PROG Magazine- Anyone still buying it?

[Sunlight Caller]

Reading a little deeper into their 2015 accounts, they were able to sign off as a going concern based on cash flow projections through to 31 December 2016. These cash flow projections assumed the following... "...significant income from membership and gaming being generated in 2016. As these are new income streams there is uncertainty about their timing and quantum but the directors are confident that their investment in these areas will realise sufficient income to support the going concern assumption."

So they expected to sell gambling and gaming to a bunch of rock and prog fans? I could have told them there and then that was doomed to failure. You have to know your market, and this is not a bunch of sports fans or poker players. It seems the vision was over-reached right here and they were taking a huge gamble themselves.

[devoidzer0]

Just a heads up: since this news broke, I just purchased multiple back issues in the iOS app for iPad. My credit card has not been charged but the issues are downloading and I am able to view them. Not sure if this is a temporary glitch, if the app will stop working entirely soon rendering these downloads unusable or what. But you might want to grab them while they are available before the ship goes down (espeically if they aren't charging).

Scratch that! The purchases of the back issues were eventually charged, there was just a long delay between the purchases and the charges (like 8 hours). Now I hope that the app doesn't stop working and I'll be able to read them for the foreseeable future. If anyone uses the app and has magazines purchased in their library, it might be a good time to download any you want to keep to your device (we don't know if they will continue to be stored on the server).

[dboy]

It appears that Prog Magazine is going away due to the TeamRock folks going bankrupt. I'm pissed as I just renewed my subscription, so I kissed that money goodbye.

scott

[Valen]

It appears that Prog Magazine is going away due to the TeamRock folks going bankrupt. I'm pissed as I just renewed my subscription, so I kissed that money goodbye.

scott

You're not alone Scott - they lifted my six monthly payment a few weeks back.

But spare a thought for the staff who've just been told they're out of a job a week before Xmas.

I spoke to one of the team this morning to see if they could shed any light on subscriptions, and the girl was shell-shocked as staff were only learning about the situation from social media - management have been less than forthcoming.

At the moment, officially it's business as usual, so perhaps they'll weather the hiatus until a new buyer steps in. The girl also assured me that any news would be emailed direct to subscribers as soon as they had more idea what lies ahead.

I suspect a lot of subscribers will be anxious, but you know what? The magazine has more than paid its way for me over the years in terms of good recommendations, publishing my letters and sending me goody bags etc, so if I have to take a hit on this, I'd like to think the funds will help those who've had their Xmas ruined.

[Prog Magazine]

The forthcoming issue of Prog looks like it will be on sale on January 11. All the titles are now up for sale. Prog was the second most profitable title TeamRock owned. The big company losses came from ventures in radio and games. If a new buyer for the magazines as a group, or solo, isnt found, we'll be looking to launch a brand new progressive music title early next year.

That's about as much as we can really say at this point.

Thank you for your messages of support.

[JKL2000]

We can't get nothing by you!

Heh-heh - it was Digital Man's post which was the last one when I posted, and made it sound as though he was still expecting PROG to keep being published that made me think the news hadn't broken here.

[Facelift]

FYI - anybody in the US who was charged money for issues that will not be received and who paid for this on a credit card should be able to get their money back simply by calling the customer service department of whatever bank issued their card. Just explain that the company has ceased operations and that you were billed for something that you will not be receiving.

I suspect that this will work for jurisdictions other than the US, but I can't say for certain.

It is of course sad that this publication will be disappearing, but lost money on the part of the readers need not be a part of the disappointments.

[moecurlythanu]

Heh-heh - it was Digital Man's post which was the last one when I posted, and made it sound as though he was still expecting PROG to keep being published that made me think the news hadn't broken here.

Don't feel bad. Somebody else came in after you and "announced" it again. It seems like people come to PE to post, not read, to a much greater degree than they used to.

[Valen]

The forthcoming issue of Prog looks like it will be on sale on January 11. All the titles are now up for sale. Prog was the second most profitable title TeamRock owned. The big company losses came from ventures in radio and games. If a new buyer for the magazines as a group, or solo, isnt found, we'll be looking to launch a brand new progressive music title early next year.

That's about as much as we can really say at this point.

Thank you for your messages of support.

Guys

Thanks for the post. You might be heartened to know that there appears to be a lot of goodwill towards you out there, judging by a quick trawl across the net (and a lot of subscribers, based on all the comments I've seen).

Sincere best wishes to you all across the Xmas period, and look forward to continuing the journey with you in 2017.

[Facelift]

Maybe not a "commercial success", but it could survived for sure.
.

But it's a commercial enterprise and "commercial success" is what they are trying to accomplish.

In any event, I highly doubt that it would have been feasible. If such a thing could have been profitable, they would have already done it.

I think this is yet another example of people thinking that the interest in progressive rock is much greater than it actually is. The owners of the labels and the organizers of the festivals can attest to what the true market conditions are.

[dpt3]

The forthcoming issue of Prog looks like it will be on sale on January 11. All the titles are now up for sale. Prog was the second most profitable title TeamRock owned. The big company losses came from ventures in radio and games. If a new buyer for the magazines as a group, or solo, isnt found, we'll be looking to launch a brand new progressive music title early next year.

That's about as much as we can really say at this point.

Thank you for your messages of support.

Thanks for the post, and good luck.

[JKL2000]

Don't feel bad. Somebody else came in after you and "announced" it again. It seems like people come to PE to post, not read, to a much greater degree than they used to.

Also when I saw there was no new thread, I figured it wasn't widely known. Bad news, but sounds as if they will be trying to relaunch in some form, so that's good.

[Sunlight Caller]

The forthcoming issue of Prog looks like it will be on sale on January 11. All the titles are now up for sale. Prog was the second most profitable title TeamRock owned. The big company losses came from ventures in radio and games. If a new buyer for the magazines as a group, or solo, isnt found, we'll be looking to launch a brand new progressive music title early next year.

That's about as much as we can really say at this point.

Thank you for your messages of support.

Very good luck to you all.

Launching a rival has to be the best way forward for your team now. You can speak with those same potential buyers that the administrators will be approaching, but you can speak without baggage, and with a clean start and a loyal base of readers who will follow the writers and editorial staff. It is a small community after all, and we can all group together to push this forward to success.

[bondegezou]

The forthcoming issue of Prog looks like it will be on sale on January 11. All the titles are now up for sale. Prog was the second most profitable title TeamRock owned. The big company losses came from ventures in radio and games. If a new buyer for the magazines as a group, or solo, isnt found, we'll be looking to launch a brand new progressive music title early next year.

That's about as much as we can really say at this point.

Thank you for your messages of support.

Many thanks for the update and good luck! Prog is great: I hope it has a future in some form.

Henry

[Bazcrim]

A crowdfunding page set up on justgiving.com to help Team Rock employees has raised over £20,000 already.

[Sean]

Can you share a link? Maybe folks here would like to chip in too...

-S

[strawberrybrick]

The forthcoming issue of Prog looks like it will be on sale on January 11. All the titles are now up for sale. Prog was the second most profitable title TeamRock owned. The big company losses came from ventures in radio and games. If a new buyer for the magazines as a group, or solo, isnt found, we'll be looking to launch a brand new progressive music title early next year.

That's about as much as we can really say at this point.

Thank you for your messages of support.

Good news!

Link is here:https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ukrockcommunity

[Digital_Man]

Does anyone know if those of us who buy the magazine one issue at a time(as opposed to a subscription)can still purchase it through the team rock website? The latest I have is the Tales issue and would like to get the latest(Marillion cover)which is not out in the stores yet.

This is bad news though. I really enjoy the magazine and have bought it consistently at the book store for a while now. I hope it is reinvented somehow and I wish the staff and those who lost their jobs the best of luck.

[Mister Triscuits]

Does anyone know if those of us who buy the magazine one issue at a time(as opposed to a subscription)can still purchase it through the team rock website? The latest I have is the Tales issue and would like to get the latest(Marillion cover)which is not out in the stores yet.

The latest issue is the Vangelis cover ("The Synth Issue!"); the Marillion cover was three issues ago.

[Progression/John]

Best of luck to those in the Teamrock orbit who have lost their jobs, the end of a publication never is a good thing. Progression is blessed to have enjoyed strong support over the years and looks forward to marking its 25th anniversary in 2017.

[glawster2002]

But it's a commercial enterprise and "commercial success" is what they are trying to accomplish.

In any event, I highly doubt that it would have been feasible. If such a thing could have been profitable, they would have already done it.

I think this is yet another example of people thinking that the interest in progressive rock is much greater than it actually is. The owners of the labels and the organizers of the festivals can attest to what the true market conditions are.

As "Prog Magazine" said above, the problem wasn't with Prog magazine, it was with other parts of the business, so that would indicate there was plenty of interest in the magazine from the Prog community.

I would hazard a guess that Classic Rock was the most profitable publication, so it could well be both magazines survive in one form or another.

I for one hope so.

[Facelift]

I would hazard a guess that Classic Rock was the most profitable publication, so it could well be both magazines survive in one form or another.

I for one hope so.

Sure. I don't buy either of them, but they're good to have around.

[Svetonio]

As "Prog Magazine" said above, the problem wasn't with Prog magazine, it was with other parts of the business, so that would indicate there was plenty of interest in the magazine from the Prog community.

(...)

Exactly. People lost their jobs, that's bad, but at least it's good to hear that that "debacle" of Prog zine is not caused due to lack of interest for progressive music, as some were suggested on the forums.
Btw, I remain convinced that it could be a nice deal - at some point in their future development as they'll start with a new progressive rock zine as I understand from their post - to try with the publications in a foreign language(s). As I already suggested earlier, e.g. Poland is interesting due to current local enthusiasm for rock progresywny. Or in France, as there are many people who do not know and never will know to read English language but prefer to listen to rock progressif as they have a pretty vibrant scene there as well; not to mention that French edition of a branded British progressive rock magazine can be easily sold also in Switzerland, Monaco and Belgium.

[Digital_Man]

The latest issue is the Vangelis cover ("The Synth Issue!"); the Marillion cover was three issues ago.

The Marillion cover was right after the Tales cover wasn't it? Was there one in between the Marillion and the Vangelis?

[Mister Triscuits]

The Marillion cover was right after the Tales cover wasn't it? Was there one in between the Marillion and the Vangelis?

The Marillion was before the Atom Heart Mother cover, then the Tales, and then the Vangelis. My local shop still didn't have the Tales last time I was there; I'm always two issues behind.