[Closed] Factory Media are to stop publishing ALL of their magazines

Not a huge surprise tbh.Factory went round buying up loads of titles (2 uk snowboard magazines,2 uk bmx magazines!!) in a diminishing print market.

A shame; I subscribed to Dirt for several years. I'm another that still prefers a magazine to a website for articles and stories.

That's a bummer. Dirt is a bit poo these days but I have an ongoing sub and quite like flicking through the mag.

Shame but Dirt had become almost funny in terms of the reviews it gave and Whitelines was seemingly written by 12 year olds. Sidewalk though man, that's not good. However, All things must past .

that's a shame, dirt is top toilet reading. don't have a tablet but not sure I could see myself taking a tablet into the shitter anyway

Woah. Sidewalk is an institution. Almost. Would be a big blow that one.

... not sure I could see myself taking a tablet into the shitter anyway

It becomes very normal very quickly.

Seems like the magazine business model is in turmoil. Plenty of newsagent titles struggling or closing (Loaded this week) but the boutique, indie sector is growing. Whether or not these indie mags make any money, it certainly seems like the advertising market for mainstream titles has gone online.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/media/11478027/Why-a-new-wave-of-independent-magazines-are-thriving.html

The standard mags full of reviews are replaced by the Internet really. Plus people used to just flick through them in WHSmiths to find the bit they wanted and not buy the mag, hence now putting them in a sealed bag with a "freebie", but then people are less likely to buy it without getting a preview of the content unless the freebie is really attractive.

Though Dirt is more wordy, but as it takes more time to read stuff like that or even Singletrack a physical mag is hassle these days as I have to carry it about for when I may have some time (also I don't spend more than a minute on the shitter 😉 ). Digital is easier as I always have either phone or tablet about.

[i]in a diminishing print market.[/i]

there's a reason for that though. Dirt has been unreadable of ages now, used to subscribe, but the quality is shocking now. Same can be said for most of the other mountain bike mags. If they're prime function is to be a vehicle for adverts, then people won't put up with long.

On the flip-side I think the marker for 'decent' mags is still here, Cranked subs sold out in 4 hours!

Buggeration! I used to work with the Sidewalk and Whitelines crew.

Been a subscriber to Dirt since Issue 1 and it'll be a really sad day if it does close. A sign of the times I guess.
It has felt a bit like it's been run on a shoestring for a long time with most articles seemingly written by Steve Jones (and I'm not sure that's good for their coherence). Getting James McKnight on board full time meant there was a ray of hope things could start making sense and there'd be less "I'm really tall so need a MASSIVE bike" bias but he doesn't seem to get much of a look in in the writing department.
Even with the slightly confused ramblings therein it's still THE bible when it comes to downhill racing and it pretty well respected. I just hope the web equivalent (any indication as to whether it's going eMag or simply website?)

Personally I can't stand eMags - I'm not sure why but I've tried a few IMB and even STW (I'm a print subscriber so get it free) but it's just not the same. Especially when you can't just flick past the adverts. Having embedded content IS great but

Question: What does everyone think they'll do with the balance of everyone's subs?

Dirt has been unreadable of ages now...

Indeed; if you're referring to the graphic and textual presentation that was one of the reasons I cancelled my sub - the fonts, their size and spacing became painful to try and read.

I pissed their designer off on that subject, they genuinely couldn't see the issue. Blue ink on a purple page mother******! As a test, I gave it to my dad to see how partially sighted folks would get on. He said it was fine. I said, what about the text? He said, what text?

Still it is very sad, I suppose I love Dirt as much for its eccentricity as for its quality. Best of the print mags imo. Don't suppose there's much chance of these titles being picked up elsewhere but you never know...

Dirt 🙁 my favorite MTB mag fun, gravity focused and racing...

Dirttrackworld??

Gave my Dirt sub up last year, got sick of Jones whinging about the dampers on £5k bikes not being right. He just got too lost in the micro detail to see that most people wanted reviews based in the reality of value for money and reliability.

Flicked through 'the history of the DH bike' in the last issue...almost bought it as it went on for pages and pages and seemed to be a good potted history of all the bikes I lusted after in the 90s...but it cost more than the cash in my pocket so I walked.

It'll be sad to not see it in the newsagent but I guess I, and most folk, have moved on.

Their DH WC reports, pre-internet, were cracking though, and the ONLY way to find out what had happened.

I too stopped my sub to Dirt last year - in artificial light (like reading on bed!), I couldn't read it at all - ridiculous!!

Wow. No more Dirt. That is a real blow. I'm sad now 🙁

Great shame. Let's hope someone buys it out as I have most of a sub remaining. I guess the money from YT couldn't pay the bills 😉

Dirt was good when it was published (and owned?) by 4130. The last one I read, probably about a year ago, was complete rubbish and it looked to have sold out good and proper. Not a huge loss for me, really.

Their advertising seems to have been affected recently as well, years ago they would always have loads of small 1/4 and 1/2 page ads for various IBD's, being in Dirt was seen as a badge of honor for the more DH orientated shops.

That all seems to have almost disappeared since they started banging on about YT, Canyon Superstar etc as the best thing since sliced bread, the smaller shops seem to have finally got fed up of giving money to a magazine that was consistently telling it's readers to sack them off and buy direct.

I guess all those smaller ads brought in more combined than a few double page spreads from the direct boys every month.

Still a shame, I have Dirt issue 1 at home, used to read it til it pretty much disintegrated in the early days.

Not surprised, or sad about it to be honest. While Ride BMX was exciting and appropriate to its scene Dirt was, mostly, guff from about 2010 onwards. It relied too heavily on Jones complaining about people making average size bikes too small for a larger than average person, and made completely undecipherable comments about damping that made no sense. In recent years if it wasn't a race report then it wasn't worth reading.

It ended for me with this review of an Orange Blood-

Blood.

Blood Orange, different oranges.
Smaller than an average orange, no it's larger than an average orange.
Orange Blood, an orange was the last thing I thought it would be.
Contradictions... Colours, bikes being sent back, sizes.
Rode Steve Wade's, didn't like the shock.
Ordered one- didn't like the size or the colour.
Got Rowan Sorrell's- liked it.
Ordered another- didn't like the colour.
Got one- it got sent elsewhere.
Got another one- had too low gearing.
Name- not what I thought.

If that's coherent, enjoyable, meaningful journalism then I'm called Judith.

On the flip-side I think the marker for 'decent' mags is still here, Cranked subs sold out in 4 hours!

Just to clarify, the [i]special offer[/i] subs (which were limited in number) sold out. Subs will be available again just as soon as the web store is up and running 🙂

I still like it

The recent features on the history of WC dh bikes was really cool

Jones is a bit obsessed with xl sized bikes tho , other than that tjr reviews are useful and at least not just a rewording of then press release unlike some other mags !

The history of DH bikes was a great article but did anyone else think they missed out on the last 2 years? From memory I seem to remember feeling a bit short changed there wasn't a 2014 bike in there and nothing current.

I could be wrong mind.

Pah, DIRT hasn't been the same since the first bloke was packed off in about, oooh 2001. What was his name again?

Jerry Dyer.

How much new stuff is the write about cycling/tennis/golf/skiing (add sport of choice) that supports regular magazines

Top "Enduro" energy gels tested this month....
How to ride a drop....
Blast that backhand...
Ten ways to hit the ball out of a bunker than no one else has though of...

[i]Ten ways to hit the ball out of a bunker than no one else has though of...

[/i]

Hoof it in the slats?

Damn it, don't like online mags. Print always better. Like my copy of Dirt every month or so 👿

I found it hard to get past all the terrible mistakes. Not just spelling and grammatical errors that a five year old could have picked up, but whole pages missing from articles, as if somebody had accidently deleted a page.

It is hard to take a publication seriously when it is put together in such a slapdash way.

I've noticed that WMB has stopped being stocked in many of the places it used to be so wonder if that's going the same way?

My understanding is that WMB is built on much firmer foundations than Dirt.

That may well be the case but if you can't buy it anywhere it won't last long.

The print industry is presently where the music industry was 10 years ago. And in the main, its addressing the problems it has in the same way. Burying their collective heads in the sand, and hoping the internet will go away. Until the point where its too late.

Singletrack (yes, theres a magazine, apparently) is a prime example of the small indie title trying imaginative ways of changing things with their subscription only model. Unashamedly going for quality in content, writing, photography and print . And good luck to 'em! I can't even remember the last time I flicked through MBUK or MBR

The big print houses are just dinosaurs now. They're still in denial about how radically they need to change what has become a non-viable business model, in terminal decline

Another who cancelled my Dirt sub last year, couldn't bear to read another bike review based on a size L not being large enough, or a size XL which was actually more of a L compared to other brands, or worst of all, bikes with no XL size option 😯 😯 😯

Did some great articles on suspension design a few years ago, but will miss the Dirt 100 most of all. (STW 100???)

Jam bo says....

Jerry Dyer

Ah yep, that sounds right.

My MBUK sub just dropped through the door (got it for the free lezyne head torch) it feels very low rent compared to ST and it's posh paper. 😉

Singletrack (yes, theres a magazine, apparently) is a prime example of the small indie title trying imaginative ways of changing things with their subscription only model. Unashamedly going for quality in content, writing, photography and print . And good luck to 'em! I can't even remember the last time I flicked through MBUK or MBR

STW & the other smaller indy titles are like the vinyl of the MTB publishing world. Using the music industry comparison. I like vinyl.

Jones turned out to be right though, if you look at the way geometry is heading now.

And the dark-on-dark text stopped when they changed designer a couple of years ago.

I can't believe Dirt will cease to exist on paper, there's too much value in the brand IMO.

So it's official then...
[url= https://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/factory-media-to-close-print-titles/017662 ]https://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/factory-media-to-close-print-titles/017662
[/url]

Brave move. Good to see the editorial team will keep their jobs.

now you can read about Steve Jones' dissatisfaction with sizing options on an online format instead 🙂

im a Dirt subscriber and its well worth it just to look at the pretty pictures rather than actually read an article, even if the pictures are adverts. Also, I agree the history of DH bikes was a great article and I really enjoyed it. Who'd have thought the 'classic' V10 from 2006 had a 66 deg HA (albeit with a bunch of sag)

If they are going to online only they need to ditch or sort out that woeful bloody mpora player.

I used to enjoy the Dirt 100 issue (would buy it digitally) but even with the change of focus from purely downhill there wasn't enough there to keep me interested the rest of the year.

I remember it launching, probably still have the first 3 years of it in my parents' loft somewhere.

Singletrack (yes, theres a magazine, apparently) is a prime example of the small indie title trying imaginative ways of changing things with their subscription only model. Unashamedly going for quality in content, writing, photography and print . And good luck to 'em! I can't even remember the last time I flicked through MBUK or MBR

Niche, direct-sub publications are the only part of the magazine industry doing well apparently. I remember an article on here about why the mag isn't stocked in the supermarkets and the wastage and inefficiency of mainstream mag distribution seems insane to me. If you can find a (small) market, sell a high-quality product to them at a price that allows you to operate.

I hadn't realised Dig had been sold back to the founder, wouldn't surprise me if some of their other titles do similar.

Whether you like Dirt or not the boys can still build some awesome tracks. At least these can't be digitized 🙂

You can moan about the product reviews but the race reports from the DH world cup and the EWS were great. I'll be sad to see it go (from print).

I'm another Luddite in magazines land, only like the paper ones. Just no interest in embedded content and I really couldn't tell you why.

If STW went emedia/online only I'd most likely not subscribe.

BoardinBob - Member

You can moan about the product reviews but the race reports from the DH world cup and the EWS were great. I'll be sad to see it go (from print).

Aye, the EWS coverage last year was superb.

I just like paper magazines. I've happilly swapped to a kindle for books but you consume magazines differently, you can't flick through a tablet. Maybe the magazine-replacement hardware just doesn't exist yet

Sad news. The thing is Dirt has been getting slimmer on content etc for quite a while. I remember buying a copy of dirt and still flicking through/reading etc over quite a few nights/days. Lately a quick flick-through in WHSmiths gives you all you need to know before buying.

There were the odd glimmers of old dirt but for the main the writing seems to have gone out of it. Sounds like they basically want the advertising ££ online but without the hardwork and print costs.

Hmmm. All online, eh? Because Factory are doing superbly with their online content in the form of Bikemagic.

so whats the deal with subs, do i get a rebate?

Hmmm. All online, eh? Because Factory are doing superbly with their online content in the form of Bikemagic.

Pretty much my thought. Dirt's website makes the mag stuff people complain about seem excellent. When the hell was the last time anyone thought "Hey, let's go look on the bikemagic website!" (the latest news on there just now is about the 27.5+ Fox 34 that was presented weeks ago)?

Luckily my sub has two issues to go and I was considering not renewing anyway.

@Kimbers, they're saying full refunds.

Ironically I got an email survey from Factory today, in which I suspect I was supposed to tell them that mpora is as influential as dirt. So I told them the internet is shit and I only read things printed on papyrus. In purple ink.

In the last few weeks ive got 5 issues of Pro cycling for a fiver, 5 issues of cycling plus for a fiver and 3 issues of cycling world a free pump and a calender for 3 quid, and lots of Intermediate and future mags available for very low sub rates,if you google them, theyre just trying to promote sub numbers to say to the advertisers we have this many subscribers, and we are charging more.

Then there are magazines like singletrack the daddy of this forum, limited availability, more expensive, less advertising, better pictures, and more words than other mags, but i havent seen any issues in Tesco or Morisons for months.

@Project, I subscribed to Your Sinclair for £3 for 9 issues and got a free copy of Sim City on tape (which took 9 months to arrive), cut-price subs deals aren't really anything unusual or indicative.

Admittedly, Your Sinclair isn't going any more 😆

very sad really, cant see dirt surviving as a sub only digital issue

i guess im just stuck in the past

cut-price subs deals aren't really anything unusual or indicative

but they push up the number of subscribers for little cost and hopefully those subbies will become full time buyers of the mags,

The sub for STW works well for me because of the additional content both in the mag and online and a website that works on various platforms (sat on the bog typing this). It didn't work for me with Dirt because the mag has started to look like an advertorial, the copy quality had become a teen fanzine rant and the website a jumbled mess that barely worked on most platforms. The latest dirt 100 was the first I hadn't purchased in years because it seemed irrelevant.
It is interesting to see how the likes of STW and rouleur have embraced a cohesive approach to print and digital whereas the likes of Dennis Publishing see online as something to fight/ an inconvenience/ potential pot of gold depending on the day of the week and want you to pay separate sub's for both

So now theres more room for a mag that hasn't let its content slide, page-count drop, article word count drop in the market.

In the last year I stopped buying Dirt. I felt almost insulted by how slim it had gotten. Stark reminder- I picked up a three year old copy of dirt recently and thought wtf. The later Dirt mags really were light on everything. For anyone to say print is dead is ridiculous. At my son's school they use Apple tablets and pc's. They also use reading books. Everything has its place and application. Moving solely to print (IMO) is just a way for the publishes to avoid paying a printer/distributor etc. They should focus on total content. Their competitors will or.......a new competitor will walk into the market and take over. All IMO but print aint dead for a long time. Its just people trying to shave costs.

Moving solely to print (IMO) is just a way for the publishes to avoid paying a printer/distributor etc.

How does that work exactly? 😕

Doh. I mean online.

Theres all the change/people changing etc but we are tactile creatures. I (personally) think media and print is the way forward.

Look at music- I bought a ipod over a decade ago. Why hasn't vinyl and CD's died off yet?

IMO bad editorial decisions, flimsy insulting content and ads galore (see bad editorial decisions) is what killed dirt. People drifted away from it.

MBUK etc are also getting abit too much like mags with ads and **** all content. Customers wont keep buying such insulting content.

THATs what kills a magazine/drops its circulation. Bad content/insulting amount of ads.

IMO bad editorial decisions, flimsy insulting content and ads galore (see bad editorial decisions) is what killed dirt. People drifted away from it.

MBUK etc are also getting abit too much like mags with ads and **** all content. Customers wont keep buying such insulting content.

Which brings us full circle to Privateer, which IMHO was the best MTB mag for decades. Great content, great imagery, no ads - no more 🙁

There's definitely a market for great printed, mags in someway shape or form, but you're right, light content and ads aren't the way but neither it seems is the polar opposite.

Singletrack is someway towards it but I prefer more gravity lead content so I tend not to buy it all that often. I'll happily pay £10 every three months for a damn good downhill mtb mag that will sit on my coffee table.

Singletrack could(?) pick up a subsection more on dirt's content? To bring dirt's readership 'up' as they grow older/change their tastes too?

This has really spoiled my day. I still remember the first issues I bought of Ride BMX and Sidewalk Surfer.

[img] [/img]

What's wrong with pdf's and kindle etc?

Less clutter and paper.

They all need to get online and have flash adverts etc.

I have had a Dirt subscription for the past 3yrs and have bought it for many more. The content has gone downhill and the mag has got thinner. It has always had some very good articles and interviews, DH and EWS race reports were the best of any publication by a long way. Which is why I subscribe. The website is a mess when trying to view it on the iPad, but ok on the PC.

The best bit about dirt was DirtTV at the EWS. 20 min video edits every race. What now? I looked forward to those immense and avoid all other race reports until I had seen them (sorry ST). Will dirtTV still run? Who is going to cover and produce a decent video edit of each round. I'm a bit fed up of 5min web edits. I want something I can sit down with a brew or a beer and get into.

Agreed privateer was great to, but missed the boat on a sub. Shame

What's wrong with pdf's and kindle etc?

PDF's are particularly bad - they're designed to mimic a piece of A4 paper exactly - with no text flow, crap zoom support, etc.

Kindles are fine for novels - assuming properly prepared ebooks - where you read straight through. As soon as you need to flick back and forth (for example consulting a map in a guide book) they're crap.

Properly designed apps are the ideal solution, but they're expensive. And mean another step in your workflow when publishing, another cost...

Properly designed apps are the ideal solution, but they're expensive. And mean another step in your workflow when publishing, another cost...

It's worse than that, actually. VAT rules mean print mags are 0% rated and digital editions attract the full 20%. When you take into account the fact that everyone expects digital to be (significantly) cheaper to buy, the margins on digital quickly evaporate.

What's wrong with pdf's and kindle etc?

You can't flick through a pdf

Less clutter and paper.

More energy spent on charging the damn things then.

They all need to get online and have flash adverts etc.

No they don't, and Flash doesn't work on iOS and many publishing houses don't have a capabilities to run HTML 5 ads yet either

8)

Lots of people saying 'xx killed dirt' are missing the point. Dirt didn't die, it was culled. Ok so I agree it was crap (IMO) but we don't actually know how much of a success/failure it actually was. ALL the factory mags have been culled to move to non print media, which includes (focuses on) video content. They may have done this as a last ditched panic, it may be a strategic early call to get a jump on what they see as a failing industry? We don't know.

Not being a reader of any other factory mags, anyone care to comment on what they were like and how they changed over the years?

Not being a reader of any other factory mags, anyone care to comment on what they were like and how they changed over the years?

Well, Sidewalk was a bit like Privateer or The Ride, only 15 years early. Long, in depth interviews, with a really varied and interesting mix of industry types/professional skaters/shop owners etc. Good, creative photography, and absolutely no "reviews" of product (they'd have a page or two of 'fresh produce', but that was literally it).

I really liked their "working class heroes" series, where they'd interview a postie or a hospital nurse or whoever, who also happened to be an amazing skater.

I didn't see it change a lot over the years. Maybe that was the problem - not attracting new younger readers?

EDIT: unsurprisingly, they've got a pretty good editorial about the decision here:

http://sidewalkmag.com/skateboard-news/buck-rogers-25th-century.html#uPywQSSWhb0bghCM.97

muppetWrangler - Member

... not sure I could see myself taking a tablet into the shitter anyway

It becomes very normal very quickly.

Always think it looks like you're off for a Monkey's Fag Break if you take a laptop, iPads or smart 'phone into the bogs.

Personally, I think some things do still work better in print. Thumbing through longer articles, especially when they're accompanied with decent pictures, is certainly more satisfying.

Ive been considering trying to start up a magazine in a similar vein to Dirt for a while. Maybe now would be the best time to do it.

I remember picking up issue 5 or 6 (can't remember which exactly) at the age of 15 - it had a review of the original Spooky Metalhead and an interview with Paul Roberts (AKA Grotbags). It was amazing and focused on all the things i loved about MTB at the time.

Back then the two month wait between issues was excruciating!

Ive got some ideas on content but any suggestions would be greatfully recieved!

Back then the two month wait between issues was excruciating!

true dat!

Ive been considering trying to start up a magazine in a similar vein to Dirt for a while

Wait for the day before the copy needs to be handed in ready for print, get extremely drunk then stare closely at your pc screen as you attempt to type the reviews.

Then don't spell check anything and send it in. 😀

Only just found out about this. Been a subscriber for years now and to be honest the way it's been handled is pretty sh*tty.

Coyote - Member
Only just found out about this. Been a subscriber for years now and to be honest the way it's been handled is pretty sh*tty.

In what way? Thought everyone was getting a refund of monies owed?

Have any other subscribers been contacted by the magazine yet?