Cymbiosis
{{about|the magazine|the biological interaction|Symbiosis}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox magazine
| image_file = Cymbiosis.jpg
| image_caption = Volume 2, Issue 1; 1988
| editor = Ric Levine
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| category = Music
| frequency = Quarterly{{cite news|last1=Darling|first1=Cary|title=RIFF|work=Orange County Register|date=December 11, 1988|page=J-18|quote=Cymbiosis, a quarterly music magazine, has released its new issue with an accompanying compact disc featuring artists profiled in the magazine... Past issues of Cymbiosis came with cassette versions of music.}}
| format = Journal, magazine
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| firstdate = July/August 1986
| finaldate = December 1988
| finalnumber = 5
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| country = United States
| based = West Covina, CA
| language = English
| website =
| issn = 0895-6936
| oclc =
}}
Cymbiosis was a music magazine that lasted from 1986 to 1988.{{cite magazine|last1=Newman|first1=Melinda|title=Music/Magazine Mixture Back On Market|magazine=Billboard|date=March 4, 1989|volume=101|issue=9|page=45|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/80s/1989/BB-1989-03-04.pdf|accessdate=February 6, 2018}} Since the magazine was released with either a cassette 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.{{cite news|last1=Racine|first1=Marty|title=Whale 'songs' anthologized - The REAL 'new wave' music?|work=Houston Chronicle|date=April 26, 1987|page=12|quote=Cymbiosis....is the brainchild of one Ric Levine, former radio disc jockey, freelance music journalist and record store manager. He dreamed up the idea in a restaurant in early 1985 and quickly scribbled it on a napkin...Three months later he had the financial backing to form a corporation. First issue came out in summer of '86.}} The magazine contained interviews, reviews, and opinions regarding musicians associated with progressive rock, jazz fusion, and new age, though the magazine would stray to other categories deemed "innovative".{{cite magazine|title=Rewind this Magazine|magazine=Changing Times|date=August 1987|volume=41|issue=8|page=86|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZgUEAAAAMBAJ|accessdate=February 6, 2018}} The magazine also contained a complimentary cassette that includes the music covered within the magazine.{{cite magazine|last1=Morris|first1=Chris|title=Cassette-Magazine Bows|magazine=Billboard|date=February 21, 1987|volume=99|issue=8|page=43|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/80s/1987/Billboard-1987-02-21.pdf|accessdate=February 6, 2018}}{{cite magazine|title=Shop Talk|last1=Kassan|first1=Brian|magazine=Cash Box|date=May 23, 1987|volume=50|issue=47|page=25|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Cash-Box/80s/1987/CB-1987-05-23.pdf|accessdate=February 6, 2018}} In regards to the Magazine's packing, Levine told Guitar Player 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.{{cite magazine|last1=Mulhern|first1=Tom|title=Cymbiosis: Magazine Meets Tape|magazine=Guitar Player|date=November 1986|volume=20|issue=11|page=14|quote=It premiered with its July/August '86 issue and contains reviews and commentary, as well as interviews...'Well be changing the packing for our second issue...the initial package looks like a videocassette box, which caused some confusion. That particular packaging was very expensive, so we will be able to drop the price from $12.95 to $9.98. The magazine and tape will now be in a CD-like blister pack, where the tape has its own case and the magazine's front and back are both visible.'}} Levine, alongside his wife Deborah, attempted to publish the magazine nationwide.{{cite news|title=New Magazine 'Cymbiosis' Offers Tapes Between The Lines|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1987/06/28/new-magazine-cymbiosis-offers-tapes-between-the-lines/|access-date=February 6, 2018|work=Orlando Sentinel|date=June 28, 1987|language=en}} 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.{{cite magazine|last1=Murray|first1=Edward|title=Double Dip|magazine=CD Review|date=March 1989|volume=5|issue=7|page=10|quote=The current issue-Volume 2., No.1-features a 130-page booklet...Distributed by A&M records, Cymbiosis is available through subscription and participating retailers.}}{{cite news|title=Music Update|url=http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1989-01-01/entertainment/8901040216_1_warhol-new-age-music-big-chill|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017153746/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1989-01-01/entertainment/8901040216_1_warhol-new-age-music-big-chill|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 17, 2015|accessdate=February 8, 2018|work=Orlando Sentinel|date=January 1, 1989|language=en}} Only one issue was released under the new format.{{cite journal|last1=Coclanis|first1=Deborah|title=New Periodicals|journal=Notes|date=June 1990|volume=46|issue=4|pages=966–967|doi=10.2307/941273|jstor=941273|publisher=Music Library Association|quote=A cassette tape or, beginning with no. 5, a compact disc accompanies and constitutes an integral part of each Cymbiosis issue.}}
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.{{cite magazine|title=Record Reviews|magazine=Flipside|date=Summer 1987|issue=52|page=[https://archive.org/details/flipside_053/page/n83 30]|url=https://archive.org/details/flipside_053|accessdate=February 6, 2018}}