Projects kept Drum Corps World going
While Drum Corps World has been a very popular magazine amongst drum corps fans, it wasn't easy to keep it going. Publisher Steve Vickers started many projects to keep Drum Corps World going. "Succesful and unsuccesful", Vickers says.
At DCW's peak in the late 1990s, the number of subscribers worldwide was slightly more than 5,000. "Iâ??knew I could keep the paper going, but had to come up with alternative ways of generating income, since subscription revenue and advertising were no longer covering the increasing costs of printing and mailing", Vickers says. "By early 2011 the circulation had dropped by 80 percent."
Vickers tried many things through the years. the first cartoon book in 1974 ('Drum Corps Illustrated'), a 'Trivial Pursuit'-type game in 1986, making historic CDs and, more recently, releasing restored video and film footage. "I even tried twice to start a corps-style marching band magazine, first on my own and then in conjuction with the folks at Bands of America. Unfortunately, neither attempt was successful and Iâ??lost nearly $250,000 between the two tries in 1988 through 1992 and in 1998."
"The projects that have kept the paper coming for the last nine years are the five books I've published. The 1,900 pages of information and graphics in the books have proven popular with drum corps fans and, quite honestly, are the primary reason Drum Corps World still exists today."
Drum Corps World will begin issuing monthly magazine-format publications on the internet, the first one of which will be sent on Monday, May 2nd. Drum corps fans can subscribe free of charge. To receive Drum Corps World electronically, you can subscribe at www.high-velocity-media.com.
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