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1973 vs. 2011... . (and a COOL IMAGE)

I don't disagree with anything you say, I just have a slightly different perspective.

HP started TAS in 1973 though he might have started publicity in 1972. You must remember that back then it was before: personal computers, video games, portable phones (except for the very wealthy). Videocassettes were three years in the future, and took about 10 years to become widespread. Cable TV had very little of high quality on it, it was mostly for people who had bad TV reception as opposed to an enhancement over broadcast TV in terms of programming.

On Tuesdays, new LPs would hit the store shelves. People listened to FM radio to learn about music they would want to buy. There was not much talk radio, and new acts and non-commercial music still had a chance because mega-networks like Clear Channel didn't exist. College kids wanted to have the best stereo on their dorm corridor.

An important aspect of it was, I am totally serious, social mores about dating and mating and marriage. If a girl went up to a guy's room and all there was was a bed, she might be labelling herself as a girl of easy virtue. But if there was a nice stereo and a Miles Davis or Glenn Gould LP, they were cultured. "Aspirational" magazines such as Playboy, starting in 1959, would run several features a year (main article, Holiday gift guide, Father's Day gift Guide) that implanted the idea that "the good life" included a stereo. Not today. Today, it's the freak-show aspect: look how much that stuff costs.

I attach a link to my Stereophile AWSI that puts forth the notion that the Golden Age of Hi-Fi (1946-circa 1992) was in large part the result of a one-off demographic and social confluence. Things are different now. The largest change being that listening to music used to be a social event (I will try to load an image--yes, from the 78 rpm era),



a shared opportunity to sit down and shut up and pay attention to music, whereas now it is something you do alone while doing something else, like reading your text messages or treadmilling.

Audio magazine, of course, is out of business. But let's say that when HP ran classified ads in Audio, its circulation was 300,000. If he got 2% of those to subscribe (a very high response to a direct-marketing campaign), he had 6,000 subscribers. Let's say TAS has 30,000 subscribers today. 2% of those is 600, which is not enough to make a go of it. All those numbers are total guesses. Perhap a new HP magazine would attract 3,000 subscribers, but I have a lot of trouble believing that it could attract 10,000 subscribers, especially if it was priced high enough to run without ads. Because a lot of people yearn for the TAS of old without ads, but I doubt they want to pay $125 or $150 a year!!!!!

Another factor is that compared to 1973, when startup audio companies were the rule, and computers were only at universities and many of the loudspeaker designs were laughable by today's standards, putting together a good stereo was hit or miss, while today, the sound of entry-level components is good and most high-end equipment is rather wonderful. Lots of people who passionately care about music have bought their "final" stereo. "The hobby" in that regard is a victim of its own success. We don't need a New Moses to lead us out of the wilderness and into the promised land.

All the best,

JM





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