The media brand Future Music announced today that it will discontinue the print magazine, and issue 414 will be the last one.
With the advent of websites, YouTube, and social media, music tech print magazines began to decline. In recent years, numerous print publications, including Electronic Musician, MusicTech, German Keys magazine, and others, have gone out of business or shifted to online-only releases.
Now, the next well-known magazine is shutting down its print edition. Future Publishing, the parent company of Music Radar, has announced that it will discontinue the print version of Future Music with the last issue, 414.
Future Music Print – Official Statement
Future Music issue 414 is on sale now, which we must acknowledge with a heavy heart will be the final issue of the magazine.
For our final issue, we wanted to leave you with a selection of tried and tested mixing advice to help you nail that final mix. To that end, we’ve curated some of the most timeless and essential advice from our team of experts.FM first launched more than 30 years ago in the autumn of 1992 and since the early-’90s, FM has played a role in the creation of some truly incredible electronic music. In that time, the magazine has released sample packs that have gone on to become bonafide classics, given early coverage to artists as diverse as Aphex Twin, Four Tet and Avicii, reviewed thousands of cutting-edge synths, plugins and studio tools and charted the rise, fall and revival of numerous sub-genres and styles.Sadly, things change, and the concept of a print publication focused on something as forward-thinking as music technology has become an increasingly difficult proposition in recent years.While the magazine itself is going away, the expert knowledge, writing and opinions behind FM will continue to live on via MusicRadar – we’d encourage readers to follow us online, via social media or YouTube, if you don’t already.If you are a subscriber to FM, please don’t worry – our subscriptions team will be in touch with you directly to confirm that you will be refunded the remainder of your subscription term within 7-10 days of this final issue.
For now, all that is left is for us to say a huge thank you to all the team members, writers, photographers, contributors and collaborators who have helped to make Future Music over the past three decades. And of course, to express our gratitude to everyone who has read, subscribed-to or supported FM in that time.
According to sources that informed MusicTech website, Future will also be closing Computer Music, Total Guitar, Guitar Techniques and Guitar Player magazines.
It is sad to see that more and more music tech print media are disappearing from the market. But no wonder. Times have changed, and we are moving at warp speed. Where print media used to take a month to report on new synth releases, on blogs or social media, it happens almost instantly.
I hope the prints that still exist today will survive because reading something you can touch still has charm. The last issue of FM (414) is available now.
More information here: Music Radar
Too bad ! The use and abuse of cold technology is the best way to destroy our planet.
With a magazine I don’t need electricity / battery, mining for electric powering mineral with people exposed to toxic waste, rivers polluted, refrigerate storage computers…
We need technology but we need to use it wisely.
Where is the pleasure to buy a magazine ( or more ) to meet people, to walk in a street ?
We’re killing our lives.
I can keep papers, magazines, books, photos with me. They don’t need OS update.
A huge solar storm can’t affect papers.
I am not an expert but I wonder what’s the carbon footprint of the printed magazine (wood, deliveries etc) and the rivers polluted by paper production vs. the negligible cost of digitally delivering your magazine.
That said, I’m very sad to see it go. I had a paper subscription and enjoyed reading it on the weekends
In other news…people still print magazines.
Please understand that while the print magazine will no longer be available, FutureMusic.com will still be your number one resource for music technology.
that’s not the Future Music we are talking about. Future Music mag is part of the Music Radar media outlet
That’s owned by Future, a well established media company here in the UK.
I know this as I used to write for FM and Future PLC paid my invoices 🙂
FutureMusic.com has nothing to do with either Future Music magazine or any publishing company in the UK.
The site says it is owned by “Media-Star” a company described as a “content marketing agency” allegedly located in New York City. It appears to be a site that has been set up to draw traffic through use of the FutureMusic name.
All magazines are struggling. I’m surprised Future Music, Computer Music, the guitar magazines lasted so long. A combination of the internet and publication price, if you not a subscriber, puts people off. You don’t just pick it up when you see it in a newsagent’s when it costs £8 plus.