Hi Fi +

RE: Hi Fi +, posted on November 6, 2009 at 13:49:33
Ross Audiophile Posts: 282 Joined: January 24, 2000	Lots of cross content between the 2 publications. Hifi+ now looks and reads like a UK edition TAS. Cheaper for the publisher, but less value for the consumer who purchases both magazines. This becomes a real issue for someone who may not like TAS to begin with. Best, Ross

Are you really sure about that?, posted on November 7, 2009 at 09:45:13

Alan Sircom
Reviewer

Posts: 57
Location: London
Joined: May 27, 2009

'Lots' of content?

By the time the next issue ships, we will have syndicated precisely one (heavily rewritten) product review between Playback and Hi-Fi Plus and precisely no product reviews between TAS and Hi-Fi Plus. Meanwhile TAS has taken one review from us. In terms of music content, we have taken one syndicated music feature and one-and-a-bit issue's music reviews. Otherwise, we use the same design team, but that's where the connection ends. We don't even have the same publisher as TAS!

There has traditionally been so little contact between the editorial offices of TAS and Hi-Fi Plus that one of the product reviews people have assumed was syndicated - a review of a Pass Labs pre/power by Anthony Cordesman - was in fact independently commissioned by both magazines. I only discovered the review was run by the same person in both magazines when I was informed by a reader how disgraceful I was to run syndicated copy.

The syndication plan is to make life simpler for European manufacturers delivering to the Americas and American manufacturers delivering to Europe. If Naim has a new amplifier for example, it's a lot quicker and cheaper to ship it from Salisbury to a UK reviewer than it is to ship it to a US one. In theory, that gives both TAS and HF+ an advantage over our rivals in both lands. We thought that you guys would prefer to read about a product earlier too. The Focal Utopia Grande EM review published in TAS earlier this year was a perfect example of this; we got one here in the UK at the end of last year. TAS readers might very well have waited for maybe 18 months or more before that product came up for review with a TAS reviewer. This, we believed benefitted everyone. The magazine gets the product faster. The readers get to read about the product faster. The manufacturer doesn't have to incur extra costs for shipping out multiple review samples.

This is a model that has proved highly successful in other branches of publishing. Everything from Vogue to local newspapers use a similar syndication system. But not it seems in hi-fi.

So, whatever we do, we can't win. If we don't syndicate reviews, many might be upset at waiting months to read a review. If we do, some of you will read the same review twice. So, we keep the syndication to an absolute minimum.

-
Editor, Hi-Fi Plus magazine, from cold, windy and wet Englandshire

RE: Seems To Make A Whole Lot Of Good Sence., posted on November 9, 2009 at 12:16:49
Vinylly	.

Hope you weren't referring to me Alan ;-), posted on November 8, 2009 at 15:35:13

Shane from AUS
Audiophile

Posts: 1454
Location: Sydney
Joined: December 26, 2000

Why syndicate at all Alan?

Especially now that hifi+ has TAS written on the cover. It is now very obvious that TAS owns hifi+ , so if any reader wants to read the TAS review, they can buy TAS and read it, or go to the AV guide and read it for free. How long will it be that hifi+ reviews are on hifi+/AVguide website?

hifi+ gets 4-5 pages of duplicated review content and some other worthy product misses out for that month.

I see no upside whatsoever in syndicating reviews in such a small insular world of hifi where many people buy both mags, unlike Vogue.

All you are doing is pissing off loyal customers who actually go out and spend their own money buying both magazines.

That was kind of clever of Anthony Cordesman, posted on November 7, 2009 at 10:09:07
keith_d Audiophile Posts: 931 Joined: June 15, 2002	Twice the pay for one times the work.

RE: That was kind of clever of Anthony Cordesman, posted on November 7, 2009 at 11:08:44

Alan Sircom
Reviewer

Posts: 57
Location: London
Joined: May 27, 2009

Well, to be fair to the man, when the review was planned (i.e. some time before I joined), this wasn't even a consideration.

It's not that uncommon (or, at least it wasn't that uncommon). Many reviewers would write a review in one territory and self-syndicate it around others. It helped balance out the relatively low rates individual magazines are able to offer.
-
Editor, Hi-Fi Plus magazine, from cold, windy and wet Englandshire

Tis a pity military industrial complex think tanks don't pay better, posted on November 7, 2009 at 14:07:40
keith_d Audiophile Posts: 931 Joined: June 15, 2002	(I say this realizing he is not one of the unhinged hawks....)

RE: Hi Fi +, posted on November 6, 2009 at 12:45:13

Alan Sircom
Reviewer

Posts: 57
Location: London
Joined: May 27, 2009

Hi-Fi Plus has been a part of the Absolute Multimedia (now Nextscreen) group for some time. That includes TAS and Playback. The Nextscreen people was felt it was time to make that association more visible.

The great audio knitting circle has read almost everything into those three little words on the cover, all of which is complete nonsense (although mysteriously they were right about me bumping off Jimmy Hoffa because he knew too much about JFK acting as pilot for Elvis' UFO).

(oh, and it's not so sunny anymore)

-
Editor, Hi-Fi Plus magazine, from cold, windy and wet Englandshire

Is Roy Gregory still involved at all with HiFi+ ? (nt), posted on November 8, 2009 at 16:25:29
mkuller Audiophile Posts: 15929 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: April 22, 2003 Contributor Since: December 28, 2003	(nt)

RE: Is Roy Gregory still involved at all with HiFi+ ? (nt), posted on November 9, 2009 at 03:34:37
Alan Sircom Reviewer Posts: 57 Location: London Joined: May 27, 2009	Roy Gregory chose to remain as a contributor to the magazine, in addition to his other duties. - Editor, Hi-Fi Plus magazine, from cold, windy and wet Englandshire

Just to clarify..., posted on November 6, 2009 at 13:50:31
bjh Audiophile Posts: 11876 Location: Toronto, Canada Joined: November 22, 2003	Are there still two separate magazines? Everything matters, don't forget to tweak your placebos!

RE: Just to clarify..., posted on November 7, 2009 at 08:14:19
jimmycj Audiophile Posts: 1042 Joined: December 6, 2004	Not for long,Only a matter of time

RE: Just to clarify..., posted on November 7, 2009 at 16:46:30
suretyguy Audiophile Posts: 2153 Location: western Missouri Joined: October 9, 2001	Do you have inside information? Or is this what you consider to be an educated guess? Or just typical Internet BS?

RE: Just to clarify..., posted on November 6, 2009 at 15:27:24
Alan Sircom Reviewer Posts: 57 Location: London Joined: May 27, 2009	Yes. We do syndicate a small amount of material, but the two magazines have complete independence. - Editor, Hi-Fi Plus magazine, from cold, windy and wet Englandshire

RE: Just to clarify..., posted on November 7, 2009 at 07:19:22
paskinn@hotmail.com Audiophile Posts: 7 Location: UK Joined: October 24, 2009	I shall either cancel my subscription to Absolute Sound or 'Plus'....maybe both. Commerce is at the heart of magazine publishing, but the trick is not to let it become too obvious. These magazines now read like products designed by accountants......

Disagree........, posted on November 7, 2009 at 09:23:27
lenw Audiophile Posts: 382 Location: Florida Joined: April 11, 2001	IMO HiFi+ provides good articles on system setup & tuning, as well as many interesting equipment and album reviews. I'll continue my subscription. Len

Thanks for joining in, posted on November 6, 2009 at 18:00:18
dave c Audiophile Posts: 28377 Location: Ferny Hills Joined: April 17, 2000	I like someone who stands up. "I'm Spartacus" kind of thing. Editorial discussion at HiFi+ ;-)

RE: Thanks for joining in, posted on November 7, 2009 at 07:22:44
Alan Sircom Reviewer Posts: 57 Location: London Joined: May 27, 2009	Funnily enough, I distinctly remember one of the job interview questions this time was "Do you like movies about gladiators?" - Editor, Hi-Fi Plus magazine, from cold, windy and wet Englandshire

Absolute Sound bought it quite a while ago., posted on November 6, 2009 at 05:54:35
riffer Audiophile Posts: 434 Location: Toronto Joined: December 2, 2004	They decided to consolidate all the snake oil shillers under one corporate banner.

RE: Absolute Sound bought it quite a while ago., posted on November 6, 2009 at 06:38:51
middleground Audiophile Posts: 12120 Location: Montreal Joined: December 23, 2001	So what has happened to the original snake oil publication "The Absolute Sound"? Does going British provide TAS with more credibility?

It's the other way around..., posted on November 6, 2009 at 10:54:47
kuma Audiophile Posts: 5085 Joined: July 8, 2001	TAS bought the Hifi plush I thought...

RE: It's the other way around..., posted on November 8, 2009 at 12:26:20
jimdgoulding@yahoo.com Manufacturer Posts: 287 Location: Le workshop Joined: May 24, 2007	Hifi+ was my favorite tho I don't keep up with it much anymore. More music reviews and retro reviews than anybody. I believe TAS copied THEIR layout a while back. Thought that was well known.

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