Drowned In Sound returns to counter decline in music journalism, reviews

The beloved online music site Drowned In Sound is crawling back to life with new newsletters featuring music reviews and select long-form pieces.

The move comes as one music site and magazine after another has been gutted or shut down, including recent major layoffs at Pitchfork.

UK-based Drowned In Sound itself shut down early in 2019 but has since slowly returned with a new site, podcast, forum, and a limited amount of new content.

Now DiS founder Sean Adams is promising a “pile of music recommendations in your inbox… alongside new essays and an internet digest of things to see, read and hear” via two free editions per month “including one packed with must-hear music,” and two exclusive editions for supporters.

Each month, the new Drowned In Sound will also showcase a guest essay alongside an extended piece by Adams.

A ‘vinyl moment’ for print music magazines?

“We might even dive into the world of print magazines,” wrote Adams, “as we sense the “vinyl moment” for journals is just around the corner.

Check out the new site and sign up for the newsletters here.

MORE: 5 Ways Music Journalism can live on post-Pitchfork

Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a Berklee College Of Music professor.