Steven O'Rourke posted on September 03, 2008 20:00
Key Notes is not the type of person to say 'I told you so' and this morning is no different. 
The demise of State magazine, though worryingly predictable, is of course a bad thing for the people involved, but not for the music reading public. While State was in print, Key Notes took the unusual step of buying both it and Hot Press to judge the two side by side. There is no doubt that Hot Press upped it's game, but in fairness, when an 'Indie music magazine' decides to put ABBA on the cover or run a full length feature on Justin Timberlake, they are essentially gifting market share to their competitors.
In a statement you can read here, State head honcho Phil Udell talks of how 'the music magazine world is heading the same way as the rest of the industry – the audience are able to get their fix wherever and whenever they please and usually for nothing.' Surely somebody could have told Phil and Co. that this was the case 6 months ago? Or has the industry changed so much and so quickly in that 6 months that they couldn't have seen this coming. EVERYONE, even this humble blog, saw it coming.
One suspects that State (or Free State as it probably won't be known) will now rely on advertising to continue it's free existence. However, Key Notes is sure that the money men, especially in the current economic climate, will push their advertising towards Hot Press as it is the more established publication. Indeed, and again without saying 'I told you so' Key Notes predicted this in March just as the magazine launched.
Once again, this blog is sure that the future of music journalism is websites such as CLUAS, freebies such as Analogue and Connected and the Friday supplements in both the Irish Independent and Irish Times. The most worrying aspect of all of this is that Hot Press will probably slip back into pre-State mode, focusing on 'increasing its quota of fashion, gaming and much more.' Mind you, if it does, then sooner, rather than later, Key Notes suspects that it will follow State, and those that have gone before, into the dustbin of the 21st century where they'll join VHS, cassettes and Oasis.
In honour of State's new found, er, state, here's a rather old version of The Who's I'm Free:
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