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It's time to start writing again. I realize you like travel and cuisine, but it's time.How much pirozhki and borshch can one eat?
Meat; It's the right thing to do. Romans 14:2
Edits: 09/11/15Follow Ups:
Agreed-
there are so many avenue(s), in which Sam, can publish his writings now.
:-)
...there is life after reviewing. Good life.
...but no spotlight.
I get the impression Sam's ego is such that he is not so shallow as to require the spotlight. A "spotlight" that in this dying hobby gets dimmer with each passing day.
...I believe you are mistaken.
"I believe you are mistaken."
About Sam, the hobby, or both? Are you privy to some inside info.? Is that old blighter poised for a comeback? Are you suggesting he worships the limelight like some aging diva? Is TAS knocking on his door? C'mon, don't play coy, elaborate.
but not a lot of income from writing reviews. :-(
I don't know much about him because I never really read Stereophile Magazine but you guys seem to be saying he was Tellig it like it is.
I read some of his postings here and he said he doesn't think Stereophile Magazine will be around four years from now. Will the world come to an end if it's gone?
...wrong song.
The Nilsson song is great music. When I started playing the My Fair Lady "without You" I thought well once again I find that there is no accounting for taste.
I doubt Sam made a whole lot of money at Stereophile anyway. Unless you're a full time salaried employee, you could never live on the income.
I have the feeling Sam is doing just fine. I wish him the best. There was a time Sam's column would be the first thing I would read every month. I loved his sense of humor.
> I doubt Sam made a whole lot of money at Stereophile...
Sam Tellig was Stereophile's highest-paid writer in terms of how much he
earned per word.
John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile
to those detractors of stereophile on the critics corner.
roger wang
I miss Mr. Gillette. I miss Corey Greenberg. I miss Rob Reina. Nothing and no one lasts foever. Tom championed a lot of great things that otherwise got ignored. I think of his love for Quicksilver monoblocks in particular. But one could tell he was growing old, tired, jaded, and less active. From the loss of his dear friend Lars to physical injury to listening to low fi ukelele music to searching out the convenience of Bluetooth-the writing was on the wall. If memory serves, Tom had left once before and come back. Because I admire him, I selfishlessly would have preferred he had been a bit less vocal on this Board. A few wry quips and a word here and there to signal he is OK and persevering on would have gone far and accomplished as much. My take is from afar as a reader and if I am way off the mark dear Tom I humbly apologize. I hope you and Marina enjoy every last day.
...no wonder his columns were so long.
"Sam Tellig was Stereophile's highest-paid writer in terms of how much he
earned per word."
They were pearls of wisdom that dropped from the stars in the sky like gemstones and worth every penny paid for them.
> They were pearls of wisdom that dropped from the stars in the sky like
> gemstones and worth every penny paid for them.
Indeed!
John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile
I was just trying to put a happy spin on what seemed to be a sad set of circumstances. Actually I don't think I ever read one word he wrote. Brevity may have been an attribute. On the rare occasions I read reviews the first thing I do is go straight to the measurements. I'm no fan of long tomes. I never even tried to get through War and Peace. If I read the verbiage at all, I go first to how it sounded. Seems like a waste of time though since the answer is always the same, "GREAT, BREATHTAKING, INCREDIBLE, THE BEST I EVER HEARD" or at least that's how it seems to me. So why bother?
However much he was paid per word, that didn't seem to be an issue since he wasn't asked to take a rate cut per article, told to make them longer, or told his services weren't wanted any longer. As I understand it the entire issue was over the timeliness of getting paid. But as anyone who works as a contractor knows and I have on many occasions, you don't get any of the fringe benefits of being in a full time salaried position and that is worth typically 30% in addition to the cost of a salary so it's not a straightforward comparison.
Salary? Sam clearly stated he was not part of the club. He did not get the memo.
"I doubt Sam made a whole lot of money at Stereophile anyway."
Bingo. Judging by all the whining I've witnessed over the years concerning "low pay," one gets the impression the only way in which a reviewer could find a vocation paying less is if he were to secure part-time employment at Walmart.
My favorite lament, it has been reworked ad nauseam here and elsewhere, is the one which begins: "If you only knew the time and effort that goes into a review for the paltry sum it brings you'd wonder why I even bother
to review products in the first place!"
Cue violins.
After that plaintive opening, readers are made to understand that it's the reviewer's passion and dedication to this hobby that drive him to undreamed acts of altruism as he seeks to bring knowledge and understanding to his lucky readers. ~:)
...no one does it for the money, and only a few can give up their day jobs - but it was nice to get a check for a few hundred dollars for a review.
In fact look at all the amateur reviewers writing for the ezines for free.
As a true hobbyist, it allowed me audition a ton of interesting equipment in my home for weeks and months - for free.
And all I had to do in return was write articles about how the equipment sounded - that's not as easy as it looks but I learned a lot about writing.
Not a bad deal - being across the US from the editor allowed me to do my own thing without too much interference.
The money I was paid for the reviews I wrote for Listener worked out to a lot less than a dollar an hour for the time each review required. I'm not a natural writer so I sometimes spent a couple of hours polishing just one paragraph to my satisfaction. I completely agree with Mr. Kuller that the real reward for writing the articles was getting to play with cool expensive gear for free. Also, since I was being paid (albeit modestly) for writing, there are various tax angles one can work to get Uncle Sam to effectively subsidize your hobby.
There are some reviewers who purchased mega-buck systems. In addition to tax write-offs they may be able to get, they saved substantial amounts of money on their purchases. A reviewer whose system sells for $100,000 retail may have in effect received a $40-50,000 benefit. Consider a guy like Fremer, who does have a mega-buck system no doubt all bought with a discount.
I'd think that at the least quite a few reviewers basically get equipment for free. Just as an example.......
Two years after writing a rave review of a $6500 (at the time) Wells Audio amp culminating in telling readers he purchased the amp, Doug Schroeder listed the amp on A'gon for $3500. That's probably what he paid for it with his discount. Presumably it sold - the listing is gone.
One way to look at it is that the use of a $6500 amp for two years at zero cost is remuneration. BTW - *I'm in no way implying anything untoward about Doug or other reviewers*. Just sayin' that maybe things like that should be counted as remuneration rather than trying to minimize it by referring to it as a mere "perk".
I suppose it does.
LOL...
You are missed, Sam.
+1
.
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