EvanPC Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 UPDATE: Big joke alert. Turns out the skeptics and nonbelievers were correct. MLP not sold to Gibson, or anyone else. Don't mean to stir up a "rumor", but I know many of you are probably also members of MyLesPaul.com. and I just stumbled on this "news". Apparently, MLP has been acquired by a "major guitar company" currently being referred to enigmatically as "G-Co.". Many are speculating it's Gibson who has acquired the website/forums. Thought I'd share... http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/backstage/134281-mylespaul-com-acquired-major-guitar-company.html Excerpt from OP: "Fellow MLPers, I'm delighted to announce that MyLesPaul.com has been acquired by a major guitar company. Actual company name will be announced in next week's press release, but for now I will refer to them as G-Co. I've learned a lot from working on MLP, and I look forward to bringing my experience, creativity and insight to the fine folks at G-Co. Both MyLesPaul.com and G-Co share the same vision and passion for Les Paul guitars, and while I can't share any future website plans, I look forward to the opportunity to contribute and do great things with G-Co in the future." EDIT: Would also like to add that perhaps it's worth noting tomorrow (errrr, I mean, Friday) is April 1...just something to keep in mind... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Good, maybe Gibson is looking to hire their IT guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShredAstaire Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Dis dis burn dis!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 EDIT: Would also like to add that perhaps it's worth noting tomorrow is April 1...just something to keep in mind... Call me 'an old fashioned stick-in-the-mud' if you like but I'm going to remain traditional and refer to tomorrow as "March 31st". P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FarnsBarns Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Call me 'an old fashioned stick-in-the-mud' if you like but I'm going to remain traditional and refer to tomorrow as "March 31st". P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvanPC Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 Call me 'an old fashioned stick-in-the-mud' if you like but I'm going to remain traditional and refer to tomorrow as "March 31st". P. You're an old fashioned stick in the mud. (This is loaded with irony) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 . Really . . . . . Gibson acquired MLP. Does that mean all the banned former Gibson Forum members on MLP will be retroactively banned there too ? . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvanPC Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 I just mentioned that it was being speculated by some that it is Gibson. Certainly nothing more than that at this point. The prospect does carry some interesting implications though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 The prospect does carry some interesting implications though. That's a very moot point. At the moment it seems to operate with autonomy. Will that situation continue if it comes under the auspices of "The Parent Company"? An sorry to have slightly derailed the thread earlier but I just couldn't stop myself... LOL! P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy R Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Well there goes all the build forums! Hope it is an April fools joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvanPC Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 That's a very moot point. At the moment it seems to operate with autonomy. Will that situation continue if it comes under the auspices of "The Parent Company"? An sorry to have slightly derailed the thread earlier but I just couldn't stop myself... LOL! P. If by "it" you mean MLP.com, then yes, I suppose it operates autonomously at the moment. If you're asking "will MLP.com continue to do so under the watch of the parent company?", no one knows that. If that makes my point moot, so be it. How many "major guitar companies" have a "vision" and "passion" for Les Paul guitars (guitars specifically referred to as Les Pauls)? I can only think of one. I'm just saying I don't think anyone would be a moron for thinking it may be Gibson, and therefore, thinking Gibson might alter how they choose to provide/support a forum community, given the immediate redundancy. I don't see anything wrong with entertaining the possibility, that's all. Anyway, I don't want to spin this into a "conspiracy theorist" thread, though I may already be doing so. (I apologize in advance!) Just saying, yes, my point is moot, but... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 dammit, now both sites are going to suck. and mlp actually runs too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I cant see why Gibson would want to buy the MPL forum. What purpose could it possibly serve? Besides, Gibson has a hard enough time keeping its current forums running smoothly. I just cant imagine them taking on another one -- especially one a big as MLP. If Gibson were to buy it, what would that mean for MLP? Would it be bye-bye MLP? or would they heavily restrict the builds and fakes? I'm not sure of MLP's policies regarding those things, as I only occaisionally visit the forum when a strat or E-Series topic somes up. But I cant see any benefit for MLP (aside from $$$ to the seller) and I dont see any benefit for Gibson other than quashing the threads they dont like. I'm voting for April Fools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Anyway, I don't want to spin this into a "conspiracy theorist" thread, though I may already be doing so. (I apologize in advance!) I agree with everything you say, Evan. And if it does become a "Conspiracy Theory" then the person responsible would be whomever chose to leak the 'teaser' before next week's official announcement. How, under such circumstances, could it fail to become the object of precisely-targeted speculation - Re: Gibson? ... I dont see any benefit for Gibson other than quashing the threads they dont like.. ...would they heavily restrict the builds and fakes?... I could certainly see that as an attraction. As we've been told in this very forum recently, product protection is taken seriously by Gibson. I'm not saying they are buying MLP, nor, if they are, am I saying that is the reason they are, but it would make some sort of sense. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvanPC Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 I cant see why Gibson would want to buy the MPL forum. What purpose could it possibly serve? Besides, Gibson has a hard enough time keeping its current forums running smoothly. I just cant imagine them taking on another one -- especially one a big as MLP. If Gibson were to buy it, what would that mean for MLP? Would it be bye-bye MLP? or would they heavily restrict the builds and fakes? I'm not sure of MLP's policies regarding those things, as I only occaisionally visit the forum when a strat topic somes up. But I cant see any benefit for MLP (aside from $$$ to the seller) and I dont see any benefit for Gibson other than quashing the threads they dont like. I'm voting for April Fools. Those are all good points. I did, however, read one thought provoking post from someone on MLP in this thread. They pointed out the fact that MLP is the perfect "sample" of Gibson guitar enthusiasts, as well as general guitar and gear enthusiasts with no brand allegiance. Everything from pro's, hobbyists, collectors, etc. With access to this community, which really is classic "street level" perspective on how the brand and guitars are perceived from a marketing perspective, might be very valuable to Gibson. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FarnsBarns Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Those are all good points. I did, however, read one thought provoking post from someone on MLP in this thread. They pointed out the fact that MLP is the perfect "sample" of Gibson guitar enthusiasts, as well as general guitar and gear enthusiasts with no brand allegiance. Everything from pro's, hobbyists, collectors, etc. With access to this community, which really is classic "street level" perspective on how the brand and guitars are perceived from a marketing perspective, might be very valuable to Gibson. Just a thought. My thoughts exactly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Those are all good points. I did, however, read one thought provoking post from someone on MLP in this thread. They pointed out the fact that MLP is the perfect "sample" of Gibson guitar enthusiasts, as well as general guitar and gear enthusiasts with no brand allegiance. Everything from pro's, hobbyists, collectors, etc. With access to this community, which really is classic "street level" perspective on how the brand and guitars are perceived from a marketing perspective, might be very valuable to Gibson. Just a thought. But do they need to own it to get that info? And how many people would they drive away in the process? I would think that if Gibson were to buy MLP it would change the dynamics of the forum to something less desirable to the current members. That street level perspective would become diluted by the brand, and would quickly become the opposite of what Gibson bought it for...unless they were to buy it and just leave it alone the way it stands. Unlikely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvanPC Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 But do they need to own it to get that info? And how many people would they drive away in the process? I would think that if Gibson were to buy MLP it would change the dynamics of the forum to something less desirable to the current members. That street level perspective would become diluted by the brand, and would quickly become the opposite of what Gibson bought it for...unless they were to buy it and just leave it alone the way it stands. Unlikely. I thought the same thing at first. If Gibson really wanted this info, why couldn't they pay some college interns to peruse the forum and summarize what the masses are saying? On the other hand, this is pretty archaic. Now I may stretching things a bit here, but if a company came in as new owners, they could then adjust or rebuild the infrastructure of the site, while keeping things looking and functioning normally on the surface (what we see/use). But because they can get in and set up a system to their specifications, they could potentially segment, categorize, filter, and mine data any way they choose. Without this option, all they have to rely on are some scribblings of a web surfer. Data/Consumer Insights is a BIG business. As far as I can tell, the music industry is far behind in this arena as compared to other industries. Sure, they can track their shipments to retailers, and possibly have submitted to them the scan sales of their retailers, but this only tells so much, and it happens to rarely provide insights into the now/future. It only reports on what's already happened. Perhaps they see this as an opportunity to get into the legitimate consumer insights arena. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 4henry.mylespaul.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChanMan Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Hmmm. So much b!tching and whining about this forum and it's poor performance.... Perhaps they shut this down and use MLP in it's place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemoon Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Story makes no sense. Why would Gibson buy a ad-based forum? A forum with revenues of say $250k... Not a chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freak show Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Hmmm...well, not for the money, but I can think of several reasons why Gibson would want to own MLP. The first that comes to mind is the fact that Gibson could then control the content over there, as it is done here. There are a lot of threads on MLP where people openly discuss certain matters pertaining to Gibson in a way that would never be permitted in this forum. These opinions reach thousands of readers. But if Gibson really does buy MLP and tries to run it like the forum here, it will merely cause a mass exodus to another site where people can say what they want. Unfortunately the Gibson forum has already lost many of its top contributors to MLP for exactly this reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Story makes no sense. Why would Gibson buy a ad-based forum? A forum with revenues of say $250k... Not a chance. Control information. then they can provide more censorship. Allowing less information to be shared. They're communists I tell you! COMMIES!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete c Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 i wonder if they will add mlp to this site like they did with the epi forum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 i wonder if they will add mlp to this site like they did with the epi forum? Because we really need a million new members to help make it crash more often...? P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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