The slow, painful decline of No Depression continues. The magazine, which ceased publication last October and went web-only, has now switched to a "community model," where website members can post pictures of shows, write blogs, and start discussion threads. Publisher Kyla Fairchild made no bones about the reason for the move in an open letter to No Depression readers:
While traffic to the website has been great and the response positive, we have determined that it is impossible to bring in enough revenue to support our basic business expenses, the largest chunk of that being the editorial budget. We have soldiered on for as long as we can, but are left with no choice but to discontinue the editorial budget at the present time.
While our writers will continue to bring their unique expertise to the community site via regular blogging and forum discussions, we hope that No Depression may continue on as a meeting place where fans of roots music connect and share information with each other, our writers, and the artists behind the music they love.
The jury is out on whether this experiment will work, but alt-country fans are among the most dedicated in the music community. Hopefully they will pull together and keep No Depression viable. While it hurts to see a once proud publication putting out its hat for content, anything that keeps the masthead alive is worth it. [Idolator]
It's rough in the publishing world right now.