Paste is an American monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia,[1] with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan,[2] and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication from 2002 to 2010 before converting to online-only.[3]
 | |
| Editor | Josh Jackson |
|---|---|
| Categories | Online, American music |
| Frequency | Digital, monthly |
| Publisher | Paste Media Group |
| First issue | July 2002 |
| Final issue | August 31, 2010 (print) |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | 2852 E College Ave. Decatur, Georgia, U.S.[1] |
| Language | English |
| Website | pastemagazine.com |
| ISSN | 1540-3106 |
| OCLC | 49937508 |
History
The magazine was founded[4] as a quarterly in July 2002 and was owned[5] by Josh Jackson,[6] Nick Purdy,[7] and Tim Regan-Porter.[8]
In October 2007, the magazine tried the "Radiohead" experiment, offering new and current subscribers the ability to pay what they wanted for a one-year subscription to Paste.[9][3] The subscriber base increased by 28,000, but Paste president Tim Regan-Porter noted the model was not sustainable; he hoped the new subscribers would renew the following year at the current rates and the increase in web traffic would attract additional subscribers and advertisers.[10]
Amidst an economic downturn, Paste began to suffer from lagging ad revenue,[11] as did other magazine publishers in 2008 and 2009.[3] On May 14, 2009, Paste editors announced a plan to save the magazine, by pleading to its readers, musicians and celebrities for contributions.[12] Cost-cutting by the magazine did not stem the losses.[13] The crux cited for the financial troubles was the lack of advertiser spending.[3]
In 2009, Paste launched an hour-long TV pilot for Halogen TV called Pop Goes the Culture.[14]
On August 31, 2010, Paste suspended the print magazine, but continues publication as the online PasteMagazine.com.[3][15]
In November 2023, Paste Magazine acquired two G/O Media properties—the US-based news and culture site Jezebel, along with the left-leaning news and opinion site Splinter, after the site closed down.[16] It also purchased The A.V. Club, another former G/O Media property, in March 2024.[17]
Content
Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture".[18] Paste's initial focus was music, covering a variety of genres with an emphasis on adult album alternative, Americana and indie rock, along with independent film and books. Each issue originally included a CD music sampler but was dropped in favor of digital downloading as a Going-Green initiative. Featured artists included Paul McCartney, Ryan Adams, Blackalicious, Regina Spektor, the Whigs, Fiona Apple, the Decemberists, Mark Heard, Woven Hand, Milton and the Devils Party,[19][failed verification] Liam Finn, the Trolleyvox, and Thom Yorke. Many of these artists also contributed to the Campaign to Save Paste.[20][failed verification]
Album of the Year
References
Further reading
- Kessler, John (July 12, 2009). "Alt-rock editor fights to keep Paste off life support". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on August 5, 2009. Retrieved May 4, 2020.