'Brian, just read your comments. Are there plans to axe the magazine then?'

Sorry, Matt, that was a slightly misleading comment on my part. I'd got hold of the idea that they were discontinuing EDS and moving it online, but that's not correct. What is in fact happening is that the present editor is not being replaced, and in future much of the content will be generated either by general staff or by readers, with a focus on the activities of the society and its members.

Whether it will still carry feature articles or a review section I don't know; review content has already been slimmed down considerably since the days when I used to write for them. The trend has been away from a standalone magazine of general interest to folk music aficionados (a job EDS did very well under several editors culminating in Derek Schofield's successful stint), to an in-house newsletter. To my mind that is a lesser incentive towards membership, though there is still the Journal - which I certainly value a lot - the Public Liability Insurance that Howard mentioned, and the rosy glow you get from feeling that your subs helps keep the archive going. Their conferences are worth supporting too.

I should admit that I have a bit of a vested interest, having performed at CSH several times over recent years, and I'm currently due to appear as a member of the Anne Gilchrist Collective that is playing in the 'Trad Night' series next Wednesday.