ADVERTISEMENT



Niche Music Magazine Returns From the Dead

Harp founder resurfaces with new title, backers.


By Dylan Stableford
01/28/2009

Less than a year ago, a pair of small, niche music magazines with small but devoted followings—No Depression and Harp—folded. “We never saw it coming,” said Scott Crawford, who founded Harp in 2001.

But Crawford quickly regrouped to launch Blurt, a music Web site that includes a digital magazine.

Now Crawford is set to launch a quarterly print version of Blurt he says will help “brand” the Web site.

“It’s sort of a new paradigm,” Crawford told FOLIO:. “We’ve gotten to the point of wanting a physical product to help brand the site—we want it to be the ‘soul’ of the Web site in print.”

The quarterly magazine—with nearly half the circulation (30,000) Harp had—is slated to be launched in March and carry a $4.95 cover price.

But Crawford doesn’t expect it to be a huge seller at the newsstand. “The newsstand is a mess right now,” he said.

Last March, Guthrie Inc., the parent company of Harp, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. At the time, Guthrie CEO Glenn Sabin said Harp had struggled to become profitable since the company’s purchase of the magazine in 2003.

“Unfortunately, Harp’s critical acclaim never translated into sustaining commercial success,” he said. “Harp’s lifecycle was ill-timed with the precipitous decline of the music software industry, coupled with the consolidation of the consumer magazine newsstand business and rising paper postage costs.”

Crawford declined to reveal who his investors are this time around, but said he plans to broaden the editorial approach to cover entertainment and politics, and target non-endemic advertisers beyond the record labels that commonly advertise in niche music titles.

RELATED LINKS




Post Comment / Discuss This Story - Info/Rules

Please don't suggest this is a trend.
Submitted by Rex Hammock on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 23:25.

re: “It’s sort of a new paradigm,” Crawford told FOLIO:. “We’ve gotten to the point of wanting a physical product to help brand the site—we want it to be the ‘soul’ of the Web site in print.” Somewhere, deep inside my blog, there's a post that traces the history of websites doing that same "new paradigm" for the past ten years. The Knot, Motley Fool, eBay, Yahoo -- all at one point extended their brands with a magazine (I think eBay tried it twice).
Mr. Hammock, just because
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 01/29/2009 - 23:32.

Mr. Hammock, just because you noticed the (failed) attempts to extend web brands to print ten years ago does not mean that things cannot be different, now, in a new century. Perhaps the time has come for such soulful branding. Let's be optimistic for a good publication, rather than make it all about you.



RECENTLY in Consumer dots icon
MOST READ on FOLIO: dots icon

FOLIO: Alerts & Newsletters dots icon

Sign up for our news alerts, special offers & feature updates:






CONNECT WITH FOLIO: NOW
   


Find What You Need dots icon

Folio: Marletplace

Seach top vendors, suppliers, service providers & more

Browse & Search the Full Directory Now


FOLIO: mediaPRO dots icon

CAREER CENTER dots icon

Latest Featured Jobs