Michael Fremer leaves Analog Planet

Don't cry too much for Mikey, Audiophiles! I wonder how much of this move was his decision, as opposed to Stereophile suggesting he take a hike. He and Stereophile took a lot of heat after that article he published about the Onzow Zero Dust Stylus Cleaner several months ago. That was arguably a real half-ass hatchet job of journalism or reporting, as it were. I wonder if Onzow and some of the other goop-type stylus cleaners may have threatened to sue him and Stereophile.

His own (Michael Fremer's) words

Just to clarify the timeline, I suspect that you know Michael’s writing all started after he was the sound design supervisor for TRON in 1982 – he was responsible for the finished soundtrack, consisting of music and sound effects. He first showed up on the TAS masthead in the Sept/Oct 1986 - Vol. 11/Issue 43, as a Correspondent (LA). The next issue, Nov/Dec 1986 - Vol. 11/Issue 44, he was listed at the Popular Music Editor, right up until the Dec. 1994 - Vol. 19/Issue 100, where he was listed as Senior Editor (Popular Music). Come the next issue Vol. 20/Issue 101 – no Mikey. He didn’t show up on the Stereophile masthead until July 1995, Vol. 18/Issue 7, where he was listed as a Contributing Editor (Hardware), where he has been ever since. (Yes, I have just about every issue of each magazine! 😉). Now, he’s headed back to TAS... You just can’t make this stuff up...

Phantom-av, sure magazines need to make money to stay in business but the audio magazine groups do it the worst way possible compared to other high budget hobby magazines: like car magazines. You can take any 6 of car magazines and they do a much better job at describing their car up for review without the unnecessary sugar coatings that audio mags introduce. In car mags, you will see true head to head real-time comparisons between 2 to dozen related cars, and guess what, there is 1 winner and 1 or more that didn’t win, not every car is the best they have reviewed. I never trust an audio magazine review for the sq of the product, I view other avenues that I have found trust in to base my initial feeling on a new product.
These car rags have bashed cars dozens of times and these magazines are still in business today, with much less cost per subscription compared to say TAS or HIFI+.
I think the audio press group as a whole think they are above say the car enthusiasts and they should be treated differently. There are more million dollar cars than there are millions dollar audio products so if you base thes hobbies on pure dollar value, audio products are fairly cheap and the audio magazines could follow the same format as the car magazines and could very well stay in business or grow their sub base.

Michael Fremer Launches TrackingAngle.com
New site and exciting YouTube channel to bring outstanding reviews, articles, and interviews to

global online audiences

Wyckoff, NJ—June 16th, 2022—Veteran audio journalist and music writer/critic Michael

Fremer will launch the website TrackingAngle.com, the new online home of the pioneering 90s-
era print magazine The Tracking Angle that will cover vinyl records and all things analog. The

site is expected to go live in late Summer 2022. As this new venture begins, Fremer will move
on from AnalogPlanet.com, the vinyl record-centric website he conceived and edited since its
creation more than a decade ago.
“I am excited to create the most comprehensive online platform driven by my passion for
analog playback,” said TrackingAngle founder Michael Fremer.“Our content will focus on
affordable gear, with an emphasis on turntables, phono cartridges, and phono preamps,
reviews of recorded music, interviews with musicians and audio industry experts, and so much
more.”
The TrackingAngle YouTube channel will resume immediately broadcasting Fremer’s unique
brand of analog-centric knowledge, insight, and humor that attracted over 50,000 subscribers
to his previous channel, featuring videos that have received more than a half-million views.
Joining Fremer on the website will be over a dozen writers who helped make his previous site a
“must visit” for vinyl record devotees and music lovers. Also teaming with Fremer are former
TTA partners Nick Despotopoulos and David L’Heureux (Groovy Collectibles LLC) who will run all
aspects of website operation and handle advertising sales.
Additionally, “Tracking Angle” was Fremer’s first audiophile music review column, published in
the late ‘80s in The Absolute Sound magazine, to which Fremer is returning as Senior Editor. The
new website will feature “vintage content” from his TAS column and The Tracking
Angle magazine. Following The Beatles’ late-career admonition, Fremer says he is “getting back
to where he once belonged.”

For more information and to register for the mailing list to receive launch notifications, please
visit www.trackingangle.com.

Media contact:
Michael Fremer
[email protected]
Advertising contact:
Nick Despotopoulos
[email protected]