Lee Scoggins Now President and EVP at NextScreen

[Ralf11]

I like your new icon.

 

How did you get the DAC to glow red like that?  Bit blit?

[Rt66indierock]

35 minutes ago, Archimago said:

Well, maybe this is a good thing since we kind of know among the publishing groups approximately where the lines are drawn.

 

If one is into all-out Industry fraternization, obfuscation, willingness to forego facts and truths, accept spiritual levels of explanation applied to audio gear, have a "president" willing to unabashedly shill publicly then NextScreen Publishing Group is it and Mr. Scoggins is your man. The Absolute Sound, Hi-Fi+, and his alma mater Part-Time Audiophile are the places to go for this kind of indoctrination "news".

 

On the other side we have AVTech Media with Stereophile, Hi-Fi News & RR, Sound & Vision with IMO at least the ability to provide reality-testing. While I have no love for AudioStream and InnerFidelity is a disaster since Tyll's departure, at least there's significantly more on the AVTech side of value IMO...

 

Then we have the Independents like us here with various opinions and philosophies. Will be fascinating to see how these publishing groups play out through the 2020's.

 

Lee is certainly going to make the Los Angeles & Orange County Audio Society Gala fun this weekend. And I have Lee Scoggins, Jim Austin and Art Dudley right where I want them. Imagine the joy in my heart when I texted Andy Quint and said you work for Lee now. Andy posted his congratulations on TAS.    I will introduce my girlfriend to Michhael Fremer as the Lee Scoggins of Stereophile at the Gala.

[PeterSt]

3 hours ago, rickca said:

Well, he won't be the first President

 

Can we still vote for him next year, please ?

[rickca]

Now that Lee is President, he can start denying he knows guys he's been photographed with at audio shows.

[esldude]

12 hours ago, Rt66indierock said:

Is his new position a step up or down?

Did his pay go up or go down?

[mansr]

57 minutes ago, esldude said:

Did his pay go up or go down?

What about his smugness?

[esldude]

8 minutes ago, mansr said:

What about his smugness?

Don't see it going down.  So I'll guess it goes up.  

[Rt66indierock]

2 hours ago, esldude said:

Did his pay go up or go down?

Good question but I can’t see how a niche magazine could pay what Accenture does. 

[Kimo]

4 hours ago, Rt66indierock said:

Good question but I can’t see how a niche magazine could pay what Accenture does. 

He can always make it up in Golden Ear Awards.

[Thuaveta]

On 12/4/2019 at 1:28 AM, Archimago said:

Will be fascinating to see how these publishing groups play out through the 2020's.

 

Unless that's what you'd call the motion of a rock falling off a cliff, I'm not certain "fascinating" is the word I'd use here. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but the younger generation of audiophiles seems, to me, to have been brought up on HydrogenAudio much more than on .mp3, and seem to be better vaccined against snake oil, maybe because they weren't exposed to new age bullshit like boomers were. Plus, they can't afford it anyway.

 

I am curious how much inroads generationally attuned woo-mongers like Darko are going to be able to make, though.

[Rt66indierock]

9 hours ago, Thuaveta said:

 

I am curious how much inroads generationally attuned woo-mongers like Darko are going to be able to make, though.

 

I just looked at his web stats, you won't make any inroads with those numbers.

[Ralf11]

but it's a resume builder

[Archimago]

On 12/5/2019 at 11:55 PM, Thuaveta said:

 

Unless that's what you'd call the motion of a rock falling off a cliff, I'm not certain "fascinating" is the word I'd use here. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but the younger generation of audiophiles seems, to me, to have been brought up on HydrogenAudio much more than on .mp3, and seem to be better vaccined against snake oil, maybe because they weren't exposed to new age bullshit like boomers were. Plus, they can't afford it anyway.

 

I am curious how much inroads generationally attuned woo-mongers like Darko are going to be able to make, though.

 

That's exactly why I think it could be fascinating! 🙂

 

The press will need to "recalibrate" how they talk about products and sell them if they want to be taken seriously. It's an opportunity to change how audiophiles are viewed, how we engage, and whether this anticipated "rock off cliff" future can instead be a softer landing.

 

Perhaps it's all inevitable and there really is no future for the traditional mainstream audiophile press. We shall see.

 

As for Darko... Yeah, he's a soft, gentle, warm and fuzzy salesman who makes nice professional-looking advertising videos in a calm, settled voice with light techno music for the YouTube generations. Not sure how well this actually moves product though or even if many find the videos to be "cool" or even beneficial.

[Thuaveta]

 

1 hour ago, Archimago said:

Not sure how well this actually moves product though or even if many find the videos to be "cool" or even beneficial.

 

I'd be curious to know if the LinusTechTips Abyss video had any impact. Seems like a smart move on their part (Linus probably has more subscribers than all HiFi youtube combined).

[The Computer Audiophile]

Lee Scoggins is no longer with TAS / Nextscreen. 

[bambadoo]

Ok?

[JoeWhip]

Wut!

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

PRESS RELEASE


March 28, 2023

Austin, Texas


Nextscreen, LLC today announced the resignation of Lee Scoggins. Tom Martin, CEO, said “For three years, Lee and I have worked enthusiastically doing a digital transformation of The Absolute Sound and hi-fi+.” During this time, Nextscreen added new websites, created new offerings like the Welcome Mat campaign and two successful YouTube channels. The company also greatly expanded its audience through a major emphasis on global digital magazines and an expanded web presence. All of this is in concert with a new strategy to segment the hi-fi+ and The Absolute Sound platforms around the key demographic segments in the market.


“At this time, however, we have realized that we have a huge amount of executional detail to focus on. Therefore, I decided to take a more active role as Chief Content Officer and resume the CEO role. In these circumstances, Lee naturally wants to take his strategic talents on to a new venue,” said Martin. Scoggins will still participate in some company video and strategic projects.


Scoggins said “It has been a real pleasure to work with Tom and the staff at Nextscreen to take these influential publications into new channels. I have made lifelong friends at both magazines and continue to be proud of the quality of these publications. I have especially enjoyed working with some of the most sophisticated audio manufacturers in the industry. I believe as the industry becomes more digital, our investment in new channels and ideas will prove valuable.”

[JoeWhip]

Pretty easy to read between the lines there with that corporate speak.

[MikeyFresh]

2 hours ago, JoeWhip said:

Pretty easy to read between the lines there with that corporate speak.

 

I'd have to agree, it doesn't take any genius insight to form an opinion of what likely happened.

[JoeWhip]

Mikey, are you saying I ain’t no genius?😫

[Samuel T Cogley]

3 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Scoggins said “It has been a real pleasure to work with Tom and the staff at Nextscreen to take these influential publications into new channels. I have made lifelong friends at both magazines and continue to be proud of the quality of these publications. I have especially enjoyed working with some of the most sophisticated audio manufacturers in the industry. I believe as the industry becomes more digital, our investment in new channels and ideas will prove valuable.”

 

Translation: the name dropping will continue, ad nauseam 🙂

[Jud]

3 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

“At this time, however, we have realized that we have a huge amount of executional detail to focus on. Therefore, I decided to take a more active role as Chief Content Officer and resume the CEO role. In these circumstances, Lee naturally wants to take his strategic talents on to a new venue,” said Martin.

So IOW Lee had a “grand strategic vision” that these days you can get from ChatGPT in 15 minutes, but couldn’t follow through on actually executing it.

[JoeWhip]

Ding, ding, ding👆🏻

[MikeyFresh]

4 hours ago, Jud said:

So IOW Lee had a “grand strategic vision” that these days you can get from ChatGPT in 15 minutes, but couldn’t follow through on actually executing it.

 

How ironic, LS had supposedly "Worked on a broad array of artificial intelligence initiatives" at his previous gig at Accenture.

 

When Nextscreen Publishing Group hired him in late 2019 he was touted as an A.I. pioneer.

 

I'm beginning to wonder if this is another George Santos-like failure to vet debacle.