We have 6 days to save Arthur magazine

Aren't these the guys who were so proud of themselves for putting a logistical beatdown on the dude from Godsmack?

if it dies we get to see shakey mo torn between RIP thread urges

yeah, this is a great mag. i have already paid for my subscrip tho, and i am broke so they're gonna have to do it without me.

get a new joke ethan

He's not dead yet, dude

hard times befallen the soul survivors

Shakey, not to get all jaymcxls, but is yr brother the dude who does that magazine? i know lar1sssssss who was involved with that....

RIP

maybe devendra can embezzle 20 gs from natalie portman

How come nothing cool can exist anymore?

yeah Jay is my brother

I will take out an advertisement in the name of my boss tomorrow. Arthur is great.

Instead of having a donation emergency, why can't they just charge a little bit for the mag? Wouldn't this help stabilize the cash flow? I think folks would be willing pay a little bit each issue?

Plus, how can the long term prospects be good if folks are buying ads and there are no new backers?

are=aren't

I do not have answers to these questions, sorry

"Instead of having a donation emergency, why can't they just charge a little bit for the mag? Wouldn't this help stabilize the cash flow? I think folks would be willing pay a little bit each issue?"

This is a lot harder than it sounds.

I would think that charging mags and free mags have completely separate/different distribution systems

This is a lot harder than it sounds.

Yeah, I don't know the biz AT ALL. I'm just wondering how much harder it is than having these doomsday situations. They seem like they could be incredibly stresful.

Didn't they try to charge outlets for carrying the mag at one time? (Maybe I misheard.)

Is this a magazine about the movie Arthur?

Yes

shall I wash your cock, sir?

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2005/04/21/fondue_arthur2_wideweb__430x315.jpg

It's a bubbly comedy about the world's richest drunk!

, and an “under-performing non-magazine product” (the Living Theatre dvd, for which we’ve sold less than 25% of the printrun since launch, received zero reviews or notices, etc)

If you're running a struggling magazine w/ an assload of debt, perhaps not a great plan to branch off into video.

Just saying.

http://hub.tv-ark.org.uk/images/itvnorthwest/itv_northwest_images/programmes/gtv_thankyou_telethon88b.jpg

Jay's probably not reading this thread so if you want him to read your stunning business insights you might want to email him.

Just saying.

Someone asked: "Instead of having a donation emergency, why can't they just charge a little bit for the mag? Wouldn't this help stabilize the cash flow? I think folks would be willing pay a little bit each issue?"

No, it wouldn't. Read the interview with me on The Nation website (reposted on the Arthurmag blog) for the reason why.

"Plus, how can the long term prospects be good if folks aren't buying ads and there are no new backers?"

Re-read what I wrote. Adsales are actually trending up. And long term prospects are good, but we can't announce these things yet. The mag needs to publish regularly, in the short-term. If we die now, the long-term stuff may still happen but the mag will be a beast of the past.

(You can't go away and come back again and again in magazine publishing. You have to publish regularly, and on schedule. That's why they call em periodicals, not books.)

milo z said "If you're running a struggling magazine w/ an assload of debt, perhaps not a great plan to branch off into video."

Wrong. We did just that two years ago and it worked. We've sold out two printings of "The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda," our first dvd in a series we're doing with Ira Cohen. The second dvd, released a coupla months ago, hasn't done nearly as well -- yet. Combine that with the other factors mentioned and you can see why we are where are are. We took an educated risk, it was a plan that made sense then and I stand by it now. Plus, theat dvd needs to be out there. We did that out of love, knowing there was a good chance that it would more than pay for itself. If you looked at what it is, you'd see why -- I think.

Anyways: $17,600 so far from 157 folks.

Okay I was wrong, milo.

I just made a contribution. Well worth supporting, since I've read just about every issue. I'll buy a subscription if they make it.

Is this a magazine about the movie Arthur?

-- burt_stanton, Friday, June 27, 2008 6:45 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

this thread should really be called arthur 2: on the rocks

nearly there

Total raised: $19,355.00 (168 participants)

army recruitment ads = mad $$$$$

If yr drunk on a Saturday nite you at least gotta consider.

Total raised: $20,248.00 (212 participants)

arthur magazine isn't dead then?

$20,000 that could have gone on care for wounded veterans.

not saying that arthur wasn't good or whatever, but it's funny to think that it's so easy to generate concern and money from so many people for such trivial things. that $20,000 could have gotten a community clean drinking water in the third world, but you'd have killed yourself trying to get money for that. So now it's going to save a magazine that, due to the pathetic state of the print periodical industry, is probably going to need saving again sometime in the near future? Cue Mad World.

Heh. Man, I just subscribed in May! And just wrote an email about a week ago being all, like, "I wonder where my June issue is…"

The issue was sweet, the premium was meh (when will I learn that I only need, like, 20 minutes worth of Sunburned Hand of the Man at any given time—the only way to want more is to be high out of my gourd).

Good thing I didn't see this until it was saved, as I would felt all conflicted about the distance between broke and not wanting my subscription to be pissed away (also, I totally mean to write up some pitches and, I dunno, I'd be afraid that it'd be tacky to be like, "You remember me… I donated… You gotta run my extensive meanderings on why Pocohaunted reminds me of Yma Sumac…")

omg res last time u bought pants that money couldve been donated to stop global warming cue mad world

Hey, man, I already fart into a Gatorade bottle. I'm doing my part for global warming.

Res: "So now it's going to save a magazine that, due to the pathetic state of the print periodical industry, is probably going to need saving again sometime in the near future?"

What's happened with Arthur has little to do with the state of the print periodical industry -- we're barely part of that system.

cue: it's a mad mad mad mad world (saul bass)

i once saw a guy spend 15K in a club in one night
my guess, strictly from the looks of him, he probably wouldn't be too into arthur haha

did he go home w/ one-and-a-half $10,000-a-night hookers?

went home with NO ONE, at least from there. i got the figure the next day from the friend of the person i was with, who worked there.
it was incredibly boring to watch.
the bars where you might find an issue of arthur often have no $$ being spent, but at least have the potential to resemble a kusturica film.
i am going to one now!
and hey don't hate on the waterfalls guys

i once saw a guy spend 15K in a club in one night

boris merch?

That's never his name!

(he jested..)

So uh, what's the deal?

It seems like they met their goal, but there hasn't been any acknowledgement as to whether they are continuing to publish or if they are planning to use the money to binge on coke and hookers.

Anyone know what's going on?

They sent out announcements, next issue forthcoming and much thanks to everyone who contributed, etc.

hey peoples-- fwiw --

Thanks to all who donated cash to Arthur when we really needed it back in June. Arthur is doing better now, but times are getting scarier for many of us with each passing day. In the spirit of generosity that you showed to us, we would like to make this offer: if you gave to Arthur back in June and are now in real financial jeopardy, please let us know by sending a money request to us via the same PayPal account you used to send us money in June. We will get your money back to you as soon as possible. As <a href="http://www.lewishyde.com/"; target="new">Lewis Hyde</a> says in his book The Gift, we've got to keep the money moving. Even if all we've got are credit cards...

wow

class acts. for real.

omg res last time u bought pants that money couldve been donated to stop global warming cue mad world

last time i bought pants was literally 10+ years ago. regardless, pants are the bottom level of the maslow's heirarchy of needs as is clean drinking water. a more appropriate argument would have been something more akin to:

omg lol res last time u bought an excessive sports utility vehicle with indoor pool you could have donated to stop global warming cue mad world

i understand how you probably think i'm being judgmental of you and being a hypocrite or something, but you've missed the point of what i was trying to say. what i was getting at is that it's really fucking easy to get people's attention and concern for shit that doesn't matter; look at the front page of digg.com or reddit.com and tell me that even 5% of that shit really matters in any meaningful way. The fact that it's so hard to get attention, money, etc. for serious concerns in which people die unnecessarily and are forced to live horrible lives due to completely preventable situations, and that these issues go chronically neglected says a lot about who we are as a race. i'm not saying i'm not part of that; i'm just saying. sorry if i sounded too philosophical for you; the world suddenly came into perspective for a brief moment, and it wasn't pretty.

Just wanted to say that this offer, posted above, is still open and will be until further notice. So far three people have asked for (and received from us) the same amount of money they donated to us in late June.

I don't need my money back, but I would at least like to receive the magazines I paid for as part of my subscription. I had to beg and plead to get the Spiritualized issue sent to me, and so far I have not received the newest issue. What do I need to do to get these when they first come out?

(Moodles - send an email to orders at arthurmag dot com with your problem and it will get sorted)

I actually got the new issue the other day - thanks!

What is Arthur magazine anyway? Someone in my building just put a huge stack of Arthur magazines out to recycling.

It's a music magazine that needed to be saved.

dudley moore fanzine.

When you get caught between the Monks and New York City

http://www.arthurmag.com/magpie/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/a32_cover.jpg

Well, the economic contraction has now officially claimed Arthur No. 32 (Dec 2008).

For the first time in Arthur's illustrious (err...) six-year history, we are unable to go to press. Money owed to us (from people like this, and others) never came in. We didn't sell very many ads. And our credit lines have temporarily run out.

Prospects for Arthur No. 33 being printed on schedule in late January 2009 are bright, for various reasons, but Arthur 32? Well, the best we can do right now is make the entire magazine available online, for free, to everyone, in various formats. It's no substitute for the real thing, but it is better than nothing.

Contents, PDF, blog, more info here:
http://www.arthurmag.com

:-(

Plus, "Tips on surviving the upcoming depression." <-- bitter irony!

This is getting kinda tiresome. Is this going to happen, like, every other issue now until the inevitable 'final' one?

Yeah you're right, it's like, why bother?

To be honest, yeah.

I mean, it's not as if this is some massive great service that needs saving via public funding, it's a fucking music magazine. Capitalism sucks, but what are you gonna do about it? If you do actually get to the point where you're depending on the record label of "Dr Dog and the Teeth" to ensure you go to print, you may want to think about, y'know, a job with a mortgage and a pension.

Filthy, Sven - If you're finding all of this tiresome, think of how I feel. Ay yi yi. I was just passing on some news here for those who are interested in seeing the mag and may have wondered where it was, that's all.

(Also, Sven: We've always depended on people who purchase ads to pay for them. Etc.)

thanks for the update Jay and good luck!

I keep wanting to subscribe here in London but I'm kind of nervous about the magazine folding shortly thereafter. Hmmm... (but good luck - it's still the best read around)...

didn't the publisher or editor of this magazine spew all this hatred about los angeles before moving? also it's funny to come across the pitchfork "obituary" of the thing from 2007 when it's clearly not dead yet

burt_stanton, i officially like you after reading this now:

Is this a magazine about the movie Arthur?

― burt_stanton, Friday, June 27, 2008 11:45 AM (5 months ago) Bookmark

yeah i had to google it to find out. nothing personal, but this just kind of irked-amused me the first time i read it.

Culture in L.A. is in a race to the bottom, and all the smart and creative people there are [involved in] new ways to do social networking or figure out what YouTube video is going to get the most views. That isn’t culture, it’s pure pandering.

LATimes: If paying bills was the problem, it doesn’t seem like New York is the most efficient place to move?

New York is cheaper! You don’t have to have a car or car insurance, the food is better, the bars are open at reasonable hours, there are parks, people like to be outdoors, there’s no billboards, and not everything’s been built in the last 30 years.

VXI- Misquoted, mis-contexted, etc. I didn't spew hatred for anyone except Rick Caruso. Nobody should interview with August Brown at the Times and expect to be accurately represented -- he's a snake/hack.

oh after reading this - Whoa, hold on a sec. I talked to August about all the great folks in L.A. who I tip my hat to -- the people who are doing great things for each other and for the city in spite of a challenging environment -- but he left it out of the story. People like.... -truncated -

okay nvrmind, i wish the magazine the best of luck and should know better than to trust press quotes... hang in there

x-post

yeah sensationalistic vultures, what else is new? it would be cool if you were still a local outfit though, i remember reading you guys at that loz feliz stand

VXI - Well, we've always been a "national" pub, from issue 1 in Sept 02 or whenever it was. Since I moved to Brooklyn, we've continued to distribute Arthur in L.A., including Los Feliz. So...

As for the name of the mag... we addressed this in the mag once, I'll see if I can find a way to post it here, hold up...

XVI re "sensationalistic vultures" at LATimes: I've been interviewed many times thru the years by mainstream media, niche magazines, college kids, radio hosts, etc, and I've never been misrepresented so extravagantly and purposefully as August Brown from the LATimes did to me there. Point being, it *was new, for me. Once it happened, other people came to me privately and said they'd had the same experience with him. Fuck that guy.

http://www.arthurmag.com/magpie/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/arthurs.jpg

(fwiw - Those guys I mentioned via link who owed us money did finally pay up.)

I love that the avocado plant got into the illustration!

I like this magazine, I always get it at Video Journeys. Good luck, jaybabcock

Abbott - Heh, yeah the story goes (as far as I know) that for years "Arthur," the Mad Magazine office plant pictured in the magazine staff's depictions of their own office, was drawn as a marijuana plant, and those who knew, knew and those who didn't, didn't. But eventually somebody got wise and the Mad artists had to change it to an avocado plant.

jay: your ny benefit looks awesome

schlump - cool. michael hilde put it together with todd p. and i've never even met these guys! (that I know of)

http://www.arthurmag.com/magpie/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/arthurdesh.jpg

who did the art, it's ill

oh yay hippys agin

whiney - poster is by arik roper.

man, it looks great. is tjo and jana hunter tjo with jana hunter?
will be there for sure anyhow.

that poster is fucking awesome.

fwiw - FREE Arthur No. 35 publication party in Portland, Ore. this Sunday night (Aug 11) at the Waypost with performance by the great MICHAEL HURLEY, who is the subject of an 1,000-word Byron Coley feature across the middle 8-page section of the new issue. Yep. Info at the website and on Facebook

i'd go to that if i were in portland!

Whoops make that 11,000 - ELEVEN THOUSAND - word Byrocn Coley feature

hmmm 9 to 11 is kinda late when we have to drive two hours to get back home, but I may try to make this. Thanks for the heads up!

Wish I could be there too. Snock is a national treasure.