The National Piping Centre has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to protect the legacy of its Piping Times and Piping Today periodicals. The two-strand project involves digitisation of the magazine archive, a resource that will be free to access online, and the production of a new annual publication that carries the Piping Times title. With the Piping Times and Piping Today together recording over 90 years of piping history, and recognised internationally as the most significant source of piping information, opinion and news, both were forced to cease publication in 2020 due to the unprecedented financial challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Influential in fostering an international piping community
The National Piping Centre’s Director of Piping, Finlay MacDonald, said: “It was with the deepest regret that we have made the difficult decision to cease publication of the two magazines, Piping Times and Piping Today. Both titles hold a special place in the hearts of pipers across the world. Sadly, publication of the magazines could no longer be justified on the grounds of the associated costs. Dwindling circulation numbers – a common trend in publishing in recent years – meant that, despite their long histories, the savings made had a significant impact on the organisation’s ability to weather the pandemic.”
The College of Piping began publishing Piping Times in October 1948. As well as printing competition results, reviewing events and reporting general news in the piping world, it provided a platform for the exchange of opinions and ideas. It was also influential in fostering an international piping community.
Until his death in 1996, the magazine was edited by Seumas MacNeill, a co-founder of the College. In nearly 50 years as editor – a position he took no payment for – MacNeill never missed a single issue. An acerbic style of writing made him a controversial personality but his commitment to the publication bequeathed the piping community a substantial and valuable historical record. Subsequent editors were Robert Wallace, Colin MacLellan and Stuart Letford. In 2018, when the College was incorporated into The National Piping Centre, the magazine archive and its continued publication became part of the Centre’s legacy commitment.
Great value to the international piping community
The National Piping Centre began publishing its own in-house magazine, Notes, shortly after opening in 1996. As the focus of the publication shifted to the broader world of piping its title changed to Piping Today. The bi-monthly magazine, under the editorship of The National Piping Centre’s then Director of Piping, Roddy MacLeod MBE, maintained a distinctive voice in the piping community for almost 25 years. Head of Piping Studies at The National Piping Centre, John Mulhearn, said: “The history recorded in both magazines’ archives is of great value to the international piping community. The unmatched resource it represents for students and scholars of the bagpipe cannot be overstated. In making this resource more accessible, future research will benefit profoundly.”
The money raised from the crowdfunding campaign will be used to professionally digitise the magazine archive. It will then be hosted on The National Piping Centre’s website and be free for the public to access and search. Donations to the campaign will also support the design and production of a new physical annual publication under the Piping Times banner. It is planned that the annual will be added to the digital archive each year. Finlay MacDonald continued: “Creating a physical record of the year’s piping news is still a priority for us. By publishing a Piping Times Annual we hope to create a new archive for the future. This first volume, covering the period from Spring 2020 to Autumn 2021, will be of enormous historical importance. While, on the one hand, far less piping activity has taken place due to the pandemic, the innovations that have taken place – most notably the explosion in online competitions – may be seen as a pivotal moment in the development of piping performance. It is essential that this is documented appropriately for researchers of the future.”
The Crowdfunder is now live and you can donate at: http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/pipingtimes