Hi Andrew,
Hardroxx website went the same way as the magazine. Matthew Honey did not have enough time to put into the site or the mag, and with so little return he just thought @!#$ it! what's the point! The site was unable to attract the major labels and hence any revenue was gained from the usual suspects (the smaller AOR labels) through advertising.
I sincerely hope that MR.com does not go the same way and i'm sure Andrew has learnt some lessons from what has gone before. The only way forward is to widen the range of melodic rock music covered, some may not like it but it will make a big difference.
If you cover a wider range of music-specifically targeting the more mainstream acts-it should attract the labels who will pay to advertise. At present it is the only way forward. With so many websites available people will not pay to enter MR.com that's in the future.
Perhaps MR.com would consider putting out a promo CD in the same way that some of the other magazines have done, this can-if run properly-produce a substantial revenue.
regards
Mike Newdeck