Music publication Drowned In Sound shuts down

Online music publication Drowned In Sound, best known for its interviews and reviews, will cease publishing after almost two decades in the business.

Its UK-based founder and editor Sean Adams gave a statement via Facebook where he said previously commissioned pieces would still be honoured, but published on the site’s Medium blog.

“Like At the Drive-In’s hiatus (rather than LCD’s “retirement”), Drowned in Sound will not be commissioning new reviews or features for the foreseeable future,” he said.

Adams promised a “proper explanation about what and why soon” but gave special thanks to DiS editor-in-chief Derek Robertson and reviews editor Andrzej Łukowski.

“I’m going to take make a few changes and take some time to get things stable again financially, and then attempt to do some special activity as we enter our 20th year next year,” Adams said. “Thanks again for reading, sharing, indulging, exploring, engaging, and everything else.”

The site’s restored and archived forums will remain open thanks to donations readers can make via the website.

Following its inception in 2000, Drowned In Sound‘s initiatives were many and varied. They included a podcast called Drowned In Sound Radio (launched in 2006), an A/V blog with RCRDLBL.com called “Drownload,” and a partnership with Rupert Murdoch’s BSkyB which ceased in 2008 when the publication was “forced to make everyone redundant”.

DiS also ran a record label, Drowned In Sound Recordings, which included offerings from Kaiser Chiefs, Metric, the Stills, and Martha Wainwright among its releases.

TIO understands Drowned In Sound’s writers were largely unpaid.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.