If you were a guitar player any time during the last 58 years there was probably a period of your life where Guitar Player Magazine was your bible. When I was a kid in my first bands I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a new edition, where I knew I’d learn about the latest techniques, gear (especially gear!), and the new hot players. Sad to say that young guitar players won’t have that same opportunity has GP has decided to end its print edition after the October edition. The Guitar Player website will still continue.
The big reason why the print publication is ending isn’t that hard to understand – Fewer people are playing the guitar these days. It’s pretty easy to create music now without having to learn an instrument, and that has taken its toll on music magazines and guitar manufacturers alike.
This is not a judgement on music being created today, it’s just the reality. I have no doubt that many of us who started playing in bands way back when would be solo “producers” if our musical lives started today.
10% Not Enough
I don’t know if it’s always been this way, but Fender did a study recently where it found that 90% of new players quit within 3 months. The 10% that remain become rabid enthusiasts at the very least, purchasing 5 to 7 guitars and multiple amplifiers worth around $10,000 over their lifetimes.
The problem is that number of dedicated players isn’t enough to sustain a print magazine anymore. The fact that so much guitar-related information is now available for free online doesn’t help either.
The good news is that Guitar World magazine will still continue in print, for anyone who still needs a magazine in their hand. But the end of the print Guitar Player Magazine looks like it also marks the end of the era of the guitar.
