Tracks Magazine placed on hiatus
I was excited when Tracks came out. At last, I thought, something for those of us who are musically mature - and over 30. Tracks covered music of every genre, major label and independent releases included. Now, the magazine is in trouble and management has placed it on hiatus until they can get the funds necessary to keep going. I've done my part by being a subscriber, but they apparently need more of us. Here's the official word:
New York, NY – Tracks magazine has been placed on hiatus, it was announced by CEO John Rollins and Editor-in-Chief Alan Light. The hiatus is effective immediately. The current issue of Tracks (April/May) featuring Lucinda Williams on the cover is currently on newsstands.
Launched in December 2003, Tracks was founded upon the premise of music for grownups, the population of music enthusiasts 30 and older who represent the majority of music purchasers.
"We executed on nearly all of our original vision points, including our editorial and advertising goals," Rollins says. "Tracks has attracted 380 pages of advertising, averaging nearly 50 pages per issue. This includes major consumer advertising from GM to Hewlett Packard to Columbia Sportswear. Additionally, the endemic advertising category of music demonstrated tremendous support of the publication by placing an average of 30 pages of advertising per issue."
"However, within our first year of operating, we recognized that the business would take longer to grow to the levels necessary to sustain profitability, which is a circulation of approximately 250,000," Rollins says. Currently the magazine's rate base is 150,000. "As a result of more time needed, our long term cash needs were greater than our original plan and therefore greater than our investor, Frank Wood, could support. So the cash resources required for significant circulation growth over a short period of time were not available. Simply, it is this limited total funding that has led to our decision to go on hiatus."
During the hiatus period, the management team of Tracks will continue to pursue new financing support with the goal of relaunching the magazine in the future.
Light believes that Tracks will find a way. "Being an independently funded, independently founded start-up has proved especially challenging," he says. "But with the single-greatest population of music purchasers being over the age of 30 and with no magazine, indeed no media, directed at this audience, we have always maintained – and still do – that there is a market to be served by Tracks."
Tracks Magazine Placed on Hiatus
New York, NY – Tracks magazine has been placed on hiatus, it was announced by CEO John Rollins and Editor-in-Chief Alan Light. The hiatus is effective immediately. The current issue of Tracks (April/May) featuring Lucinda Williams on the cover is currently on newsstands.
Launched in December 2003, Tracks was founded upon the premise of music for grownups, the population of music enthusiasts 30 and older who represent the majority of music purchasers.
"We executed on nearly all of our original vision points, including our editorial and advertising goals," Rollins says. "Tracks has attracted 380 pages of advertising, averaging nearly 50 pages per issue. This includes major consumer advertising from GM to Hewlett Packard to Columbia Sportswear. Additionally, the endemic advertising category of music demonstrated tremendous support of the publication by placing an average of 30 pages of advertising per issue."
"However, within our first year of operating, we recognized that the business would take longer to grow to the levels necessary to sustain profitability, which is a circulation of approximately 250,000," Rollins says. Currently the magazine's rate base is 150,000. "As a result of more time needed, our long term cash needs were greater than our original plan and therefore greater than our investor, Frank Wood, could support. So the cash resources required for significant circulation growth over a short period of time were not available. Simply, it is this limited total funding that has led to our decision to go on hiatus."
During the hiatus period, the management team of Tracks will continue to pursue new financing support with the goal of relaunching the magazine in the future.
Light believes that Tracks will find a way. "Being an independently funded, independently founded start-up has proved especially challenging," he says. "But with the single-greatest population of music purchasers being over the age of 30 and with no magazine, indeed no media, directed at this audience, we have always maintained – and still do – that there is a market to be served by Tracks."
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