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More on Harp

Following is the official statement on Harp's closing. This is a drag all around -- from what it says about the viability of music magazines in the age of digital downloads to the state of publishing in general to the personal and professional setback it deals Harp's editorial staff, a small but dedicated bunch who represent some of the hardest-working folks in the industry. I wish them luck and thank them for the opportunity to contribute to the last decent music mag in the country.

"For immediate release
Harp Magazine Discontinues Publishing after Seven-Year Run
March 17, 2008, Silver Spring, MD: Guthrie, Inc., the company that publishes Harp magazine, announced today that it has discontinued publishing Harp, effective immediately. The last issue sent to subscribers and newsstands was the March/April issue with Dave Grohl on the cover.

Founded in 2001 by editor-in-chief and art director Scott Crawford, the magazine entered into a partnership with the owners of JazzTimes in 2003. The result was a sophisticated rock and pop magazine that was critically acclaimed and well-respected in the music industry for its candor, style and breadth of coverage. The magazine’s web site—www.harpmagazine.com—was also well-received. The site included nearly all of the magazine’s content, as well as daily news updates and special contests and promotions for music fans. There are no plans to continue publishing the magazine in digital form.

The first issue of Harp in the fall of 2001 featured a cover story on Alejandro Escovedo. Among the artists who subsequently graced the cover of Harp during the last 7 years were Grohl, Cat Power, Ryan Adams, Wilco, Bright Eyes, Nick Cave, The Stooges, Drive-By Truckers, My Morning Jacket, Liz Phair, Tom Waits, The Roots, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Neko Case, Modest Mouse, Jay Farrar, Mars Volta, Devendra Banhart, Steve Earle, Pete Yorn, and Howe Gelb. The magazine also did several Vanity Fair-style gatefold cover sessions, including the artists of Bonnaroo and "Rock of Ages" with pop icons and their mentors, and multi-artist conceptual covers like the recent "Kings of Comedy" edition.

However, according to Glenn Sabin, Guthrie’s CEO, the publication struggled to become profitable. "We purchased Harp in 2003, and it quickly became a first class product that was highly acclaimed for its often irreverent editorial approach and strong graphical package. Unfortunately, Harp’s critical acclaim never translated into sustaining commercial success. Harp’s lifecycle was ill timed with the precipitous decline of the music software industry, coupled with the consolidation of the consumer magazine newsstand business and rising paper and postage costs."

Sabin saw Harp’s demise as reflective of the changes both in the music industry and in print consumer publishing. Sabin continued, "This story isn’t new. Print consumer publishing and the music industry are undergoing a revolutionary period. Legal digital sales are not even close to making up for the loss in physical product sales and the pervasiveness of illegal digital downloads. And with smaller revenues, labels are inevitably spending less money for print and other forms of advertising and promotion."

Crawford, who provided the magazine with its creative vision, expressed his pride for what the magazine accomplished in his tenure as its editor-in-chief and art director. "We were able to establish a much-needed niche within the crowded marketplace. Ultimately we tried to create a magazine with substance and style—and on that level, I’d like to think we largely succeeded. I can’t thank our supportive advertisers and readers enough," continues Crawford. "Your years of enthusiasm have always made Harp worth every last drop of blood, sweat and tears for all of us."

Notable Harp Cover Features:
• June 2006: "Rock of Ages" – pairing iconic rock stars like Thurston Moore, Steve Earle, Michael Stipe, Conor Oberst, Emmylou Harris, Tom Verlaine and others with rising stars in a Vanity Fair-like gatefold cover captured by renowned photographer Danny Clinch.
• Sep 2007: "Kings of Comedy" – an ensemble cover article featuring Flight of the Conchords, David Cross, Patton Oswalt and Eugene Mirman—photographed and interviewed together.
• March 2008: "Dave Grohl for President" – featuring a mock presidential run by the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl."

The last waltz

Harp, the Maryland-based music magazine to which I've served as a contributing writer since 2002, is no more. Publisher and founder Scott Crawford, who launched the magazine in 2001 with the goal of spotlighting talented, vital artists (Neko Case, Alejandro Escovedo, Steve Earle) largely ignored by the mainstream (a goal to which Crawford succeeded editorially, if not financially), sent out the following e-mail this morning:

Dear contributors,

My apologies for the mass email, but I wanted to let
you know about Harp's current situation. It's with a
really heavy heart that I even have to write this. As
many of you know, our cash flow had slowed recently.
Due to various factors, including the current
newsstand magazine slump, the majority shareholders of
Guthrie Inc. Harp's parent company, have decided to
declare Chapter 7 bankruptcy effective next week. 

I'm truly sorry for all of you that are now owed
money. I've made sure you're accounted for, and as the
bankruptcy proceedings proceed, you should be notified
of its progress.

It's been an honor to work with all of you and I have
learned much in the process. I couldn't have done this
magazine without you. Please let me know if there's
anything I can do for you. If you have any further
questions don't hesitate to get in touch with me at
this email address.

Maybe I'll see you in the trenches again someday.

My best,
Scott Crawford

No Depression, R.I.P.

The publishing business has lost another soldier in its war for readers -- and, more important, advertisers -- against the dadgum Internet. This time, the fallen is No Depression, the 13-year-old alt-country magazine named after an Uncle Tupelo song and a valued resource for anyone who understands country music is not synonymous with Kenny Chesney and Carrie Underwood. Read more about the magazine's demise here.

In more encouraging alt-country news, have you heard Brighter Than Creation's Dark, the new album by Georgia's Drive-By Truckers? Holy Christ in a flatbed is that a great CD. A review of the disc can be found in the current issue of Harp magazine -- the only still-kickin' national-music publication worth a damn; and I'd say that even if I weren't a contributing writer. Managing editor Fred Mills wrote the piece, which you can read after clicking here.

Back in business

Pick up the latest issue of Harp for my reviews of Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez's Live From the Ruhr Triennale and SNMNMNM's Crawl Inside Your Head.

And after five long months, City Link is back online. Check out our latest issue here.

A booming success

Score another win for the leviathans — not to mention good,
old-fashioned human decency — in the ongoing war of the
squids vs. the whales, which I first wrote about here.
The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released
the following statement this afternoon:

"Fantastic news! A federal court in California has just imposed
the strongest-ever protections for whales against an onslaught
of military sonar.

"The new controls are the result of an NRDC lawsuit that demanded
the Navy rein in its deadly sonar before beginning two years of
maneuvers near the Channel Islands -- one of the world's most
sensitive environments and home to five endangered species of
whales.

"The Navy itself estimates that the booming sonar would harass or
harm marine mammals some 170,000 times -- and cause permanent
injury in more than 400 cases.

"U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper said the Navy's
existing plan for protecting marine mammals was "grossly
inadequate." And she has ordered the Navy to put a series of
precautionary measures in place -- many of them recommended by
NRDC -- that will go a long way toward protecting whales from
needless injury and death.

"For starters, the Navy will not be permitted to use its
dangerous mid-frequency sonar within 12 miles of the California
coast, a zone that is heavily used by migrating whales and
dolphins. Sonar will also be banned in the Catalina Basin, an
underwater canyon with a high density of whales.

"The Navy will also have to monitor for marine mammals -- from
the ship and from the air -- both before and during its sonar
exercises. If any marine mammals are spotted within 2200 yards
of the ship, the Navy will have to shut down its sonar.

"These safeguards represent a giant leap forward in our
decade-long campaign to make sure that whales don't have to die
for the sake of military practice.

"I want to thank you for advancing our campaign for whales
through your tenacious online activism. Needless to say, this
fight is far from over and many more court battles lay ahead.

"But case by case, we are accomplishing what many thought
impossible: forcing the Navy to obey our environmental laws and
stop its needless killing of whales -- and all without
compromising military readiness.

"Thank you for standing with NRDC in defense of the world's
marine mammals."

Sincerely,

Frances Beinecke
President
NRDC

"P.S. In the wake of this landmark victory, please help us build
nationwide opposition to a separate Navy plan that would put a
sonar range right next to a key migratory route for endangered
whales by clicking here."

The end is near

Harp's year-end issue is on the streets, and with it, the magazine's picks for the 50 best CDs of 2007. I contributed brief commentary on two of my favorites, Kings of Leon's Because of the Times and The New Pornographers' Challengers. My colleagues at the magazine clearly heard something in Okkervil River's The Stage Names that I didn't, selecting it as the top disc of the year. It's good and all, but it didn't come close to moving me in the same way as the following albums:

Neon Bible by The Arcade Fire
Challengers by The New Pornographers
Because of the Times by Kings of Leon
The Reminder by Feist
Sky Blue Sky by Wilco
Cassadega by Bright Eyes
Like, Love, Lust and the Open Halls of the Soul by Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter
Magic by Bruce Springsteen
Raising Sand by Robert Plant and Allison Krauss
The Con by Tegan and Sara
Saltbreakers by Laura Veirs
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank by Modest Mouse
Easy Tiger by Ryan Adams
In Rainbows by Radiohead
Cease To Begin by Band of Horses
Chrome Dreams II by Neil Young
Living With the Living by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
We'll Never Turn Back by Mavis Staples
Miracle of Five by Eleni Mandell
Dirt Farmer by Levon Helm

Song of the year: "North American Scum" by LCD Soundsystem

Have a list of your own? Post it in the comments field below. And look for more year-end lists in the next issue of City Link, which will hit the racks Dec. 26.