All Access, a trade publication that has covered the radio industry for nearly three decades, will close in August due to financial difficulties.
On Friday, All Access Publisher Joel Denver said economic turbulence brought on by a downturn in the advertising market was the main reason for his decision to close the website, which has operated continuously since 1995.
“This is, without question, the saddest and most heartbreaking moment of my professional life,” Denver wrote in a note to readers. “We’ve weathered many changes and obstacles in the industry over these years. We’ve carved an incredible path and have taken each part of our operation to amazing levels of success through honesty, hard work, and passion for the radio industry, the music, the artists and our many readers, marketing partners, clients and our many contributing editors.”
All Access stemmed from Denver’s time as the editor of Radio and Records, a Nielsen-owned print publication that started in the early 1980s and which closed in 2009. Denver’s website sought to replicate the experience of Radio and Records with a modern twist, covering the movers and shakers of the American radio broadcast industry through a robust, online presence that captured the attention of hundreds of thousands of readers.
“Looking back over nearly three decades of service, we have much to be proud of,” Denver wrote. “We’ve created amazing editorial and service products that will be benchmarks of our success like All Access Downloads, First Alert, co-creation and presentation of Worldwide Radio Summit and creation and presentation of the All Access Audio Summit, among many others along the way.”
At its peak, All Access was well-known to radio industry insiders for its free mouse pads, which adorned the desks of big and small radio stations alike. The marketing gimmick worked, as All Access became the gold standard trade publication for the American radio industry, with Denver’s website often being the first to break news on new hires, retirements, executive shuffles, programming changes and format flips.
The website spawned a number of imitators in the radio and entertainment space, who sought to capture the same audience and magic. But All Access cemented itself as the first place that radio executives, marketers and staffers turned to for the latest news on the industry, a position it continues to hold. Many in the radio industry credited All Access with helping them land positions in the industry, thanks in large part to the website’s digital job board.
Ultimately, the same advertising slowdown that has impacted big and small media operations over the last two years caught up with All Access, with Denver saying the current model was not sustainable for continued operations. The website will continue to produce stories through mid-August, and will remain online for an undetermined amount of time after it closes. Around 20 staffers will be impacted by the shutdown, according to a person familiar with the matter, and All Access is working to connect them with other positions.
“I cannot begin to express my sincerest appreciation and thanks to all of our many thousands of readers, our many amazing partners, wonderful clients, and the incredible All Access staff for your love and devotion to All Access, our mission, and our success for nearly 28 years,” Denver said.
