Farewell Performing Songwriter
Monday, June 8th, 2009I came home from vacation yesterday to a pile of junk mail, bills, magazines and, in an envelope that could have easily been mistaken for a subscription renewal request, a letter from Performing Songwriter magazine editor Lydia Hutchinson. After 16 years, the magazine is ceasing publication.
The end of the magazine isn’t a complete surprise. The issues had been getting frighteningly thin as of late, and while more people than ever may be making music, the industry within which that music goes from art to business is collapsing. On top of that, print publications are folding as advertising money dries up and readers head to the web for information. All things considered, it’s amazing the magazine lasted as long as it did.
But I’m not writing to lament its death. Things, and times, change. Rather, I feel the need to offer a quick eulogy for the magazine and the stellar and inspiring work that Lydia and her staff did over the last decade and half.
I became a singer songwriter in the early-to-mid 90s. Before that, I was merely a singer, guitar player and songwriter in a rock band in New Jersey. Performing Songwriter magazine began publishing soon after I started taking songwriting — and performing — truly seriously. It was there that I read about, and discovered, many of the artists I came to admire at that time in my life. There were the Bob Dylans and Bruce Springsteens and Cat Stevens and Leonard Cohens to admire, of course, but I needed something a little more tangible to guide me. Performing Songwriter brought me John Gorka and Cliff Eberhardt. I learned about Dar Williams and Richard Shindell and Pierce Pettis. There was a contemporary folk resurgence in the Northeast, and Performing Songwriter gave these artists some serious ink. They were not superstars, but I didn’t want to be superstar. To write like Gorka, or play guitar like Eberhardt, was no short order, and enough to aspire to. In Performing Songwriter, I learned not only what kind of guitar (and capo!) the current crop of contemporary folk artists were using, but also where their inspiration came from and how they developed their performing style. I learned, most importantly, that there was something called a “performing songwriter.” It carried a bit more weight than “singer songwriter.” It sounded more active. It was something I could identify with.
The magazine had its critics in the early years, who suggested that it focused too heavily on the kind of aforementioned contemporary folk songwriters, and didn’t cover other genres like rock and R&B. Was Prince, technically, not also a performing songwriter? Or Paul Westerberg? Haven’t we heard enough about Ani DiFranco? The criticism may have been justified, but I think the magazine quickly made amends, and gave us years of engaging interviews and profiles with artists of all genres. The gear reviews and advice columns were indispensable.
The magazine also included a DIY section, where it reviewed releases by independent artists. For any indie performing songwriter with a self-released CD, it was the place to be, not because it helped your career in any tangible way — I know several artists who claimed no jumped in CD sales, not even one disc, as a result of the review — but because it was a review written by your peers and read by your peers. It was a nice badge of honor, and looked great in your press kit and on your web site. For me, it took four releases before I finally got my review. My EP Other People’s News was reviewed in January 2008. It felt great (even if Don Henley was on the cover). Nothing much happened after that. But I had finally gotten my PS review.
I was a subscriber on and off over the life of the magazine, and after lapsing for several years, recently subscribed again, hoping a reminder in my mailbox every month might resuscitate the lapsed performing songwriter in me. I’ll have to find that jump-start elsewhere. And that’s as it should be. A magazine isn’t going to get me to pick up my guitar any more than it’s going to get me to ride my bike more. But it does create a sense of community, and a feeling that there are others like you, doing a similar thing, who might be reading the same thing and looking for that same inspiration.
“One of my friends said that Performing Songwriter has never been just a magazine. It’s the community that formed around it and supported it, and it just wore the clothes of a publication,” writes Lydia in her letter. “The community is still there, steadfast and strong; it’s simply time to change clothes. I don’t know exactly what the outfit’s going to look like, but that wonder is part of the joy.”
I agree. Who’s ready to go shopping?
As the Italians say, “allora.” Congratulations Lydia, and the PS staff, on what you accomplished over the last 16 years. And thank you, for the inspiration, identity and community. Oh, and the review.
