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Published by Leonardo Calcagno
#RIP Voir … The “death” of Voir is not surprising for those of us following the business of media but I hope it is a wake-up call for the industry, the government, and the public that cultural independent media in Québec is a blood sport and changes are needed to survive.
Personally, the #Voir, was a great school for punk entrepreneurs ( me, Nelson Roberge Patrice Caron) when our newspaper #BangBang became partners with LE VOIR. We had the chance to meet and work with great people (Thank you Paul Cassar for your marketing and sales mentoring) and build a great indie media with my brothers in arm. From doing a live daily show radio during Francos de Montréal (gracias Laurent Saulnier), heading to SXSW to cover La Maison du Québec, launching la GAMIQ and touring across Québec, and so many great memories with bands and music lovers from across the province. Also, we had the chance to be coached by great media veterans (thanks #PierrePaquette, Michel Fortin, and #HuguesMailhot) for the ride.
The fall of Voir is a hopefully a realization that is time for advertisers (agencies and local businesses) and government to start REALLY thinking about how your money is being spent, and that the survival of a diverse media ecosystem is essential for the cultural fabric of society. We need a real fighting chance against the #GAFAS by givens us the tool to continue. Media is changing and I have a strong feeling that what’s coming for readers and creators will forever change the way they consume and create.
One possible solution? After leaving to launch Baronmag.com, we had the chance to continue working with great cultural media partners, such as Sors-tu.ca Le Canal Auditif Bible urbaine atuvu.ca and build a media coop, called Culture Cible that has helped us survive in changeling times. I strongly believe in getting together and finding ways to help each other by building bridges, learning from each other, having a strong voice, and finding ways to grow.
Image: is from our first issue of #BangBang with We Are Wolves on the cover. #RIPVOIR and #Goodspeed!!!
The “death” of Voir, a cultural & society free French newspaper with over 30 years of existence, has been
6 months after launching Bang Bang, an indy French free music print newspaper celebrating Québec’s indy emerging music scene in 2000, we got an email from Pierre Paquette, the former owner of Voir, inviting us to meet and talk about business. 9 months before we ditched our magazines to launch BangBang during a sangria and nachos summer evening at Casa Popolo. I published a stoner rock-tattoo English magazine called Motel & Lamb, Nelson Roberge a punk French mag called Rien à Déclarer, and Patrice Caron aka PatK was called Bazooka.
Less than a year after Bang Bang was launched, we had a corner office at the Voir office on Bleury street and our life as a DIY media owner changed. The Voir gave us the means and chance to start experimenting and grow as publishers. For 3 years at the Voir, we learned how to become stronger editors, how to pitch ad agencies (thank you, Paul Cassar, for your help and mentoring), to make money with our media, and to think outside the box. They open door to their contacts (I still remember having dinner with Nick Fargas at a great restaurant and talking about music and marketing) and always
We went to SXSW and covered the first year of La Maison du Québec showcase, featuring Malajube, We Are Wolves, and tons of poutine. We had a live radio show at Les Francofolies de Montréal for 2 weeks in a tent, we used a portable Rogers internet device for interviews (thank you again ). Did a weekly show at Sirius Radio called Bang Bang te Mort. A daily music online TV show’s, if you ever have the chance talk to Nelson about the sleepless night editing the show with video cassettes. We launched la GAMIQ ( ) a music gala celebrating Quebec’s indy bands, a shout to PatK for keeping the GAMIQ alive after all these years. and so much more.
My 2 cents