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[updated July 17, 2008]
Dirty Linen is the foremost U.S.-based magazine of folk and world music. It was founded in 1983 by T.J. McGrath of Fairfield, Connecticut, as Fairport Fanatics, a fan magazine for the British band Fairport Convention. In 1987, Paul Hartman took over as editor and publisher, expanded the coverage to include genres of roots music from many countries and cultures, and changed the name of the Baltimore, Maryland-based magazine to Dirty Linen. His wife, Susan Hartman, has served as co-editor for many years. Under the Hartmans' direction, Dirty Linen grew from a photocopied fanzine to a glossy color magazine with international distribution and sold in chains including Borders Books and Music, Barnes & Noble, and Chapters. It is also available via subscription. There are six issues per year.
Visionation publishes the most widely read blues magazine, Blues Revue, as well as e-publications BluesWax.com and FolkWax.com. The company also operates an online music store, a record company, and a music video documentary company.
On September 1, 2007, Dirty Linen merged with Visionation.
Visionation was founded in 1998 in West Des Moines, Iowa, as an online publisher of various niche-interest publications. It has since found its focus in the roots music genre and is now one of the largest roots-music multimedia companies in the world. Its publications cover many aspects of blues, roots, folk, and world music with editors and writers across North America. Its subsidiary the VizzTone Label Group releases blues and roots CDs, including this year's widely acclaimed In North Carolina by guitarist Bob Margolin, and plans three other releases this year. Another Visionation subsidiary, Sagebrush Productions, has released two critically acclaimed bio-documentaries this year: "Born in the Honey," about legendary 93-year-old blues pianist Pinetop Perkins, and "The Son Seals Story," about acclaimed Chicago bluesman Son Seals. Both companies plan several new releases in the coming months.
Visionation's online music store, CDMojo.com, is an online store dedicated to blues, roots, and folk music that acts as a consignment store for musicians.
Visionation's event marketing programs sponsor blues and folk festivals and other music events around the world, including the United States, Canada, Norway, Italy, Switzerland, and Australia.
This is the place to send review items. See here for details about reviews.
Dirty Linen
P.O. Box 66600
Baltimore, MD 21239-6600
USA
If sending via mail, please use the P.O. Box address above.
Dirty Linen
18 ½ Cedar Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21286
USA
(410) 583-7973
(410) 337-6735
Accounts receivable, accounts payable, subscriptions, address changes. Please do not send review items here!
Dirty Linen
Route 1 Box 75
Salem, WV 26426
USA
(304) 782-3024
(800) 276-5441 (U.S. & Canada only)
(304) 782-1993
How do I subscribe to Dirty Linen?
If you have a credit card, you can use our secure webstore or send a fax. Otherwise, send a check or money order via snail mail. Details are on our subscribe page.
I am a subscriber. How do I tell you about a change of address?
Send email to accounts@dirtylinen.com with your name, old address, new address, and the date that the new address will be effective. We will confirm your email as soon as we have updated our mailing database. Or you can send snail-mail or fax.
How do I buy back issues?
If you have a credit card or a PayPal account, you can use our secure web server or send a fax. Otherwise, send a check or money order via snail mail. Details are on our back issues page.
Where can I buy Dirty Linen?
We deal through distributors, so we don't know all the individual retail outlets that carry Dirty Linen. Many of the large chain book and music stores should carry it: Borders Books & Music, Barnes & Noble, Encore Books, Chapters, W.H. Smiths, and others. Also, lots of independent book, music, and musical instrument stores carry it. If they don't have it, ask them for it! Show them our distributors list!
You can also purchase subscriptions and back issues from us.
Dirty Linen welcomes submission of audio, video, and written material that is in some way connected to the wide spectrum of music we cover. Please spend some time to browse our website and/or look at a few issues to determine if your music fits. We don't want rock, rap, metal, jazz, newage, classical, hip-hop, pop, ambient, industrial, etc. unless there is a significant roots music content (not just a didgeridoo on track 6)!
Please, no demo tapes, 7" singles, CD singles, MP3s, etc. Due to the large volume of material that we receive for review, the recording must be full-length (or at least EP length) and available for purchase by our readers (even if it's only via web/mail order and/or at gigs). No recordings over one year old can be reviewed, unless they were originally released outside the U.S. and the U.S. release was less than one year ago and we haven't already reviewed it. We only need one copy of the review item.
Audio: Preference is:
Video: Preference is:
Encoding format for VHS:
Written: No Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets, please. Most anything else is OK.
If possible, please send a photo of the artist. For books and videos, a reproduction of video cover/book jacket artwork would be useful.. Slides and/or negatives are OK. Or tell us where on the web we can find a high-res press-quality photo.
If you would like to send an advance CD, that's fine. We'll be able to determine whether to review the CD and, if so, send it to a reviewer. Please follow up with a final finished version of the CD. We do not print reviews of advance CDs. Note that if the CD is watermarked (a unique ID is encoded in the music) the CD will not leave our office, which negates much of the advantage of sending an advance CD.
All material should be sent to "Attn: Ms. D.D. Nelson/ Dirty Linen/ P.O. Box 66600/ Baltimore, MD 21239-6600/ USA." If using a delivery service that requires a street address (such as UPS or FedEx), please send to: "Attn: Ms. D.D. Nelson/ Dirty Linen/ 18½ Cedar Avenue/ Baltimore, MD 21286-7843/ USA."
Due to the tremendous amount of material received for review (approximately 100 recordings per week), Dirty Linen cannot possibly print reviews of everything that is received. We try to review as much as we possibly can. Currently, approximately 33% of the review items see print. Everything we receive (that even remotely fits the kinds of music we cover) will be listed in the "New Releases" column of the next issue that goes to press. We listen to everything we receive (at least the first three tracks) to determine whether to attempt a review.
We will mail you a tearsheet if and when the review appears. Please don't call or email asking if we received your review item or when the review will appear! We do not have the staff to be able to handle that quantity of phone calls and emails. If you would like confirmation that the review item(s) were received, please include a self-addressed stamped envelope or postcard. (Send a self-addressed envelope and an International Reply Coupon if outside the U.S.)
Review items cannot be returned.
Can you tell me about festivals and venues?
Yes, you can find out about all of these from our gig guide.
We only list gigs and festivals in the gig guide if the someone (promoter, manager, record label, publicist, etc.) sends us the info. If no one tells us about it, then we don't know about it, so don't ask!
I want to write for Dirty Linen. How do I go about doing that?
We are not actively looking for new writers. However, if you have a super great idea for an article or want to write reviews, send us samples of your writing and a query letter. We will keep them on file and contact you when we have a need.
I want to sell Dirty Linen in my store. How can I order copies?
You may purchase copies from any of the distributors that handle the magazine.
| Rider Circulation Services, Inc. 3700 Eagle Rock Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90065-3623 (323) 344-1200 fax (323) 258-0626 Disticor Magazine Distribution
Services Ingram Periodicals IPD |
Don Olson Distribution 2645 16th Avenue S. Minneapolis, MN 55407 (612) 724-2976 (Minneapolis/St. Paul area) Chris Stadler |
I am trying to get a record deal, can you tell me the address of good labels?
We have a comprehensive list of record labels right here on the Dirty Linen Pages. Good luck...
I want to exchange links to my website.
We can link to other websites from these pages:
We don't want to maintain a Google-like search engine, so please don't ask us to exchange links in any other category.
Please do not send us virus warnings. Thank you for thinking of us, but we don't need notification of every new virus. Please check any of the various anti-virus sites (Symantec is a good one, but there are many others) to confirm/deny hoaxes, or to find virus detection and removal tools.
Please do not send us email petitions. As noble as many of the causes are, email petitions are worthless since they do not contain physical signatures. We get dozens of these. Please stop!
Copyright © 2001-2008 by Visionation, Ltd.