R.I.P. No Depression

Since 1995, U.S.–based magazine No Depression has covered roots, country, and various genres tagged with the prefix "alt"; basically anything and everything that falls under the broad category of Americana. When the magazine publishes its 75th issue in May, it will say farewell to its readers.

In a note in the March-April issue (also posted on the ND Web site), publishers Grant Alden, Peter Blackstock, and Kyla Fairchild outline the reasons for their decision to quit publishing. In a nutshell, it comes down to money. Record labels make up the bulk of No Depression's advertisers, and with the music industry in an ongoing sales slump, the labels can no longer afford to advertise.

"ND has never been a big business," the publishers write. "It was started with a $2,000 loan from Peter's savings account (the only monetary investment ever provided, or sought by, the magazine). We have five more or less full-time employees, including we three who own the magazine. We have always worked from spare bedrooms and drawn what seemed modest salaries.

"What makes this especially painful and particularly frustrating is that our readership has not significantly declined, our newsstand sell-through remains among the best in our portion of the industry, and our passion for and pleasure in the music has in no way diminished. We still have shelves full of first-rate music we'd love to tell you about."

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