For a 15th Anniversary, apparently it’s appropriate to give crystal. We’ll demur, but it’s crystal clear that it has been a grand and successful adventure — one that promises to continue many years to come. Of course, we got here with a lot of help and support from our advertisers, some of whom were with us from the very beginning.
“I was involved in what I believe was the first ad placed in PLSN — on the back cover no less!” says Joe Fucini of Fucini Productions, who at the time was working with ADJ and today works with Chauvet Lighting. “I remember some people being surprised we ‘gambled’ on a new unproven magazine by making a long term commitment in the back cover. To us, it wasn’t risky at all, because we believed Terry Lowe’s vision for the magazine was right on target. Then Greg Gallardo came on board and things kept on growing. A lot of talented editors and writers contributed to making PLSN an unparalleled source of information and thoughtful opinion about the lighting industry. With the addition of an LD of Nook Schoenfeld’s stature as editor, PLSN will become an even more invaluable resource.”
“Congratulations to PLSN and all of its staff on their 15th Anniversary,” says George B. Studnicky III, of Creative Stage Lighting. “When Creative opened up 38 years ago, there was only Billboard and, soon after, Performance magazines, that covered news of the services side of our industry. Then there was PLSN, which continues to provide the same recognition of, and detailed attention to, this much needed coverage, and it emits this energy remarkably well.”
“There is always a need for reporting what the industry is doing and getting the information out there,” says High End System’s Richard Belliveau. “PLSN is a good journal and is well-respected. It continues to have a no-frills focus on Projection, Lights, and Staging, and I think the people behind it are the reason for its success.”
David Milly, former owner of Theatrical Lighting Systems (TLS) and current executive vice president of 4Wall Entertainment, advertised in the first issue, and he says, “The results were tremendous.” He also has an interesting perspective: “When PLSN magazine started, we looked at it as a more West Coast-based customer magazine,” he says. “All of the other ‘lighting’ trade magazines were East Coast. For us at TLS, it opened up a whole new group of customers. In those days, we did a lot of co-marketing ventures with different lighting manufacturers including High End Systems, and in the later years, Martin.”
Milly met Lowe and the original team before the first issue, and he says they impressed him with a good feel of the entertainment production industry. David adds, “A couple of years after the [magazine] launch he also started the Parnelli Awards, which have turned into a must-attend event.” He goes onto to note that the ceremony includes a memoriam section, and that it meant a lot that last year it included his wife Janet, and an associate at 4 Wall, Jimmy Cannon. “Thank you, PLSN and Terry Lowe, for honoring these people in our industry who passed away last year. You have given them a venue to be remembered by their peers. It was very touching.”
“I was very excited about PLSN because there was certainly a need for a publication like this,” says Eric Loader, today with ADJ and Elation, previously with Martin Lighting. “Some magazines were too focused on theater/Broadway, some too focused on sound. There wasn’t a magazine that focused on live stage/events featuring production, staging equipment, and how the products involved were used. PLSN was an ideal magazine to fit this market.”
Bob Gordon, founder of A.C.T Lighting Inc., was another early supporter. “I advertised in PLSN at the very beginning of their existence,” he notes. “I believed that Terry was addressing a market that the other publications of the time were not, and I wanted to reach that market segment. I also love the large format of the magazine.”
“Many of our competitors tried to spin it that we were just a flash in the pan, but 15 years later, we’re still cranking out the magazine and continuing to be important to those in the lighting and staging industry,” says publisher Terry Lowe. “While media in general and this industry in particularly has radically changed in that time, we’re still going strong, bringing innovations, and growing.”
An Idea, A Vision
From its modest beginnings, PLSN has rose to become the most-read, most-circulated magazine in the industry, and is now the longest continually published journal in the business. There have been many firsts: In October 2004, PLSN was the first to unveil a digital edition, and the first to have their digital addition audited by BPA. (Their digital edition has let the world in, too: over 2,000 additional subscribers from 95 countries receive it.) It was the first with e-newsletters, and the first to offer electronic lead generations. In 2008, the Backstage Employment Network (BEN) was launched, which is an active employment community for those in the industry. In 2009, Lowe’s company launched the industry’s first social networking site, prolightingspace.com. Out of PLSN came the Parnelli Awards, which next year celebrates its own 15th year anniversary. “That, too, started out small, but now it’s an institution, and I’m very proud of that,” Lowe says.
While embracing the digital age quickly and unconditionally, Lowe likes to say he still believes in print. “Reading a magazine is the best way to absorb information. Readers retain what they see in the magazine. To see that PLSN continues to be valuable to the movers and shakers in the business, look no further than the fact that all our readers continue to subscribe, and that number continues to grow. I believe that’s because, in addition to print in general being pertinent, PLSN specifically continues to be successful in being the leading voice in the industry.”
In the pages of this magazine over the last 15 years, there have been scores of company success stories told. The vast majority of these begin with an entrepreneur playing in a band that doesn’t achieve rock start status, and then ends up following his or her passion of the business backstage.
It’s a scenario Lowe identifies with. “My journey in publishing started out of frustration with my musical career,” he says, chuckling at the familiarity of it all. Sitting behind a set of Gretsch drums, keeping the beat for various groups destined to not rise above bar band status, he became increasingly open to other ideas. While playing a gig at a dive in Minneapolis, he stumbled upon an alternative weekly, Sweet Potato. Indianapolis didn’t have anything like it, so he went home and at the age of 24, founded that state’s first monthly that covered the music and entertainment scene, Hot Potato.
“I didn’t know how ink got on paper,” Lowe recalls. “And fortunately, I found a printer who gave me credit to print the first edition and then pay him later.” Three years later he launched a successful career booking and managing bands and promoting concerts. From 1989 to 1992, he worked for Performance, an industry magazine for agents, managers, venues, and production professions that was a forerunner to Pollstar. “In 1992, I was fortunate enough to get to work for the leading recording magazine, Mix.” Also, in 1992, he got the idea for PLSN — but it would gestate for another seven years.
With his experience in the publishing business and an acute sense for opportunity, he pulled the trigger — but not in a foolhardy way. He had surveyed the landscape and saw two problems with the magazines trying to cover the lighting and staging industry. “Both were paid subscriptions with limited circulation, as both had only around 11,000 subscribers.” He launched PLSN at nearly double that, 20,000 subscribers.
Also, most surprising to him, neither of the other publications was audited by an independent circulation verification agency — a standard of true publishing professionalism. “The importance of an accredited audit cannot be underestimated,” he explained. “It’s valuable because it’s third-party verification of exactly who is reading the magazine. To advertise in a magazine that is not BPA audited is like buying commercials on a television without Nielsen ratings to even tell you how many people and what demographic are watching a particular show.” PLSN had an official audit just 12 months after the first issue went out in the mail, unusually quick for a new magazine.
Editor Evolution
On Dec. 7, 1999, media kits for the new magazine went out (“It was my Pearl Harbor sneak attack,” Lowe says). The first issue followed on Feb. 2, 2000. The newborn publication was a healthy 48 pages with 17 advertisers. Since then, PLSN never missed a monthly deadline, an achievement of which Lowe is proud.
But growth of the magazine had to be earned. While known on the audio side of the business, he was introducing himself to many in the lighting and staging fields. Also, he was putting together a crew that could live up to and deliver on the professional publishing standards he sought. A key architect of the magazine’s success is national advertising director, Greg Gallardo, who joined PLSN its first year [See related sidebar this page.]
Lowe gives a great deal of credit for the magazine’s success to the editors, starting with founding editor, Bruce Jordahl. “It seems like a lifetime ago, but I vividly recall we felt like mavericks, striving to bring something new to the table that was clever and influential,” says Jordahl, currently a marketing consultant for Calzone & Anvil Case Company, High End Systems and LightParts. “That made those 16 hour days much easier to navigate! It was painfully evident our industry needed another editorial voice, but Terry had a vision, and has subsequently crafted an enviable stable of other trade magazines.”
“It makes me smile to see people I worked with a lifetime ago still involved in this venture, particularly Kevin Mitchell and Greg Gallardo,” Jordahl adds. “I must say, Richard Cadena and Justin Lang each brought their own special flair to the publication, and I very much look forward to reading PLSN with Nook [Schoenfeld] at the helm.”
Cadena, a contributing writer in the earliest issues, took over as editor in Dec. 2002 and ran the editorial side of things until Feb. 2011. Today he is an author and founder of the Academy of Production Technology. “Wow, has it really been 15 years?” Cadena muses. “It seems like only yesterday that Bruce Jordahl asked me to go to lunch and he pitched the idea of me writing a column. That turned into ‘Focus on Technology,’ which led to Entertainment Technology Press publishing my first book,
Focus on Lighting Technology.” Cadena adds that, when he took over, the magazine was still in its infancy, but “you’d never know it, because Bruce and Terry got it up and running in no time. All I did was try to steer the ship straight and try to keep it off the rocks. When I handed the helm to Justin, I knew that he would keep it at cruising speed, just as I know Nook will keep the sails nice and trimmed.”
“A huge congratulations goes out to the entire team at Timeless Communications, the publishing company of PLSN,” says Justin Lang, editor from March 2011 until December 2014, when he became director of marketing at A.C.T Lighting. “During my time, they were a few standout individuals that were the lifeblood of the magazine, like managing editor Frank Hammel. While the editor may be in charge of editorial coverage, Frank is truly ‘Frank the Tank,’ wrangling everything together and making sure the pages of PLSN are accurate and correct.
“Making the pages standout and pop with brilliance was left to art director Garret Petrov and his design team,” Lang adds. “They are all true pixel pushers with more talent up their sleeves than any others out there. Greg Gallardo and his sales staff made sure we actually had money to operate and bringing in some of the most top notch advertisers. Then of course there is Mount Terry Lowe, the fearless leader, publisher and visionary behind PLSN. His words of wisdom and guidance are still echoing through out the halls. Everyone says that Nook has some big shoes to fill after Bruce, Richard and myself. I say ‘nah.” He has his own shoes to fill and will make PLSN stronger than ever before. Here’s to the next 15!”
Current editor Nook Schoenfeld has been writing for PLSN since his first LD-at-Large column hit the back page of the magazine in March, 2006. “Terry Lowe called me out of the blue almost 10 years ago when I was writing small articles for lighting magazines as a hobby,” Schoenfeld recalls. “He actually had read some of the stuff I had written and offered me the column on the back page of his magazine. I was unsure at the time if I was qualified for PLSN or if the other magazines would be upset if I left. Terry said it bluntly, ‘Look, we are going to the top and have big plans. Those guys you write for aren’t going anywhere and you should come along for the ride.’ I took his advice, and he wasn’t lying. It’s been a nice ride, and now I’m in the driver’s seat.”
Onward and Upward
But there is no resting on the laurels, proverbial or otherwise. Lowe looks forward to the next 15 years and beyond of serving those in the entertainment industry. “Being a performer for the early part of my life, and being around bands and live event production, I’ve enjoyed PLSN because it’s allowed me to be totally immersed in what I love,” he says. “It’s a great ride.”
“PLSN continues to carry itself as a must-read publication if you are serious about learning who is doing what and using what’s out there in the market,” adds Elation/ADJ’s Loader. “As a manufacturer, it’s great to see your products being used on productions — often we don’t know where or on what event our products are being used. Then we read about their use and application from leading designers and production pros … there is no better testament to a product.”
“Thank you for helping to preserve our drive,” says Studnicky from Creative Stage Lighting, “and for keeping us alert and hungry for more information!”
“Terry and PLSN have continued to serve the needs of our industry,” adds David Milly from TLS and 4Wall. “I have seen several other industry magazines go away, and PLSN gets better and takes care of its own. Congratulations Terry and crew on 15 years and thanks for what you do for our industry. I look forward to the magazine every month.”
PLSN’S 15TH: INSIDE, LOOKING OUT
How time flies by!” remarks Greg Gallardo, group publisher and a key architect of today’s PLSN. “Looking back over PLSN’s 15 years and how much things have changed in this industry. Hopefully we have met or exceeded our audience’s expectations. I know I’ve enjoyed getting to know and serving so many talented people who make this industry thrive. We look forward to another 15 wonderful years of being the industry’s eyes and ears.”
“Fifteen years!” exclaims William Vanyo, who serves as the vice president of Timeless Communications, the company that publishes PLSN, and as Terry Lowe’s administrative right-hand man. “Our industry has gone through many transitions over the last decade and a half, and we’ve been there to document it all. I’ve had the privilege of watching our first magazine become an institution, along with our Parnelli Awards and Event Production Directory, among others. The success of PLSN led to all of the other ancillary titles we now publish, and it continues to grow and embrace our ever-changing industry. I could not be more proud of what we continue to accomplish with PLSN.”
“Fifteen years ago, I got a call from some guy named Terry that started with, ‘Joe Fucini says you can write,’” says senior writer and Parnelli Awards producer Kevin Mitchell. “He followed this with, ‘Do you know about lighting?’ and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, you bet,’ when I wasn’t even exactly sure what a PAR can was. But it’s been fascinating to get to know the people behind the companies and the tours that enrich our lives making live events happen. I’ve grown with the magazine, and look forward to keeping pen in hand and working with the talented people Terry has assembled on his staff. From Greg to William to perhaps PLSN’s greatest secret weapon, Frank Hammel, who as managing editor extraordinaire keeps all us writers honest and accurate.” —Kevin M. Mitchell
Correction: An earlier version of this posting, which indicated that George B. Studnicky III, of Creative Stage Lighting has retired, was not accurate. This posting has been corrected. PLSN regrets the error.
