Cycle Canada magazine has officially published its last printed magazine, and will now be a digital-only publication.
In an e-mail notice this month to subscribers, and in his column in the online magazine, Editor Jean Paré says that “it must be admitted that in publishing, the digital world is becoming a must. We have seen it coming, and whether we like it or not, we have little choice but to open ourselves up to this reality.”
Paré says that a fully digital version of Cycle Canada will help the magazine to transform and improve, but the demise of the printed product has long been expected. The April edition was mailed to subscribers two months late; a full-page advertisement for the Toronto Spring Motorcycle Show was already a month out of date.
In the first all-online edition, Contributing Editor Steve Thornton confirms that “This is the first online only issue of CC, and that hurts in many ways. Over the past few years we have watched as advertisers declined, writers fled, and the page count in Cycle Canada went down. We struggled at times to bring out the next issue, and this one, which should have been the May 2019 issue, is so late that the month of publication has simply been removed from the cover.”
Only those print subscribers who provided Cycle Canada with their e-mail addresses received the online edition or the e-mail announcement, which is reprinted here.
THE DIGITAL ERA… NOBODY ESCAPES!
Everywhere in the media we see that less is written. Always in love with paper, the smell of a freshly printed magazine or an old book found in the library gives me great joy. Hold them in my hands, turn the pages at the pace that suits me, too. Maybe you feel that joy too and see the transformation to digital with an evil eye. I understand. But no matter what you want, each era brings changes. Some are more prominent than others, you may tell me, and you would be right. However, it must be admitted that in publishing, the digital world is becoming a must. We have seen it coming, and whether we like it or not, we have little choice but to open ourselves up to this reality.
It is a fact that most publishers and their clients have struggled in recent years to adapt to this mode of communication, which is in the process kicking the traditions of the written media community. And yet, it will have to be good. After several months of reflection, the Cycle Canada team has chosen to follow suit. And yes, we turn the page—and no pun intended!
I would like to share with you some of the arguments that have convinced us . . .
The very first is unquestionably that it is an ecoresponsible choice. Paper requires a lot of energy, trees, water, polluting chemicals and transportation. Reducing its use improves the quality of the environment and reduces the cutting of mature trees, as well as the waste and pollution of water. For us, it’s a decision that respects the environmental values we believe in and want to encourage.
With paper or not, the essential remains the content, it must be said. It was clear to us during our review that we wanted to continue to offer you quality and diverse content that meets your needs and tastes, regardless of the container!
Several benefits will come from this transformation:
- Subscribers will be able to read the magazine online or to download it in PDF format.
- The digital magazine will be better looking and interactive.
- The number of pages will be unlimited.
- We will be able to integrate videos into the articles and clickable links.
- The advertisements published in the digital magazine will also be clickable and you will have the opportunity to integrate videos.
- Better photo rendition.
Change can be destabilizing, I agree. It takes us out of our habits, our comfort zone. However, it is stimulating and adds a little spice to our daily lives.
Cycle Canada is transforming and improving, and it is with you, advertisers, that we wish to continue this great adventure. Thank you for your support!
For any questions, suggestions or comments, please contact me by email: jpare@editionsjeanrobert.com.
Thank you for your support and have a good season!!!
Jean Paré, Editor
As a lifetime subscriber I will miss the print publication but look forward to the digital future, hopefully the info on the bikes doesn’t evolve to manufacturers press releases. Where is the link to the website? Good luck with the new format.
Dave L
It seems that there were a lot of us who had subscribed since the newsprint days and had let it go a few years ago. What used to be the best of any motorcycle magazine you could buy anywhere got sewered by an editor who didn’t seem to have a passion for bikes (Graham), but did have a passion for politics and reminding everyone how fit he was…
I let it go as it was truly hard to watch and uninteresting at best. I tried to re-engage a couple of times since but both issues that I purchased had editorials on the ravages of climate change….. an important issue for sure, but not the kind of Debbie-Downer article that all motorcycle enthusiast are looking to read about when they open a motorcycle magazine!
The truth is moving on-line will not save them. A strong change in direction and a reboot of passion perhaps will. With the content on Youtube recently improving in quality and entertainment value, any motorcycle magazine needs to consider this as the future or get left behind.
I think CMG should absorb them.
Actually, the founder was Georgs Kolesnikovs
Absolutely true Marty, thank you for reminding me of that.
Martin Levesque, We have been talking about you lately. Wondering how to get hold of you Where you are and what you are doing. We wanted to wish you all the best for Christmas and the new year. Carl and Aurora Hansen 289 876 8888. Hope to hear from you sometime.
For some reason I have the lyric to R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion” going around my head. “That’s me in the corner . . .”
A CC subscriber since issue #1, I let it lapse a couple of years ago for declining quality. Not one nagging letter followed to get me to resubcribe! What business does that?
Same here. Never heard from CC after I didn’t renew.
Well that sucks, but yeah, its death has been rumoured for a while. I’ve been a subscriber since 1980. I wondered why a haven’t seen an ussue lately.
When you go to the magazine’s website, they try to link you to their test of the 2012 Kawi whatever – that’s right, an eight year old article!
When the frenchies took over, it’s been all downhill since then…
The demise of a once splendid magazine.
Is the demise of so many other magazines the fault of the “frenchies” too ? Or just this specific one ? I am curious how far your racism goes.
It’s quite obviously the Frenchies. Are you unable to read?
He said nothing about the miserable fat Belgian bastards.
Very, very funny comment! Coffee came out my nose. Thanks for the mess…
For the record, two of the three founding members were “frenchies”.
Well, I too have been a very long time subscriber to Cycle Canada. They have my email address and I never received the email announcement. I only knew about this due to my complaints about not receiving the magazine. When they finally admitted to what was happening, I was offered the digital version. Due to their total lack of communications, I declined and asked that they refund the balance of my subscription. Still waiting for it.
I got the email… And my digital magazine… I don’t mind so much that they went all digital with my subscription, just that they are going about it the wrong way. It’s still a print style magazine just dumped online. There is a centrefold of a bike that doesn’t work at all split onto two separate pages one above the other. As far as online motorcycle content in Canada, it is difficult to beat CMG. I have been reading CMG daily for almost 20 years. Cycle Canada I subscribed to most of the past 30 years with a small gap in there. Most of the writers have overlapped between the two publications over the years (Costa, Piero, Michael, Steve etc.), sometimes even there and back again. It would be a shame for it end completely so hopefully they get it sorted out and stick around.
It’s sad that it’s come to this, but you could see it coming. I was a long time CC reader, from the newsprint days until 2015 or 2016 when I let my subscription lapse.
Truthfully, the quality of the magazine was disappointing. Though I enjoyed the contributions of Steven Thornton, David Booth, and Michael Uhlairik the rest of the magazine wasn’t good enough. When they pawned off the showcase to Pipeburn it just seemed lazy.
I realize you can’t publish content that you don’t receive, and the advent of blogs, facebook and you tube just soak up all the stuff that could have been submitted.
I hope they can make a go of it online.