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The 1st Issue of Drum Circle Magazine was put together as a collective effort primarily by Jana Broder, Rob Fowler , and Ester Venouziou as a work of love and with the goal to help promote drum circles and drum circle facilitators around the world.
Jana, founder of Drum Magic, is one of the leading Drum Circle Facilitators in the world introducing drum circles and drumming to hundreds of new participants every week from all parts of our society, including kids in schools, seniors in care homes, executives and employees in corporate team-building events, at-risk youth in detention facilities, the general public at large festivals, and more.
Rob, owner of 007 Computer Services, is a web developer, graphics designer, and photographer with a passion for drum circles who has worked closely with Jana for several years. Rob's attraction to drum circles goes back to the 70's when he became aware of the healing and shamanic potential of the rhythms.
Ester, a friend of Rob's and Jana's, contributed her professional editing and layout skills to the magazine which helped make it the beautiful publication that it became.
Without an advertising base, a sales team, money in the bank to fund a magazine, or other resources in hand, Jana and Rob were able to bring in enough ad revenue to pay the initial expenses and the printer to produce the first issue of Drum Circle Magazine. The time and work to create the magazine was donated by them as they both worked their full-time businesses. Along with that important achievement, Rob single handedly created and built DrumCircleMagazine.com which has become a popular international drum circle resource with very impressive visitor stats.
The Drum Circle Magazine team is proud of their accomplishment, and looks forward to carrying this needed publication into the future.
The initial concept to produce a printed magazine every three months turned out to be unrealistic financially, and the work involved is overwhelming. With bills to pay, and full-time businesses to run, it is impossible for Jana or Rob to invest that kind of effort into a project that does not pay for their time.
So where does Drum Circle Magazine go from here?
One of the most consistent comments expressed to both Jana and Rob from the very time they announced Drum Circle Magazine to the world was that the magazine should be an online magazine. Print publications are shutting down across the country, the environmental impact of print magazines is enormous, and the cost of advertising in print prohibits participation of the businesses and events that Drum Circle Magazine hopes to promote and help. Those comments were heard and with the wisdom earned by producing and printing the first issue, serious consideration has been given to moving Drum Circle Magazine fully into the online version. The benefits are obvious, including lower cost advertising rates, rich media such as Flash and video, a wider audience, low impact on the environment, more flexibility of distribution, and so on.
The decision has been made, and not without a lot of serious thought and lengthy discussion. Drum Circle Magazine will be produced as an online rich-media magazine. The first issue is still available until it sells out, but future issues will be available as an online publication only.
New ad rates and other details will soon be announced. Click here to contact Jana or Rob to make suggestions, inquire about magazine ads or website sponsorships, or to offer services or make contributions. |
