I've got a secret.
Well, maybe it's not such a big secret these days, as it's big news, it's exciting, news, and as such it's been hard for us to keep our mouths shut. As you know, the industry is evolving. The worlds of lighting, staging, and projection continue to move closer together; industry experts say we're probably only a year away from bringing these worlds even closer together. (Notice how I was able to avoid the word convergence just then, which I do in deference to those out there who either hate the word or still refuse to acknowledge its existence.)
Just as the industry continues to evolve, so do we. I'm pleased to announce that Primedia Business has been purchased by a privately held equity firm, and we will soon have a new name. What does that mean for us? Very little, actually. Compared to the staff upheaval we endured last year, this won't even register in our industry. We're just happy that we're no longer a publicly held company, and excited that our new bosses are pledging investment into the properties. That's good news for all of us.
In a completely unrelated development, back in June we convened a new joint advisory board for ED and its sister publication Lighting Dimensions, made up of some of the top designers, technicians, dealers, and manufacturers in the industry. It's a long and illustrious list, and you can find out who they are on page 3.
One of the main reasons we put this board together was to take a step back and take stock of both the magazines and the industry, not just from our viewpoint, but from the viewpoint of our readers and advertisers as well. And what we all quickly discovered was that the time felt right to shake things up. Time to expand our thinking, combine our resources and create an entirely new product that reflected the enormous changes that have taken place in the worlds of lighting, staging, and projection.
As a result, you're holding the last issue of Entertainment Design. Beginning in December, the worlds of ED, LD and SRO will be merging into one entirely new monthly magazine, to be called Live Design. This new entity will cover the breadth of live events — concerts, corporate events, houses of worship, theatre, themed entertainment, even architainment — as it relates to lighting, staging, and projection.
At the same time, we also felt a strong need to continue serving both the theatre and the rental and staging communities, the core base of Entertainment Design and SRO. To that end, look for a new quarterly magazine covering theatre design and technology, titled, logically enough, Live Design's Theatre Quarterly. This new magazine will feature the best bits of ED, LD, and SRO, with more than a few creative surprises thrown in. In addition, we'll be implementing two new bi-weekly e-newsletters — one for the theatre market, and one for the rental and staging market — both with news, tips, and original content geared to each sector. Add to that a newly redesigned website that goes live at ETS-LDI on November 11, and you've got a new core group of products that we feel will provide our readers with the best and most comprehensive coverage the industry has to offer.
We will provide you with much more information about our new direction in the weeks to come, both on the website and via email. This is a lot to take in at once, I know; believe me, I'm still trying to digest all this info as well. I've spent a lot of years with both Theatre Crafts International and Entertainment Design (a dozen years, if you must know), and I have a lot of great memories of both books. And then there's that whole change thing of which, as any reader of this page knows, I've never been a fan. But as I write this, I grow more and more excited at the possibilities before us. I'm glad to finally be able to share this with you, and I hope you join me on this next great adventure. It's going to be quite a ride.