I hear there are tens of dollars to be made in dulcimer magazines and websites.

My experience with the dulcimer community on this website is a very altruistic desire to share information and music. So many on here have taken quite a lot of time out of their day to write long posts to help me or someone else or folks in general with understanding and appreciating the dulcimer, and I'm really grateful for that. At the end of the day I know that all the help I've gotten is proof that dulcimer people love helping and sharing with others, so I know they will always find a way to do it

I'm pretty sure she explored every avenue before deciding to close the doors.  Things today aren't what they were when DPN started as a mimeographed newsletter all those years ago.  Today you need not just writing/editing skills but serious computer saavy.  The costs of printing small run publications, especially in the color with the quality we expect today have gone out of sight and subscribers are dropping off as the popularity of electronic media has risen, and the remaining subscribers are less and less willing to pay the costs of production, honoraria for writers, and something approaching compensation for the editor.  

The other issue is that a magazine needs in-depth quality material to print, and fewer people these days are doing so.  People today seemingly would rather start random "sound bite" discussions on the plethora of dulcimer social media sites.  

DPN might... just might... survive as a sort of subscription-based "contributory blog" -- an electronic magazine.  Think of a website, similar to FOTMD, where you would pay a monthly or annual fee to read articles, watch short videos, and see photos, but not comment on them except for a thousand words  per month (like a letter to the editor).   There are already a number of scholarly journals operating on this basis -- JSTOR and Academia.edu come to mind immediately.  Subscribers would receive notification emails whenever a certain amount of new material was published.  Articles could be read on line or perhaps downloaded for personal use only.

Folks who have interesting things to report about the dulcimer, its use, history, etc, etc.  would upload articles with illustrations/photos or video clips (all in appropriate electronic formats) to the editor.  The editor would do his/her editorial magic and upload the articles to a website where subscribing readers can access them.  Contributors would get paid via Papal or Zelle.  There would be paid advertisements interspersed with the articles.

Here again, the question remains whether there would be sufficient interest -- advertisements and people willing to pay a monthly/annual subscription fee -- to support someone doing all that writing, editing, and electronic manipulation, plus support the massive bandwidth and computer resources, etc.  

I wonder if Ashley tried selling DPN to someone who would continue its publication?

In my conversation with Ashley she indicated she would keep up the events calendar and maybe the club list, but I don't think she was interested in maintaining a digital newsletter. I guess if that is a need for the dulcimer community someone will develop it.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Nate -- there is always the "archive" on issuu.com -- see the link a couple posts below here....

@nate Ashley Ernst has indicated there will still be an online presence of some kind for DPN even after the print editions cease.   

I am not a regular reader, but I've pulled up a TON of random articles over time. Sorry is this question is out of the loop, but will there be any type of replacement, maybe a less frequent digital newsletter or something more manageable?  It's a real bummer though, for someone like me who isnt really connected to the culture of dulcimer playing, DPN regularly exposed me to ideas I'd never have even known to look for, including techniques, historical information, etc.

The archive of DPN past publications is shared online here: https://issuu.com/dulcimerplayersnewsinc

I found it while searching for:

Screenshot 2023-02-15 9.57.58 AM.jpg  •  150KB

Screenshot 2023-02-15 10.01.28 AM.jpg  •  277KB

I learned of this when I received my magazine yesterday.  Ashley said she would keep the website up, and the festival and club directories.  

I'd like to see some sort of blog or continued articles online if not in print.  That's my wish anyway.  I feel like the dulcimer community has done amazingly on embarking on the new online adventure.  We still need a way to stay connected with the community as a whole.  I do, anyway.    

I was sadden to learn that DPN was shutting down the publication at the end of 2024. Ashley is doing the right thing by honoring those who have a subscription to the end of 2024. The publication was such a part of my life for many many years and I believe was the glue that held the community together. DPN will be missed by many.

I am stunned to learn of this.  I have been thus far a one-time contributor with an article that I wrote on Dulcimer Association of Albany's yearly festival Mountain Dulcimer Music Festival.  I had written another article but that has yet to see the light of day from DPN.  I've enjoyed what interactions I've had with Ashley and realize that this decision doesn't come easy.  I was actually hoping to get to a point where I would travel around the country a bit and take in other festivals and maybe write on those.  I do wish Ashley the best.  If I were younger (and perhaps had a bit more money) I might have thought about taking this venture over; but at my current age (68) I'm trying not to tie myself down too much.  This is sad news as since when I first learned of DPN in the mid 90s I have treasured receiving my quarterly copy of this fine magazine.  

This is sad news indeed.  DPN served an obvious need for several decades.  But since we can now interact, share, teach, and learn online in real time and asynchronously, the role of a quarterly print magazine seems minimal.  It would be nice to think it could still exist in digital form, as Acoustic Guitar Magazine does, but that wouldn't minimize the amount of work involved.  I don't blame Ashley for deciding it's run it's course.

Well stated Ken.

Wishing all the best for the folks involved. Times have really changed profoundly. Sad to see this worthy magazine come to an end. What a noble run it had though!

Ashley is a wonderful person and I wish her all the best as finishes out her tenure at the helm of DPN! 

On Facebook today, 01 February 2023, Ashley Ernst announced that DPN will cease publication in 2024. She did not give a volume or issue number, but I suspect the last issue will be the first one that comes out in 2024. Again, that is just speculation on my part.

Having been a columnist and contributor to DPN over the years, I will miss the magazine. I understand why Ashley made this difficult decision. Many print publications are ending that aspect of life and shifting to electronic (online) editions. There was no mention of this as a possibility for DPN.

In the early days of DPN it seemed the "newsletter" worked to create a community of dulcimer enthusiasts. It helped people share ideas, arrange meetings (festivals), and find places to buy instruments. It also kept us posted on what we were all doing. While these things continued over the life of the magazine, over the last 10 or 15 years the emphasis seemed to shift to teaching techniques or songs. In a sense it became a quarterly lesson for mountain or hammered dulcimer. The connection of getting to know "dulcimer people" seemed to have been lost. We knew contributors were good players and provided excellent lessons without learning what brought them to play the dulcimer, desire to teach, etc. I know that much of that community building happens at festivals, but with so many festivals going virtual what we are experiencing is group video lessons and little real community (but that is a whole other discussion).

I offer my thanks to Ashley, Dan, Maddie, and Phil for their hard work and dedication to DPN and the dulcimer community it created. Without them who knows where we would all be. So to those five folks and all who contributed to the magazine over the years, "So long, and thanks for the all the fish."

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."