it.

Years ago, I was employed by a company that went out of business. Upper management swore that everything was fine, but we all knew better.

- Vendors weren't getting paid.
- Customers weren't getting taken care of.
- Payroll was late.

The biggest red flag was a small team of contracted accountants that quietly showed up one day and worked for about a week behind closed doors. Upper management told us "nothing to see here". Yeah... We all knew it was the end.
 
Is anyone seeing any drum magazines (Modern Drummer or other publications) in book stores? I haven’t seen any lately.

I write reviews (of drum books, sheet music, and recordings) for the PAS Percussive Notes journal, but haven’t seen the PAS Drumset Magazine. I’ll have to check that out.

Jeff
 
Tamboreter said:
Jeff, here's a thread about the new Drumset mag:


https://www.drummerworld.com/forums/index.php?threads/pas-drumset-magazine.186134/#post-2026374
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Thank you. I‘d love to see the magazine in person at more stores, but it gives me a reason to order from Drum Factory Direct. My wife and I bought an RV from a dealership in Pittsburgh. They were waiting on a part, so we had few hours to spare before we could pick up the trailer.

We stopped by Drum Factory Direct in person. The staff there was amazing! Great selection of parts, heads, etc.

Jeff
 
Tamboreter said:
And they let you in to shop?? I've been told they don't have a sales floor.
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They don't really have a sales floor. It was difficult to find as it is an old church building with a small sign on the door. I assumed that they were open to the public. When I got there, I explained that I was waiting to pick up an RV and had some free time. I also had some drum parts that I was looking for. They were very nice, and let my wife and I in to shop (I bought a good amount of stuff).

Jeff
 
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