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NSMD Business Interruption over!
- Details
- Category: Current News
- Published on Wednesday, 20 July 2011 19:39
- Written by George Lawrence
The business and production of Not So Modern Drummer magazine was interrupted severely by a number of events during the first half of this year 2011 . There are many subscribers, advertisers, customers and dealers who have questions, problems and issues that need to be addressed. Please see if the information below addresses your concern before emailing .
1. When was the last issue?
-The last issue was #16.4 with Smokey Johnson on the cover. It was mailed in February 2011.
2. I did not receive a Spring issue!
-There was no Spring issue. The Summer issue is being printed and mailed in July, and will be the next issue you receive on your subscription. There will only be three issues this year. You will receive the number of issues you paid for.
3. I paid for a subscription before February and didn't receive #16.4.
-Yes , there were some technical problems with the subscription computer program, Paypal, and our website. We were not receiving emails that are generated by an online subscription order. Some new subscriptions did not get entered because of this technical glitch and others were due to human error. I am going through all records and correcting this now. If you are one of the subscribers who was shorted, please email me with the subject "Subscriber problem" and I will give it priority.
4. I emailed and/or left a phone message and have not received a reply.
-Yes, again the fault is on this end and I am not ignoring you. There are several thousand emails and phone messages that have not been returned by me due to unforeseen circumstances described below. I am working my way through that pile of emails and voice mails now. Please email me again if your problem has not been addressed over the next week or so.
5. Where are the free issues at the drum shops and music stores?
-I am discontinuing the distribution of free magazines. It was a noble experiment that was actually working to attract more advertisers, but there were conflicts with the new distribution companies who will be handling NSMD in music stores, book shops and new stands. There will be free magazines for advertisers only.
6. I am in Europe and have not received the last two issues.
-Yes, that is being resolved asap. Those magazines will be sent to your European distributor and then on to you.
7. Your website has been down for two months. What's up?
-The NSMD website was hacked in the Spring and email viruses were sent to customers. Our online database was also infected and damaged, which is still being repaired. I took the site offline and hired a new website designer and administrator to build a new site that is less hackable.These things take time.
8. NSMD was not at the Chicago Drum Show. What happened?
-Illness. I and another of the NSMD crew were too sick to travel. We had to cancel at the last minute and it caused problems for many people. I appreciate the patience of Rob Cook and thank him, his crew and Bill Ludwig for taking up my slack. I apologize to anyone who was affected adversely.
9. What happened that caused you to miss an issue?
-It was a series of personal and business related crises. NSMD is a small operation. Besides me; the CEO,editor/writer/photographer/secretary/janitor, there are an outsourced webmaster, outsourced layout person, and a handful of columnists. If I am waylaid, everyone is waylaid and the whole thing comes to a screeching halt. What caused me to be waylaid this year I would not wish on my worst enemy. It was basically an unexpected divorce, the closing of my drum shop business, moving to Nashville and illness -ALL AT THE SAME TIME! I won't go into the details of it here. Suffice it to say that these events caused us to miss an issue and lose our website for months. I am happy to say that we are past all of those problems, getting back up to speed, and concerned with repairing the damage that our subscribers, advertisers and customers suffered.
What happened to George's Drum Shop?
The depression won. The drum shop was closed at the end of 2010 after several years of declining sales and shrinking customer base due to the recession, my customers being unemployed and our shrinking dollar. I blame the entire corrupt U.S. Government, the congressmen and presidents of the last two decades, for this depression. I was fortunate to get out before I went bankrupt. I am now devoting all my time and energy to this magazine and to my music career in Nashville TN.
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George Lawrence
