Next month, Electronic Musician gets a major makeover as EQ magazine joins forces with EM to create what will be the ultimate magazine for musicians, producers, and engineers.

It makes total sense: Being a successful musician today means mastering a broad range of skills, from writing the perfect hook to recording the perfect vocal take to cultivating a thriving fan base. To that end, we are combining the best of the EQ and EM worlds, and we''re expanding the content beyond recording to address performance, songwriting, and career issues.

There''s something very “stars aligned” about this merger. I joined EQ after serving as the Editor of Mix magazine, and synched immediately with Craig Anderton, who has been EQ''s Executive Editor for the past five years. And although Craig has been very successful in focusing the magazine''s vision and improving the content, we both knew that we had more to offer. We spent hours talking about where we wanted to take the magazine, and how we could better serve our readers, but kept hitting this wall of, “That would be so cool, but it''s not strictly about recording...” And now, we can.

In a way, things have come full circle for Craig: He was the one who coined the term “electronic musician,” pitched the magazine''s concept back in the mid-''80s, and served as editor for EM''s first five years. Since then, EM has had a succession of talented people at the helm; I''d like to give special props to Mike Levine, a talented writer (and great musician!) who was instrumental in elevating the EM voice throughout his tenure as Editor, and is leaving us with a magazine that has a devoted following and the industry''s respect. It''s a true honor to succeed him.

Our goal for the new Electronic Musician is to give you all the tools you need to make better music, from production to performance. We''ll offer more tips and techniques, more gear reviews, and more insights from today''s top artists. And we''re expanding our community features to give you, the reader, more of a voice.

So while we say goodbye to EQ and the “classic” EM, we say hello to a new vision of Electronic Musician that will re-define what a music magazine is all about. Stay tuned!