Art Marketing News Moves to Substack After Two Decades on WordPress

Barney, the author of the Art Marketing News (AMN) newsletter, announced the platform's migration from WordPress to Substack, marking the end of a nearly twenty-year digital publishing era. The move, which began as an experiment with his 'Older Artists' Substack, was driven by a desire to reduce complexity and friction, aligning with his philosophy of 'Practical Minimalism'—doing less, better. Barney reflected on the closure of his WordPress blog, where he had published over a thousand posts and engaged in countless conversations, and the quiet finality of replying to his last comments. He described the transition as a profound act of letting go, not of failure but of necessity, as the weight of managing the website, hosting, plugins, and automation no longer served his current life. The shift to Substack is seen as a renewal, both for the publication and for himself, allowing more time for creating and sharing ideas with artists. The first post on the new platform was sent to subscribers who had previously followed the WordPress site, with a note of gratitude for their continued support. Barney also promoted his 'Older Artists' Substack, which focuses on staying connected to the creative life in later years.