What do you think of Future Music and Computer Music Mags?

[timbreman]

So are these guys just fakes who take money from whatever companies are willing to pay them in order to provide reviews?

I just dont see any relevant information in them. Of course years ago I really dug on them but now all the tips and tricks I read in them are completely recycled and constantly repeated.

[reptar]

I feel the same way.

[OurDarkness]

Future Music my ass. Last time i bought such a mag was exactly one year ago to read a JMJ interview. Compeltely pathetic - lost my 12 euros. Imo they serve no purpose whatsoever, there is nothing in them that cannot be found in the internet, from advertisments to tips & tricks, to classifieds, to anything...

For the amount of money that 4 such crappy magazines ask, someone could buy e.g. the CSound book which is 90000000 times better.

[lcvl]

+1
thumbsup

[Milesy303]

Future Music is worth it for the Studio sessions on the DVD

[timbreman]

Originally Posted by Milesy303

Future Music is worth it for the Studio sessions on the DVD

I've seen quite a few of those on youtube.

[Digital Send]

I subscribe to both......have been now for about a year.

Yes parts of both mags are a bit 1+1=2 but i do enjoy the dvds and also helps keeping up to date with the latest releases.

Personally i prefer FM to CM....mainly because of who they tend to have on the dvds, plus things on the dvd are better labeled/layed out.

[rushton]

i get them both prefer fm over cm

[msl]

They are crap. The only mag I find useful and buy is SOS.

[chrisso]

Originally Posted by timbreman

I've seen quite a few of those on youtube.

That's harsh.
You can see it for free because someone else has stuck it on YouTube.

Originally Posted by timbreman

So are these guys just a bunch of fakes who take money from whatever companies are willing to pay them in order to provide reviews?

That's super harsh.
I think they are journalists trying to do a service, trying to appeal to a lot of people.
So they don't appeal to you? That's fine, but don't accuse them of such bad behaviour.
Those magazines don't appeal to me, but if you note the kind of VERY basic questions that get asked on this forum you might want to give FM a tiny break.

[Don Solaris]

FM is a magazine that gave MC-303 something like 94% or so (one of the highest marks). That was something like 14 years ago, and also the last time i bought this mag. It was obvious even for a young teenager like me (back then) that there was "something wrong somewhere".

[Transistor]

Even stranded in an airport with hours to throw away before my flight, I'd pick porn over either of them. In other words: not going to happen. The only paper magazine I bother with is SOS - which I think is pretty good.

Why? Because IMHO both of them are just a collection of more or less pretty pictures, with very little actual information. In addition, their reviews are tailored towards a different demographic than mine.

r,
j,

[Digital Send]

Originally Posted by Don Solaris

FM is a magazine that gave MC-303 something like 94% or so (one of the highest marks). That was something like 14 years ago, and also the last time i bought this mag. It was obvious even for a young teenager like me (back then) that there was "something wrong somewhere".

I was under the impression that FM was only a few years old and that CM was about 10 years old......correct me if im wrong.

Reviews in all magazines (be it womans gossip mags, lad mags, music mags etc....) are just one persons opinion. If i read a movie review in Empire and they give some film 10/10 and then i go an watch this film and i think it was more like 2/10, im not going to stop reading Empire.....

[crufty]

I think CM is better then FM. CM has its place. One, it helps the newbie. Two, I look at their reviews as advertorials, a way to see software and perhaps hear demos (on cd). At $15USD its too expensive for me to justify constantly, but they do approach serious subjects every now and then beyond the "how to layer synth" articles.

Three, I buy them primarily for some of the strange samples you find on there, as well as nicely recorded clips of acoustics, like drums in the style of zeppelin (in big time studios) that I would not ordinarily have access to. Plus they have all those free plugins, free hosts etc. So there is no reason for anyone to pirate software, period. Fifteen bones gets you pretty decent tools to learn on: hosts, samples, va synths, drum machines, etc.

Re MC303, look at the reviews for MC808. There are so many issues with that box, and it ranked constantly 9/10, garnering 'awards' etc etc in ALL magazines. Sometimes I wonder if the reviewers actually used it, or if they just ran a few demo patterns in a store.

Best magazine is TapeOp, followed by SOS. Virtual Instruments was good but I have no idea what happened to it.

[shamann]

Originally Posted by Digital Send

I was under the impression that FM was only a few years old and that CM was about 10 years old......correct me if im wrong.

Future Music is older. CM started 1998 I think, FM at least a few years before that.

[Digital Send]

Originally Posted by shamann

Future Music is older. CM started 1998 I think, FM at least a few years before that.

I just checked my last issue.....FM210


210/12 = 17.5 years


Thats a long time!!!!

[SWAN808]

'Advertorials' that is a good way of putting it.

Their reviews I think are a joke. Almost every one magically is awarded as 'Platium award' or 'editors choice'. Their gear secion at the back - each item they reivew automatically gets bumped into their 'top 10' regardless of its genuine relation to that group. I have very little confidence in their reviews.

Some of their articles are just terrible. I just grabbed a few back issues:

'Synthesiser Masterclass' - "Oscillators are the building blocks of sound. They're a cinch to get!' They are talking to kids! absolute beginner tosh! Thats not a Masterclass.

They did a mixing tutorial recently - I cant find it - but their features always promise so much on the cover with sales like 'Get your mixes knock-out punch pro sound'!
And then when you get to the article - it is so basic and written almost childlike.

I also find loads of typos in their mag.

It just seems hastily constructed with little genuine thought and competance put tino the articles.

HOWEVER

I do like the DVD artist interviews - nice to see these people in their working environments
I do occasionally find the audio review samples to be useful.
I do like the fact that they have their finger reasonable on the pulse of modern music - and interview quite a few artists Im interested in AND get gear-talk from them!
Their music reviews can be useful.

Conclusion:

As a pro producer/mixer this is more like a comic - its not for pros
Its for aspiring pros/people who like to GAS about gear and read about artists they are interested in. The tutorials are mostly dross tho. And I hate the way they sell-out by giving every review a high score.

For reviews and more serious stuff I go to SOS. For entertainment - FM.

I never look at CM.

My personal opinion....

[carbon111]

FM or Keyboard are fine if I'm going to the bathroom but for substantive articles I look to SOS and Tape Op.

[ripe]

I think that the old Future Music (early 90's) was awesome. They had good interviews with real bands, not just DJs and "producers", usually the interviews had some good studio photos and kit lists. The reviews were good, with nice layout & pictures and most everything was hardware, not sample CDs and plug-ins.

Right around the time Future Publishing started pushing a bunch of other magazines and changed the layout and look, the quality took a nosedive and I stopped reading.

I switched over to SOS and subscribed when they came out with the international edition since it was very difficult to find euro mags in the US.

cheers
ripe

[buscemi]

I'd also rather read SOS and TapeOp (subscribe to both) and occasionally pick up CM for a good plugin and their writeup about some plugins can be very good (they were great at explaining one a few months back and it was really more than I could find elsewhere). It might be because I'm not dancey/trancey or whatever, they may hit the mark more with a different demographic.

[longbongsilver]

They mostly suck, but I rarely ever buy magazines anyway. I don't mind 'em for a pick-up-read-and-put-back-on-shelf at the rare moment they have an interview I'm interested in, but that's it.

[monads]

Originally Posted by crufty

Best magazine is TapeOp, followed by SOS.

+1 But I can't find TapeOp at my local Borders anymore.

[buscemi]

Originally Posted by monads

+1 But I can't find TapeOp at my local Borders anymore.

Get the free third class subscription: TapeOp.com

[Reptil]

Originally Posted by Don Solaris

FM is a magazine that gave MC-303 something like 94% or so (one of the highest marks). That was something like 14 years ago, and also the last time i bought this mag. It was obvious even for a young teenager like me (back then) that there was "something wrong somewhere".

LOL
feel the same way about Sound on Sound, after their logic 7.0 review
(that version paralised my computer and me for a month or two)
some parts are good in the old ones (I keep m around)

btw we got gearslutz so...

[rockmanrock]

Anyone remember Music Technology mag? It was excellent.

[FeatheredSerpent]

I think a couple of people are completely missing the point which is that CM IS a beginner's magazine.

Once you've got past the basic levels of understanding then 90% of the magazine's content will be useless, but there are new people getting into music all the time and it is the cycle of newbs that CM appeals to.

It's moronic to complain that a newb magazine doesn't cater for experienced users.

The software demos, free plugs and samples etc on the magazie are excellent, and they know their software so the reviews are often decent.

Mind you the last time I bought a copy was when they reviewed one of my tracks in there

[crufty]

music tech is the worst of them all when it comes to product reviews. No longer do I read these magazines and go buy things blindly, I'll say that much. Part of living and learning I guess.

[CircusofMind]

I've subscribed to SOS and CM for a couple of years. They had their time and place, but I am stopped my subscription to both of them. The only thing I get out of them anymore is keeping up to date with product releases. Its not worth it for me.

I agree that it is hard to trust reviews in a magazine. It is much more worthwhile to find review on sites such as gearslutz because you can ask the reviewer questions and hear alternative viewpoints.

[My Tiny Circus]

I stopped buying either of these a long time ago. The same goes for SOS, Mix etc. The same subjects cycled and after a year or two you've read them all. The interviews with people are sometimes amusing especially if they're more opinionated than informed or criticising someone famous. Perhaps there's a need for People (mixing) magazine.

There are three potential variables, change in which would make music technology magazines interesting...

1. The laws of physics
2. The evolution of the human hearing apparatus
3. Technology

..even Scottie knew you couldn't change #1 and the rate of change of #2 is as slow as #3 is fast. So if you really like technology and it's application to music and have the money, buy the mags until they bore you.

I still get Keyboard though.

[Popbott]

Since 82, keyboard mag was my music bible up until 2007 when they did an extensive format change reviewing uninteresting artists I had never heard of. I recently bought an issue, it was a good read so I may re-subscribe.
A while back, I bought an American issue of Future Music, it was wrapped in see thru plastic. The top border of the cover said "Inside: All About Nine Inch Nail's New Album!" I bought the issue thinking I would get some great insider info an gear used and so on, but all I got was a lousy two article spread on a review of the latest album. I was disappointed to have been misled and have not bought a single issue since then.

I have enjoyed MIX mag, Future Music (European version), and a few others, but most are but too expensive for me these days. I would rather save up and buy more gear.

My recommendation is that you flip through a music magazine if you can and make your purchase if you think the information is useful. Subscribtions are often very inexpensive if you can find the post card paper insert that advertises a special price inside a magazine itself.