German media publishing company PPVMedien is insolvent; what will happen with the best-known Guitar and Keys magazines is uncertain.
In the past, music tech print media was the hottest sh$t. Monthly, they offered the hottest Synthesizer news, reviews, tutorials, etc., conveniently delivered to your home. Yes, it was a different time. Today, the media world is flashy and at high speed. The 2024 music tech coverage scene stars are blogs and video creators who upload to YouTube, Instagram, or “Toktok.”
Okay, compared to today’s endless glossy video productions, blogs seem a bit old-fashioned to me. So, how does the print media feel here? Like the grandpas and grandmas of the news coverage?
Even if they suffer from the impact of digitalization, print media still exists, including SOS, Computer Music, Synthesizer Magazine from Germany, and others. However, managing a print magazine in these difficult times is a Herculean task.
Everything that used to be available exclusively in magazines, like tutorials, interviews, and reviews, is now available for free on countless smaller and bigger blogs and YouTube channels. You can also read or watch the latest news on the World Wide Web—instantly, free, and from anywhere you want.
In addition, companies these days prefer advertising on websites and video platforms simply because the reach is greater and lasts almost endlessly. Videos stay online, and magazines often fill garbage bins.
PPVMedien Is Insolvent
Numerous music tech newspapers like Electronic Musician have already disappeared. 2024 is still young, but we are also one more print publisher poorer. The German publisher PPVMedien is insolvent.
They were responsible for magazines such as Guitar.de, Keys Magazine, Tastenwelt, Soundcheck and others. Very well-known magazines in German-speaking area. The information comes from various sources: You can find it in the “Verbraucherschutz Forum Berlin – Consumer Protection Forum Berlin” and on Northdata.de
b) Über das Vermögen der Gesellschaft ist durch Beschluss des Amtsgerichts München vom 16.01.2024 (Az. 1509 IN 82/24) die vorläufige Insolvenzverwaltung angeordnet und bestimmt, dass Verfügungen der Schuldnerin nur mit Zustimmung des vorläufigen Insolvenzverwalters wirksam sind.
b) Provisional insolvency administration has been ordered over the company’s assets by order of the Munich District Court of January 16, 2024 (ref. 1509 IN 82/24) and stipulates that the debtor’s orders are only effective with the consent of the provisional insolvency administrator.
This means the company is in administration, and thus, it’s not 100% that they are gone forever. The official websites, including PPVMedien, are still online.
What’s Next?
What will happen next is currently uncertain. Will they be able to turn things around and gather enough financial resources to get the business back on track? Or will a big player in the industry step in and take over the magazines, like a music retailer who already has expertise with media?
As an industry observer and quadrilingual, I also read extensively in non-English media. What particularly struck me at Keys.de was that the move from print to digital was never successful. There was only a small amount of news on the website.
Old articles from newspapers were not digitized and made accessible, etc. Plus, social media was not a topic at all. To survive today as a written medium, you have to think and work transmedially. Just writing is not enough in 2024.
You must also offer audio and video content so that your brand is present on several platforms, especially social media, where you want to reach the younger generation.
One thing is pretty sure: If there is no comeback, there will be a race for the domain names and naming rights Guitar.de and Keys.de. Both names are top domains that are very catchy.
I’m very curious to see how this whole thing turns out and whether they can still save themselves. At the same time, it is sad news that shows that print is outdated. Stay tuned.
More inforamtion here: PPVMedien
i was a very big fan of synth and keyboardmagazines. i think i bought the first when i was 8 years old.the crazy thing is that a lot of the megazines were really great when they had no competition with other mags or the internet, because there were no web. i was reading all i could get back then good and bad mags often 10 a month.when synths went big in the late 70s there were not a lot in the 80s there were some more, in german Keyboards were number one for a long time, the had really great articles and i loved the synths from yesterday series from Mr. Becker.then late 80s there came Keys.For me Keys took over the lead. sadly with more competition they lost their energy to give you more than a copy of the advertising/promotion info from the manufacturers. lately when i had to move houses i went through some of my mags (yes i stored all of them in a barn) i thought i cut out a few pages to keep. i kept the old ones often complete because there are still some good ones. but the newer ones went in the bin.would still buy what they served in the 80s but that offer does not exist anymore.maybe because the customers are also not there anymore…..