'Punk Planet' To Stop Publishing

After 13 years of covering not just punk rock, but punk culture in it's many permutations, Chicago-based indie monthly Punk Planet will stop publishing following it's new issue, #80.Publisher/Editor Dan Sinker attributed the end of the magazine to a bad distribution deal, the Internet and dropping readership in a letter (http://www.punkplanet.com/pp_blog/punk_planet_magazine_r_i_p_p) published on the magazine's website. "As much as it breaks our hearts to write these words, the final issue of Punk Planet is in the post, possibly heading toward you right now," Sinker's letter begins. "Over the last 80 issues and 13 years, we've covered every aspect of the financially independent, emotionally autonomous, free culture we refer to as 'the underground.' In that time we've sounded many alarms from our editorial offices: about threats of co-optation, big-media emulation, and unseen corporate sponsorship. We've also done everything in our power to create a support network for independent media, experiment with revenue streams, and correct the distribution issues that have increasingly plagued independent magazines. "But now we've come to the impossible decision to stop printing, having sounded all the alarms and reenvisioned all the systems we can," he continued. "Benefit shows are no longer enough to make up for bad distribution deals, disappearing advertisers, and a decreasing audience of subscribers."Punk Planet Books will continue, as will the magazine's website as a "social networking site for independently minded folk," Sinker writes.I have been a reader of Punk Planet, off and on, since the late '90s when I got turned on to it by the members of Sleater-Kinney, who were featured on the cover a number of times.The magazine was a frustrating read. Great writing lay on the page next to less-then-great writing, and sometimes the magazine's features were off base, particularly when politics fogged a writer's eyes.But Punk Planet represented the D.I.Y. spirit. And it made me feel good every time I saw a new issue on the news stands.Punk Planet became, for me and I think for many, a symbol. As long as it existed, one could feel that it was possible to do things in an independent manner, free of corporate intrusion. One never felt that the making of money influenced the editorial decisions at that magazine.I'm sure Dan Sinker will publish some great books, and I hope the website continues as a vibrant space for independent thinkers to exchange ideas.