Yes, if you’re on the Ten Tracks mailing list you’ll already be aware of this, but for those that aren’t, you can now get the PDF version of the Products of a Gaseous Brain Spring 2010 Catalogue free to download when you buy the I Hear a New World bundle over at Ten Tracks.

Customer Service Announcement!

If you’ve already downloaded the bundle then I believe the ten tracks system will allow you to download it again for free to get the pdf – but do email me at gaseous dot brain at google mail dot com if you have any problems with this. Also if you’ve already bought the pdf and now want the ten tracks bundle as well, email me and I’ll be happy to give you a refund.

My pal Nick has written a great post about the first issue of the Products of a Gaseous Brain zine which has provoked some interesting comments.

As well as writing for his own rather nifty looking blog, Nick is also joint editor of the Scotman’s popular Under the Radar blog and contributes to a bunch of other web and print publications.

Cheers Nick!

(pic via This Isn’t Happiness)

The first issue of the Products of a Gaseous Brain zine is available now!

You can buy the STRICTLY LIMITED EDITION luxury B&W printed version, which has already been described on Twitter as “mindblowing” and “a snazzy catalogue”, for the bargain price of £2 at Elvis Shakespeare, Deadhead Comics & Avalanche Records in Edinburgh, and at Monorail Music in Glasgow. Or you can buy it directly from this website using the handy buttons below. The prices are slightly higher than in the shops due to postage, especially for outside the UK, so I’ve made the pdf version available to download for £1 sterling (I think given the work that’s gone into the zine this is a reasonable amount to charge).

Download zip file containing full colour PDF version:

£1 

Buy B&W print version (for UK delivery):

 £3 

Buy B&W print version (for International Delivery):

£5 

These prices are as low as I can possibly go to cover the costs of printing and postage etc. Note also that there will only be 50 printed versions available of the zine and that includes the ones that are already in the shops.

p.s. please spread the word!

Michael Caine: photographer unknown

Print newspapers, it seems, will soon be no more than a minority medium, and so owners of the big news brands are wondering just how they’re going to make money once their main outlet is via the internet – whether it’s accessed via a computer, a mobile device or one of the fancy new touchscreen thingys such as the Skiff or Apple’s new tablet which is expected to be announced next Wednesday (27 January).

Skiff Reader

 Clearly most of the big name news organisations will survive in some form or other, and will either monetize their websites through advertising (which clearly is a difficult business model to sustain) or, like the New York Times have decided, and Rupert Murdoch’s News International are reportedly planning, will charge a subscription fee for their content.

In the UK Murdoch’s plans will also be difficult to sustain whilst the BBC make so much news content available for free online, but he may well persuade David Cameron to do something about that once the Tories get into power (probably).

 Take Your iTablets

 Although some sectors of the publishing industry are hoping that Apple’s new device and others like it will give them a new multimedia platform which will enable them to charge a subscription for their content, it will need to be something special and not just a bigger shinier version of the current iPhone if it is to offer something extra than the current apps such as available from the Guardian, New York Times and Time Magazine.

Apple Tablet mock up

The Guardian’s iPhone App

 The one UK newspaper I read regularly is the Guardian (despite its shameful lack of Scottish news, but then I am heavily involved with Scottish news all day at work). I mainly read the sections that interest me, such as its excellent coverage of culture, media and technology, which in my opinion is only rivalled here in the UK by the BBC.  And  I read it entirely online, either by RSS or on their impressive new iPhone app.

 The app costs a couple of quid, but then you have access to the latest and most popular content from the Guardian, and the ability to save certain sections and content as favourites which you can then access offline.

 There are some limitations – the share function is currently limited to Facebook and email as opposed to the app from the New York Times which has multiple sharing options including Twitter, and there is currently no way to access comments or make a new comment. However these could hopefully be added as time goes on.

Guardian iPhone app promo video (with annoying voice-over)

 What Was That About Print Media Being Dead?

 It is in this climate that I’ve perhaps foolishly decided to put together a pilot issue of a Products of a Gaseous Brain fanzine, something I have been meaning to do for a long time. It will be available both as a downloadable pdf and a print version – watch this space for more details!

 Related Reading:

This article by Jonathan Fields is an interesting take on the latest developments, and continues the ongoing debate around ‘Free’ which Chris Anderson’s book recently sparked off. Whether you’re talking about newspapers, music, or any kind of creative endeavour, it’s a fascinating debate because no one really knows how things will develop yet.

Former Manchester Evening Times writer Ian Wylie, who was made redundant in October last year, has written a very thorough report from a recent conference called ‘New Ways To Make Journalism Pay’. It’s lengthy, but well worth a read if you have any interest in this topic. 

 However Martin Cloake argues over at The Media Blog that what we should be concentrating on is message rather than medium. 

 For a pretty comprehensive run down of news mobile apps see the Online Journalism Blog

And finally, a good overview of what’s likely from Apple’s new tablet from the Guardian (no, I’m not an employee, unfortunately!)