''Cymbiosis'' is a short-lived music magazine that lasted from 1986 to 1988. Since the magazine was released with either a

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...

or a CD, its tagline was "The marriage of music and magazine".

History

The magazine was conceived by free-lance music journalist Ric Levine in early 1985 while at a restaurant. The magazine contained interviews, reviews, and opinions regarding musicians associated with

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

, and

new age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

, though the magazine would stray to other categories deemed "innovative". The magazine also contained a complimentary cassette that includes the music covered within the magazine. In regards to the Magazine's packing, Levine told ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and politica ...

'' that the packing for the first issue "looks like a videocassette box, which caused some confusion" and that the packing was expensive at the time; the subsequent issues featured a blister pack where both the magazine and cassette are visible. Levine, alongside his wife Deborah, attempted to publish the magazine nationwide. At the peak of the magazine's run, Cymbiosis was available in 37 states and in 13 countries. However, in 1988, Levine put the magazine out of the market after four issues to rethink his efforts. In December 1988, Levine reintroduced the magazine format with CDs instead of cassettes, released the magazine as a CD booklet, and increased the length of the magazine from 48 pages to 130 pages; the magazine was also distributed by

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

. Only one issue was released under the new format.

Reception

'' Flipside'' wrote that the magazine's steep cover price would "appeal only to yuppies who could afford it" and that the magazine features "very few strong hooks". However, ''Flipside'' opined that the musicians featured in the magazine are great for their genre.

References

{{reflist, 30em Music magazines published in the United States Quarterly magazines published in the United States Defunct magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1986 Magazines disestablished in 1988 Magazines published in California