New name to me?
Does it cut it, ho ho?
Seriously, given the multi-tasking admitted by many here, is it any good?
Yes, yes, I know it is not quite kosher to discuss the merit of competition here, especially if risk of ship-jumping, but, hey, where else am I going to get a good biassed unbiassed opinion?

what other publications the Massive read. I read Mojo regularly, but I'm never as pleased to see it drop on my doormat as I am when the latest Word arrives - what else would you recommend I try?

I would happily go straight to download Now Hear This! - all I do is rip it to iTunes and put the box in a pile with the others. Problem is the code could be published on the internet in any blog and then it's free for anyone to download so doesn't encourage magazine sales. But I don't understand magazine marketing, so maybe it doesn't drive many sales in the first place.

is a great read. I think you can browse an online version of it on their website each month.

is the first magazine I've acquired a read-every-month attachment to since the heyday of the Rebello-Queenan-era Movieline, 15-20 years ago. God I miss that mag.

As someone who still considers CDs cutting edge, I don't have the knowledge, equipment or inclination to 'rip', 'burn' or indeed 'pillage' my music.

As for what I'd change - please make '99% True' into '100% True', I don't see the point of putting a porky in there & it'll save me reading the upside down bit first so that I don't tell my friends that Charlton Heston's mother was made out of butter or whatever..

That it's far more fun to see a really witty damning review of a big name act than a heap of nonsensical gush...

More please

Feature of other people's recommendations (the name of it completely escapes me for the moment - Word to the wise?).

Get rid of the frankly baffling cartoon.

Perhaps increase the space devoted to other performing arts such as film, TV, DVD and radio. A bit on live theatre would be good but I can see that could cause difficulties if it concentrated on plays in London (or any other single city).

Or just leave it as it is. It's still the only magazine I subscribe to and I really look forward to its appearance every month.

I'd prefer a download rather than a disc I never get around to ripping but I don't care a great deal either way.

Posted by Iain McKinney on 14 August 2008 - 9:29am.
Hello lovely Word people.

Forgive me if this idea has been forwarded before, but in the interests of saving the planet, would it not be possible to make the free CD a free download for subscribers. It would also save me having to rip it to my pc.

I appreciate it might be a packaging & logistical nightmare, but hey, its just a thought.

The download instead of cd is a great idea but would the casual browser be hooked?

In a recent podcast, the Word team were bemoaning the fact that some reviews - especially for big name acts - are rushed, and there may not be adequate listening time available thanks to the way record companies behave.

Well why not call that a preview, and then come back in more depth when you have had time to listen.

I would be perfectly happy to read a review after an album has had time to bed in - representing it to the readership for discussion after it's been assimilated by writers and readers alike. Also, people's opinions of a record change as you get to know it better, so it could be worth revisiting some albums for that reason too.

I reckon this could work as DVD reviews often tackle material that writers and readers alike are already familiar with, but gives the chance to reasses.

If the CD gets removed I will be sorely disappointed. For those of us who have ears, the CD still provides much better sound quality, and in increasing levels of music consumption, having something else to add to iTunes (where a maximum iPod capacity is about 150GB) is just madness. The CD stays!

Also, can we have more of the big articles if possible? I really enjoy when someone does a load of research and comes up with a corking three page article (for example, Hepworth's outstanding piece on Toumani Diabate). If we could have more like this, all would be well.

..I'd be happier if it was just in a simple flat slipcase. I've a mountain of cds from music mags and they take up far too much space in my collection.

If it was download only, I'd probably never get round to listening to it.

and I like the cd case(artwork), and generally I like the mag the way it is. Though I do wish Word Of Mouth had been kept and Peter Blegvad's cartoon had been binned.

Word Of Mouth - I didn't even notice it had gone, and I always thought it came caross as a glorified list, which didn;t ever encourage me to listen / watch /read any of the suggestions.

I love the 20 best / worst item.

Maybe some more about internet radio / podcasts?

Generally I woudn't change much - I hate that "new boy manager" thing where someone insists on sweeping changes just to make their own mark for their own career prospects - I sincerely hope nothing like that is going on!

I really like the current mix of different formats, different topics, different angles etc - it's what makes The Word!

on these here pages is someone asking for technology advice. I think now would be a good time to bring back Doctor Digital (or whatever the feature was called). Readers could post their techno queries and get answers as they do now from fellow Wordies [or, if not, the tech quack can step in], and the Digital Doc could pick the best ones and print them in the mag.

Empire.

Games TM (All you need if you like a good gaming session now and again.)

Private Eye.

When Saturday Comes.

I can't believe a magazine like Word will kaw-tow to record company rubbish for album reviews. If the good people releasing U2s album say you have to listen to it once in a special room whilst being watched, can't you just laugh at them and tell them you'll review it next issue instead?

Word readers either like or don't like U2 and waiting a while for a review isn't going to hurt us.

I was actually quite suprised listening to that Podcast with Kate Mossman that you would take any monkey business like that. Does it affect a single magazine sale if you have a review of an album before it comes out or not? Remember when Word started and they only reviews about 10 albums each with a one page review?

I'm sure there are good reasons for all of this and maybe it's driven by the casual buyer or market research.