SUISAblog went online in July 2013. A representative survey of members and principals regarding SUISA’s communication had provided the impetus for the introduction of a corporate blog three years earlier. More than half of the respondents stated at that time that they primarily obtained information about SUISA on the internet; about 42% were in favour of SUISAinfo being replaced by an electronic newsletter.
The SUISAblog fulfilled that wish: Over 400 posts have appeared on the blog in the decade since it went live. These include know-how articles with advice and tips on copyright, news from and about the company, reports and portraits from the music world that are directly related to the involvement of SUISA or FONDATION SUISA. All embellished with pictures, graphics, videos or links to information sources elsewhere on the internet. In addition, a section called “Using Music” with specialist articles and explanations about licensing is aimed specifically at SUISA’s music-using clients.
Print circulation steadily declined
Subscribers to the electronic SUISAinfo newsletter were notified by e-mail three times a year of new posts on the blog, analogous to the publication of the printed SUISAinfo. While the number of e-mail subscriptions has increased sharply over the years, print circulation has steadily declined. From 20,600 copies in 2010, the number required dropped to 9,300 at the last count. Circulation decline has a direct impact on the cost accounting of the print product, because due to economies of scale, the cost of production remains the same in many respects regardless of the number printed. For example, in the June issue last year, costs rose to around CHF 2.50 per printed copy only due to external production costs.
In the years of the Covid-19, the financial impact prompted the Executive Committee to produce SUISAinfo, otherwise published three times a year, only once a year in printed form as part of cost-cutting measures. Print subscribers were supplied with the e-mail newsletter when the numbers were cancelled. The discontinuation of the print magazine led to a significant increase in people accessing the SUISAblog, where contributions can be made available quickly and from anywhere. SUISA’s other online channels were also used more, both the SUISA website and “SUISA Music Stories” on social media.
SUISAblog in new design since January 2023
The willingness and visible acceptance to increase the level of being up to date by using online channels made the decision easier to say goodbye to the print magazine SUISAinfo. Written member info has got quite a bit of history: In the archives of the Swiss National Library, copies of the “Suisa-Mitteilungen” [SUISA information] have been deposited from 1959 onwards. They had been sent out at that time as a supplement to the Schweizerische Musikzeitung [Swiss Music Newspaper]. In recent decades, the “Info-Blatt” [Info leaflet] transformed into SUISAinfo, in various forms of design, as can be seen in the image of this contribution, and is now being replaced by the digital blog.
The replacement follows a detailed and extensive overhaul of the SUISAblog, which went live at the start of the anniversary year in January 2023. All articles already published in the last ten years are still available. In addition to the redesign, functional improvements were also made. These include a comprehensive search function, optimised language options, better access to more in-depth or related articles and, last but not least, a modernised print function. So that if anyone still needs a hardcopy, they can still print informative SUISA texts on paper, in line with the principle: Print at home. Previous print subscribers will be supplied with the e-mail newsletter in future.
