03 Jun 2014

I wanted to write a quick status update to let everyone know what’s been going on behind the scenes at Music Lives. We’ve made a few decision over the last few months that are definitely worth sharing with everyone!

We Closed the Office

Six months ago, we officially opened the Music Lives office in the Walkway downtown Guelph. We opened up really affordable desk space to friends and colleagues and for a while we had quite a hub of activity. We plastered posters on the front windows, painted a chalk board wall, and used the space to do our printing each month. Since then, a few of our desk renters moved out of town and I got a job working out of 10 Carden, so we found that the expense for the office space was something we couldn’t carry on our own.

Last week, we let the property manager know that we wouldn’t be renewing our lease agreement and shipped furniture back to the ReStore. We’ll be moving the last of the furniture and equipment over to Aaron’s this week.

I’m really sad to shut down the space. It was a great environment to work in while it was busy, and it make keeping in touch with people in the Guelph music scene so much easier when we were all in one place. Maybe someday soon we’ll open up something else, but for now, you can usually find Aaron and I around downtown at Baker Street Station or 10 Carden.

We’re Taking A Break

Along with the office closing, we’ve decided to do a single summer issue of the magazine rather than monthly. Summer is always busy for everyone and we want to take some time to regroup and find our bearings. The change we made in May to the format of the magazine was really well received both from other people and internally. We saved money in printing, but still ran into issues with our printer (and with Staples) that caused a few too many headaches.

That being said, the website will continue to post every live music event we get out hands on! June is looking pretty freakin’ amazing no matter what kind of music you like! And we will be back to the magazine in July with a special Hillside edition, also featuring some Hillside alternatives.

We Want to Hear From You!

Most people read our blog posts and continue on their day. Here’s where I ask you a favour – please take a minute or two and comment on this post letting us know your thoughts on how we are doing.

• What do you love about Music Lives?
• What do you hate about it?
• What could we improve?
• What should we stop altogether?
• Do you have any ideas that we haven’t explored yet?
• How could we make more money?

We’ve talked to so many people that have great ideas about what we could do with Music Lives, and now is your time to share them. If you’re feeling shy and would rather email me, you can send your thoughts to kelly@musiclives.ca.