Paste music magazine, which asked for donations to stay afloat, to shutter print edition

Paste music magazine to stop print publication

ATLANTA — The music monthly Paste has printed its last magazine after struggling financially for more than a year.

Editor-in-chief Josh Jackson said Wednesday that the publication based in suburban Atlanta will keep its popular website going but will no longer send print copies to its more than 200,000 subscribers. The entire staff of nine employees was cut. The three main managers — including Jackson — are staying on for now to run the website, Jackson said.

Last year, the magazine asked readers to donate money to help it stay afloat, drawing thousands of dollars. The donations helped delay the inevitable, after advertising revenue dropped, Jackson said.

“We thought we could make it, but we ran out of fumes,” Jackson told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “We’re an independent publication doing this out of the love of doing it.”

The magazine, which was published by a staff of 15, mostly 20- and 30-somethings in Decatur, started as a website in 1998 and was first published on paper in 2002. Each edition included a CD with songs from up-and-coming artists.

Its website gets 1 million unique visitors each month.

Jackson said he would love to revive the print edition if he can find the money.

In 2007, the magazine offered a pay-what-you-want subscription deal — following in the steps of rock group Radiohead, which asked fans to pick how much they wanted to shell out for the band’s latest album, “In Rainbows.” Jackson said the promotion help boost subscriptions, but advertising sales began drying up later that year and never fully recovered.

The advertising bust has sunk at least two of Paste’s rivals in the last 18 months: Blender and Vibe. Others like Country Home, Gourmet, Domino, CosmoGirl and PC Magazine have all either shut their doors or converted to entirely online content.

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Online:

www.pastemagazine.com