A Statement From Shindig! magazine – Monday 13th April, 2015
Shindig! magazine has officially parted company with Volcano Publishing.
Volcano began publishing Shindig! in 2007 and, initially, both parties enjoyed a fruitful relationship, with Volcano enabling Shindig!’s presence in more retail outlets in the UK and other parts of the world than had previously been considered by the magazine’s editors, Jon and Andy.
However, ongoing disagreements over finances, management and business transparency, combined with unresolvable personality clashes, put enormous stress on both parties, with Volcano effectively threatening to shut Shindig! down on at least two occasions.
In late 2014, Volcano proposed a series of suggestions aimed at restructuring the magazine in order to increase its financial viability and improve working relationships. These extreme, often unworkable, ideas were queried and ultimately rejected by the editors as being too destructive to the editorial process and unfair to them as “employees” of Volcano.
In January 2015, Jon and Andy (and Phil, our live reviews editor) were made redundant by Volcano for a third time.
A temporary agreement was reached which would enable Jon and Andy (and Phil) to put together Shindig! #47 while we planned our escape and courted other publishers. Having produced the new issue in good faith, Jon and Andy (and dozens of other contributors) were horrified to discover that #47 had been rebranded without our knowledge or consent (as Kaleidoscope – Incorporating Shindig!), given a new cover and had elements of its agreed content changed or removed (again, without permission).
Over the course of the next few hours and days, Shindig!’s website had become Kaleidoscope’s website, our email accounts had been shut down, our Twitter account hijacked, our subscriber database withheld from us and our trusted and loyal team of friends, writers, allies and advertisers shamelessly approached about contributing to Volcano’s new venture.
In the seven days since Jon and Andy discovered this gross act of sabotage, we’ve been inundated with messages of support and gestures of goodwill from our readership, our contributors, our allies, our advertisers and people we don’t even know.
Our plight has been broadcast widely across the internet via blogs and social media and we are already well on the way to returning Shindig! to the record shops, newsagents, book shops and newsstands where it has made its mark.
Jon and Andy would like to extend their love, thanks and gratitude to all members of the Shindig! family. You have turned this potential disaster into a golden new dawn.
Beware of pale imitations.
A Great, GREAT publication, led by an immensely talented team of editors — Jon Mills, Andy Morten and Phil Moore — is being diluted by some crass businesspeople who apparently don’t appreciate the gem they have had the HONOUR of publishing. Their loss! SHINDIG! WILL RISE AGAIN! And Volcano will inevitably blow — not with a bang but with a whimper! Buh-bye, Volcano. LONG LIVE SHINDIG!
Great to see your website up and running already. Good luck for the next chapter of Shindig! Your support is global. ♡
So glad you guys survived!! You guys rock.
Hi, I’m Tom Finn of the band
The Left Banke. “Walk Away Renee” & “Pretty Ballerina”
I’d like to be on record as a supporter of Shindig. We, love reading your magazine and believe it to be one of the BEST publications out there.
Thanks for the early messages, people. Please continue to spread the word.
Got added to your Facebook page, read the story and got behind you guys. Absolute shambles from Volcano. I hope you put them to shame.
wonderful issues altogether, you just gained a new reader.
What could you suggest in regards to your submit that you simply made some days ago?
Any certain?
Brave boys!, we will never abandon the good old nice pair. Keep Shindid! shining!!
A real shame!! We´ll be waiting for your new project, it will be better than ever, for sure!!
Sign up for future sub news here: http://eepurl.com/bjSFQ5
I got an email today from volcano instead of my normal shindig news letter – I got very confused, I don’t know how I missed all this and it’s taken me a while to find you on this site. I am SO glad I did!
I’m so sorry for what you guys have been through and the stress and uncertainty you have been facing I’m so grateful to your magazine in so many ways keep keeping on!
Thanks Seb. Please email Volcano and also unsub to their newsletter. There’s a button on this site to sign up with ours.
Hi lads, loved reading Shindig as it was, a gem of a magazine, so good i ended up subscribing…so just curious, from what you know what the issues after this one going to be like? surely Volcano have acted against the law to subscibers? thankfully they sent the email saying they wouldn’t be lifting from my bank again as i sure don’t want a second rate magazine taking your place…what happens with the remaining issues is anyones guess though…
We’re working on our jubilant return David. Watch this space. Thanks mate!