Editorial

Whereas the “multi-directional” publicity of the traditional press is sometimes resented as an intrusion into the reader’s privacy, the situation is quite different in a magazine as specialised as BRASS BULLETIN.

All our advertisers, without exception, belong to the intimate sphere of our family of instruments, and are part of the vital communications network which leads to the concert, the magical dialogue between the musician and his audience.¹

The role of advertisements

Instrument makers (who are inventing the museums of the future!), mouthpiece and accessory specialists, publishers (on behalf of composers), institutions, record manufacturers etc. have to be able to communicate, to make their presence known — and to stimulate their volume of business if they aim to be able to continue their efforts in producing, improving and distributing the brass player’s creative tools.

Of course, advertisers do not always find quite the right touch. Sometimes their slogans sound like journalese, or like the stupid publicity language which agencies use for washing powder. When this happens, BRASS BULLETIN generally contacts the advertiser (or his agent) and tries to remedy the matter. In extreme cases we refuse to accept advertisements which are untruthful, or offensive to competitors (in any case these are often so ridiculous that they have a counterproductive effect on the musician).

We would like to clarify the dialogue between advertisers and musicians, to establish a relationship of confidence and truth, so as to stimulate constructive trade in a spirit of healthy competition. We feel we have contributed a lot to this for several years, and this can be seen from the remarkable quality of most of our publicity pages.

A dialogue vital for everyone

The financial support which advertisements represent is not negligeable, and enables us to reach an exceptional level of quality, unique in the history of instrumental music. Indeed it is thanks to our double financial support (subscriptions/advertisers) that our editorial team is able to continue its work.