I’ve been employed by the Chicago Reader for more than 28 years, and in April—provided the paper survives that long—I’ll have been its music editor for 21. I work closely with staff writer Leor Galil, who for several years now has been the last remaining music journalist with a full-time job at a Chicago newspaper. I may be the last full-time music editor in the whole state.

I don’t often discuss my job publicly, but as you may have heard, the Reader is in dire financial crisis. This seems like a fine time to reaffirm the values that shape our music coverage. 

The music ecosystem is dominated by streaming platforms that don’t give a shit about music. Spotify floods its own playlists with generic stock music it commissions itself, just to avoid paying tiny fractions of a cent to real artists. The company donated $150,000 to Trump’s second inauguration, and it hosted an inaugural brunch where the guests included craven bootlicker Ben Shapiro and toxic moron Joe Rogan.

So the fact that Spotify’s algorithms are the most powerful force shaping the world’s listening habits is, to put it gently, a problem. The Reader stands against this debasement of music, of course, but it’s more important to say what we stand for. We’re devoted to the principle that music is for connecting people to other people, not for connecting people to heartless, extractive multinational corporations.

That’s why our coverage leans so heavily on Chicago artists. We don’t try to chase fleeting SEO-driven traffic by jumping on every little update about the biggest stars in the world. You already know about those people. We’d love to play the same role in your life as a good friend who makes it out to more local shows than you can and always has a couple recommendations and an interesting story to tell. 

Like a curious DJ at a college radio station, the Reader can surprise you with music you didn’t know you wanted to look for—even with music you had no idea existed. Streaming algorithms suck at a lot of things, but they’re especially terrible substitutes for real discovery.

I hope you can help the Reader as it finds its footing again. I’ve joined many of my colleagues in volunteering for temporary pay cuts or furloughs to assist in bringing our expenses into line with what our budget has, rather unexpectedly, turned out to be. But your donation will do even more good. 

The situation is urgent, so I’d love for you to make the biggest gift you can as soon as you can. For those of you able to commit to a regular sustaining donation, we can return to that question if and when the fire is out and we can be reasonably sure the Reader will continue to exist. 

You won’t just be supporting award-winning music journalism that goes deeper into Chicago’s vibrant scenes than any other outlet in the city. You’ll be throwing in on behalf of world-class investigative reporting that tackles abuses of power wherever they occur and extends compassion to the marginalized and abused. You’ll be supporting thoughtful film reviews, lively and adventurous food writing, knowledgeable analysis of books and visual art, and hands-down the most thorough theater coverage in the city—among many other things. 

A city as wonderful as Chicago deserves a newspaper as great as the Reader, and the easiest way to make sure it has that paper is to keep this one publishing. Thanks for reading this far, and thanks so much for anything you can do.

We need your help today

After more than 50 years of serving Chicago, the Reader faces imminent closure. 

Can you imagine Chicago without the Chicago Reader? We can’t either. But a perfect storm of sudden economic downturns has put us in a precarious position, without much time to spare.

We’re not giving up though. We have a clear path forward, but only if we can raise enough from enough supporters to make it through this crisis. 

If you value the Reader, and want to see it survive, please chip in now with a tax-deductible donation. 

Questions about giving? Email development@chicagoreader.com or at:

Reader Institute for Community Journalism, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102 Chicago, IL 60616

The Reader Institute for Community Journalism is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 84-3670420). Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.